What’s new: Keele University has launched the Advanced Materials Technology and Engineering Centre, known as AMTEC, bringing together expertise from academia and industry.
Why it matters: The centre aims to speed up the journey from materials research to practical applications, supporting areas including healthcare, clean energy, sustainability and industrial decarbonisation.
The big picture: AMTEC will work with industry, universities and research partners to strengthen Staffordshire and the Midlands as a centre for advanced materials innovation.
A new research centre has been launched at Keele University to bring together leaders from industry and academia in the materials science and innovation sector.
Building on the region’s historic and existing strengths in material science, innovation, and manufacturing, the Advanced Materials Technology and Engineering Centre (AMTEC) has been set up by Keele and partner companies including Lucideon and the Applied Materials Research, Innovation, & Commercialisation Company (AMRICC) Centre.
The goal is to connect colleagues working in advanced material discovery and design, with partners working in testing, translation, commercialisation, adoption and skills.
Keele’s own expertise spans structural materials, biomaterials and energy materials, with applications ranging from healthier lives and new medical technologies to sustainability, clean energy and industrial decarbonisation.
AMTEC aims to boost the impact of this research by enabling closer links with industry and other Midlands universities, to build on these distinctive strengths and raise the national and international profile of the area.
A launch event was held at Keele in September in partnership with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), to bring together representatives from across the material science sector and outline the vision for the new Centre including industry partners and research funders, and materials scientists from Keele, other UK universities, and from overseas.
The long-term goal of AMTEC is to help promising ideas move from research and theoretical stages to demonstrators, investment and adoption.
Increasing the speed at which these advanced materials can move from the theoretical to the practical will support better health, environmental sustainability, stronger businesses, high-value jobs and rising wages, while giving the Midlands a stronger voice in national and international opportunities.
1) Professor Mark Ormerod OBE, Keele University; 2) Dr Peter Matthews, Keele University; 3) Seçkin Sertdemir, EPSRC
4) Dr Helen Turner, Midlands Innovation; 5) Dr Cathryn Hickey, AMRICC; 6) A panel discussion chaired by Professor Anna Meredith, Keele University.
Dr Peter Matthews, Director of AMTEC, said:
“AMTEC exists to be a capability provider to Staffordshire, the West Midlands and beyond, providing innovation, research, facilities and a talent pipeline. We offer a unique capability across the length scales from molecules and nanomaterials right through to a full campus scale test bed. I’m honoured to lead the centre in its first steps, and delighted to work alongside my fabulous colleagues to deliver the capabilities for our region.”
Professor Mark Ormerod, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, added:
“Our new Advanced Materials Technology and Engineering Centre (AMTEC) is a really exciting development for Keele, building on our existing longstanding strengths in materials research and the exciting development of engineering education and research at Keele, with our first cohort of undergraduate engineering students starting their degrees at Keele in literally a few days' time.”
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