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£12m innovation boost for North West shipping, nuclear and cybersecurity

2025-04-05 11:09:16 By

A Spot autonomous robot deployed at the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion machine, at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's Culham Campus (credit )

Three North West innovation clusters have won millions of Government cash to boost businesses and universities in areas from nuclear robotics to cybersecurity and maritime decarbonisation.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is investing £22m in seven “research and innovation clusters” across the nations and regions of the UK.

Two of the projects are rooted in the North West, with a third designed to connect the nuclear legacies of Cumbria and Oxfordshire.

The CyberFocus project , led by Prof Daniel Prince at Lancaster University, has secured £4.9m in EPSRC funding. It aims to “fuel the socio-economic potential of the North West cyber sector to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of cutting-edge cyber security”. It brings together universities, businesses and public sector bodies across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria.

The EPSRC added: “The project benefits from the arrival of Government Communications Headquarters in Manchester and the imminent arrival of the National Cyber Force in Lancashire. It will foster cross-cluster collaborations with other regional specialisms in aerospace, defence, nuclear and manufacturing.”

The project aims to create 85 new collaborative partnerships, develop 400 new products, processes or services, secure an extra £40m in funding for the North West, and to train 300 people in cyber innovation skills.

The Maritime and Last Mile Net Zero (MaLaMi) project , led by Prof Zaili Yang at Liverpool John Moores University with other university and public sector partners, aims to accelerate maritime transport decarbonisation and grow low-carbon logistics in Liverpool City Region and across the shipping corridor to Belfast.

The maritime economy contributes some £800m in gross value added (GVA) to Liverpool City Region annually, handling 45% of UK trade from North America.

The EPSRC said: “MaLaMi will bring greater cohesion and join up researchers, civic bodies and businesses to drive innovation across the maturing LCR maritime cluster that covers areas including commercial shipping, transport, fuels and vessel designs.”

And the research body said its £2.5m investment would “lead to the translation of research and technology into commercial applications that will benefit the maritime industry” and “provide insights that could be extended to national levels”.

Meanwhile the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) will lead the creation of a £4.9m nuclear robotics and artificial intelligence (RAI) cluster across Cumbria and Oxfordshire.

The cluster will advance work on the decommissioning of the UK’s legacy nuclear fission facilities . The UKAEA said the cluster will connect academia with the supply chain and added: “The cluster will enable regional growth, create and retain jobs, and help establish the UK as the international lead in nuclear innovation, a US$1 trillion industry.”

The project aims to:

Create 200 business opportunities

Establish 10 spin-out companies

Generate 200 new jobs

Engage 5,000 people in cluster-driven events

Deliver 25 licensing deals

Dr Kirsty Hewitson, director of RAICo at UKAEA, said: “As part of our mission to bring fusion energy to the grid, UKAEA hosts the UK’s largest nuclear robotics and artificial intelligence group, with the ability to design, build, and operate robotics for extreme industrial environments.

“This new robotics and AI cluster provides an opportunity for UKAEA to leverage our expertise, in collaboration with other consortium partners, wider academia and industry, to develop innovative robotics and AI solutions for nuclear fission and fusion energy decommissioning and adjacent sectors.

“UKAEA welcomes this support from UKRI and we look forward to working with university and civic partners to drive research and development that delivers real economic and social impact to Cumbria and Oxfordshire.”

EPSRC executive chair, Prof Charlotte Deane, said: “The seven projects announced today will harness regional research and innovation strengths to unleash the potential of emerging and existing innovation clusters across the UK.

“Our investment will strengthen partnerships between UK universities, civic bodies and local businesses to create new jobs, improve skills and boost regional economic growth that will benefit places and communities directly.

The other clusters are a Digital Healthcare Technology Impact Accelerator (DHTA) in Belfast, a ‘RehabTech Valley’ project in the East Midlands, a scheme to accelerate innovation in the Forth and Tay offshore wind cluster in Scotland, and the North East Space Communications Accelerator (NESCA).

CyberFocus: cyber impact for the North West

EPSRC investment: £4.9 million

Led by: Professor Daniel Prince, Lancaster University

University and civic partners:

Nuclear robotics and AI cluster across Cumbria and Oxfordshire

EPSRC contribution: £4.9 million

Led by: Dr Kirsty Hewitson, UK Atomic Energy Authority

University and civic partners:

Maritime and Last Mile Net Zero (MaLaMi)

Led by: Professor Zaili Yang Liverpool John Moores University

EPSRC contribution: £2.5 million

University and civic partners:

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Dyson to move workforce out of Bristol and scrap tech hub plans

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County Durham firm braves Dragons' Den in bid to secure investment

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