Manchester to get second £60m graphene centre
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A second centre for research into wonder material graphene is to be built at the University of Manchester, Chancellor George Osborne has announced.
The £60million Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) is designed to complement the National Graphene Institute (NGI), which is due to open at the university next year.
Osborne said the new facilities would enable graphene products to be 'fast tracked' from the drawing board to the market.
They will put Manchester and the UK in pole position to 'lead the world' in graphene technology, he added.
Half of the money for the GEIC is coming from Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar based. The rest is from the Higher Education Funding Council (£15m) and the Technology Strategy Board (£5m).
"The GEIC is essential to maintain the UK's international leadership position in this area and ensure effective commercialisation of a UK discovery," noted Professor Colin Bailey, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Manchester.