Materials Integrity Centre opened at TWI Middlesbrough
25/03/2024
A new engineering hall has been opened at the Teesside Advanced Manufacturing Park (TAMP), Middlesbrough, UK, as part of the wider Materials Integrity Centre European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) project.
The engineering hall was officially opened on 22 January 2024, at the same site as TWI’s existing facilities near Middlesbrough, providing local companies with facilities to develop and test new products and materials, including inspection technologies for the hydrogen economy.
This is the latest stage in the Materials Integrity Centre ERDF project, which itself ties into the strategic economic plan of the Tees Valley Combined Authority and Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership to maximise investment in the region.
With small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation and individuals placed at the centre of the region’s growth ambitions, the Tees Valley Social Economic Plan (SEP) seeks to create 25,000 jobs and add £2.8 billion to the economy by 2026. This will be achieved by turning the area into a high-value, low-carbon, diverse and inclusive economy.
The opening of the state-of-the-art laboratory and world-leading test facility underpins applied research and technology activities, delivering specialist materials and engineering support to local SMEs in the Tees Valley and helping them develop new products and processes, as well as offering access to new technology markets to grow the local economy.
Speaking on the official unveiling of the new engineering hall, Mihalis Kazilas, Business Group Manager of TWI’s Materials Performance and Integrity Group, said: “The new engineering hall combines the industrial expertise of TWI in the area of non-metallics testing and evaluation with the academic excellence of Teesside University in net-zero technologies. Together, TWI and
Teesside University will support local businesses and enterprises in the development of new products and services that will contribute to the growth objectives of the Tees Valley Social Economic Plan.”
The facility has been supported by £1,425,000 of funding from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority and Mayor Ben Houchen stated: “This fantastic facility is further proof of how our area is leading the way in developing the greener, cleaner innovative industries of the future such as hydrogen.”
Mayor Houchen continued: “The engineering hall will play a vital role in supporting small and medium-sized businesses and supercharge our ambition to become a global centre for net-zero energy and innovation. It will also support more of the high-paid well-skilled jobs and crucial investment we need to drive our local economy forward.”
As well as delivering the new facility, the Materials Integrity Centre programme has seen the creation of a dedicated research group focused on non-destructive testing (NDT) and the expansion of a modelling group dedicated to investigating the performance and failure of materials. Advancing knowledge and technology transfer in the fields of NDT, modelling and hydrogen-related materials technologies allows TWI’s experts to expand their efforts in supporting SMEs and contributing to the sustainable growth and competitiveness of the region’s materials-based sectors.
In addition to these research and modelling activities, the Materials Integrity Centre delivered direct technology transfer activities to local SMEs through the Materials Integrity Technology Transfer (MITT) programme. This provided free support to SMEs to assist in the introduction of new technologies as well as problem-solving and knowledge-sharing initiatives to enhance the quality and reliability of products.
The MITT project team completed 84 individual projects, increasing employment figures at the supported companies, while forging interaction between SMEs and research institutions and helping bring new products to market.
By bringing together research excellence, technology transfer and world-class facilities in a collaborative effort, the Materials Integrity Centre has supported the growth of businesses in the Tees Valley region and helped to meet the aims of the Tees Valley SEP to enhance productivity, competitiveness and innovation among businesses in the region.
Located at TAMP, Middlesbrough, the Materials Integrity Centre is a component of the Tees Valley Centre for Materials Integrity Programme, which is part-financed by the ERDF, as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme, 2014-2020, and the Tees Valley Combined Authority.
