A multi million pound flagship centre on Ellesmere Port’s hi tech university science park is open for business.
The University of Chester project costing in the region of £16m is located on Thornton Science Park at Ince, the former Shell research centre.
It has attracted almost £7m of funding from the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership’s local growth fund and was completed ahead of schedule by construction and property services specialists Willmott Dixon.
The centre is intended to promote growth in the development, demonstration and exploitation of technologies for the energy market with links, among others, to Peel Group’s adjacent Protos site.
The university says the three floor centre, occupying a redeveloped state of the art building, provides a flexible space where industry and academics are able to come together to innovate, develop and demonstrate new ‘intelligent’ energy technologies.
Facilities at the centre include test bays, equipment, purpose built industrial space and high quality office and laboratory space.
Prof Joe Howe, executive director at the Thornton Energy Research Institute, said: “The energy centre will promote growth and acceleration in the development and exploitation of technologies for the energy market.
“It is a flagship innovation project of the Cheshire science corridor enterprise zone of which Thornton is a designated site.
“This project forms part of a wider energy focus for Thornton science park and the region ensuring the site is ideally placed to anticipate and fulfil the needs of the Government’s recently announced industrial strategy.”
John Adlen, growth director for the Cheshire science corridor at Cheshire and Warrington LEP, added: “Cheshire and Warrington is a hotbed for science and innovation and is home to a number of globally competitive science assets across the Cheshire science corridor.
“This is a nationally significant facility that really adds strength and complements the development of Peel’s energy hub Protos.
“It will drive research and innovation in the energy sector and is a real flagship for Thornton science park and the science corridor as a whole.”
Paul Vernon, senior executive director of commercial operations at the science park believes: “The energy centre at Thornton will offer companies unrivalled possibilities to allow ‘light bulb’ moments to happen.
“They will be able to innovate and interact with clients and supply chain partners in a state of the art building with access to the latest equipment and expertise for energy technology development and testing.
“Researchers will be able to ‘plug and play’ with a number of facilities across all aspects of energy systems, conventional and unconventional and smart grids.
“We are now looking forward to the official launch and opening of the energy centre this summer.”
The university says the science park has more than one million square feet of space and is equipped for innovative and growing businesses in the energy, environmental, automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors.
The 30 plus businesses there benefit both from links to the university and its faculty of science and engineering at Thornton.
Project director Brian Fitzpatrick said he was ‘extremely pleased’ the centre had been completed ahead of schedule.
