Latest news with #ScienceandTechnologyFacilitiesCouncil
Scotsman
08-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
£25 million boost for space and tech firms at Edinburgh Royal Observatory's Higgs Centre
'Scotland has a rich history in innovation and technology and the Higgs Centre for Innovation in Edinburgh exemplifies this success' – Kirsty McNeill Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Businesses based within an incubation centre at Edinburgh's historic Royal Observatory have secured more than £25 million of funding since it opened seven years ago. Companies located at the Higgs Centre for Innovation have also created in excess of 150 jobs over the same period, new figures today reveal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The achievements have been hailed as evidence of the vital role the incubator plays in fostering growth and innovation in the space and technology sectors in Scotland. Part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Higgs Centre is co-located with the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) and the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at the Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh. Picture by Jason Cowan Since opening in 2018, the Higgs Centre has incubated 28 companies, with ten currently in residence. Of those 28 businesses, 26 remain active, reflecting a company survival rate that is much higher than the national average. Part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Higgs Centre is co-located with the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) and the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. This location offers tenants access to labs, cleanrooms and state-of-the-art equipment, including space qualification testing capabilities, alongside specialist advice and guidance. Economic analysis reveals that each Higgs company generates an average gross value added (GVA) - a measure of net economic contribution - of £498,000 per annum, resulting in a total economic impact of £13m per year from the 26 active companies. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Start-ups specialising in artificial intelligence, robotics, photonics, rocket propulsion, avionics, aquaculture, data analytics and even prosthetics have all been assisted by the STFC business incubation programme at the Higgs Centre on the start of their journey. One such company currently raising investment is Robocean, which builds subsea robotics to replenish seagrass meadows. In the last century, Earth has lost almost one third of its global seagrass coverage and restoring these ecosystems has proved challenging. Robocean chief executive Niall McGrath said: 'Seagrass meadows are the beating heart of our oceans. Like a Swiss army knife they have a tool for every occasion, supporting biodiversity, capturing CO2, and reducing coastal erosion. 'Our incubation at the Higgs Centre has been game changing, thanks to their support we can move faster than ever before. Our access to laboratories and expertise has allowed us to quickly design, build and test our prototypes on the fly.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad STFC's Julian Dines, head of innovation at the Higgs Centre, said: 'We're very proud to have reached such a significant milestone with over £25m in investment raised while creating over 150 jobs. 'The Higgs Centre's role is to support small businesses and start-ups by providing them with access to the necessary knowledge, technical skills and facilities to move onto the next stage of their development. We look forward to continued growth in the tech sector, more successes and additional investments in the near future.'
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Open University scientist given Moon samples from China mission
An academic from the Open University (OU) has been selected as the first UK scientist to carry out research on Moon samples from China's lunar exploration Mahesh Anand, who is based at the OU's Milton Keynes laboratories, is to receive materials from the Chinese lunar mission, Chang'e-5, which returned Moon samples to Earth in December applied to conduct research on Chang'e-5 samples in Dec 2023 and is one of seven experts globally chosen to receive the Anand has been conducting lunar research for more than 20 years, working with colleagues at the OU to uncover the secrets of the Moon, including the presence of water on its surface. China's robotic Chang'e-5 mission was sent to a site on the lunar nearside called Oceanus Procellarum in November 2020. It was carefully chosen to add to the sum of knowledge gained from previous sample returns - the last of which was conducted by a Soviet probe in OU team at Milton Keynes plan to use the lunar materials to determine the amount and isotopic composition of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and noble gases in Chang'e-5 results will be used to evaluate the giant-impact origin of the Moon and develop new insights into the history of volatiles such as carbon and nitrogen in the Earth-Moon system, the OU is the first time lunar samples returned by a Chinese space mission will have been allocated to international principal investigators, said the OU. Prof Anand said being chosen was "a great honour and privilege for my team"."This is a recognition of our world-leading lunar sample research, underpinned by long-term funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC/UKRI) and the OU's commitment towards maintaining world-class analytical laboratories," he said.A spokesperson for the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA), said sharing the samples was "win-win cooperation"."The international sharing of lunar samples and joint research efforts enable scientists from around the world to study the Moon's formation and evolution, fostering collaborative exploration of the universe's mysteries," they James Carpenter, head of the lunar science office at the European Space Agency, said: "The Chang'e-5 lunar samples provide a unique window into the history of the Solar System, and the Open University is one of the best places in the world to unravel the scientific story that's these samples have to tell." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
