Seven innovation projects are set to share £26.5m of Liverpool City Region Innovation Zone funding including £9.5m towards the expansion of Sci-Tech Daresbury. Tony McDonough reports
Seven projects, worth a total of £83m, are seeking £26.5m in support funding as part of the Liverpool City Region Innovation Zone project.
In 2023 Liverpool city was chosen to be the location for one of the Government’s new investment zones. This £160m, 10-year programme focused on the life sciences sector, aims to leverage up to £800,000 of investment and create around 8,000 jobs.
In addition, earlier this year AstraZeneca announced a £450m investment in its Speke vaccine facility, which is part of one of Europe’s largest biomanufacturing clusters.
Of the seven initial projects bidding for funding is the £24m expansion of lab and office space at city region science and innovation campus Sci-Tech Daresbury. It is seeking £9.5m in funding.
Other projects include skills training, new drug-making facilities and business and innovation support. They are among 21 projects being developed in the first phase of the Life Sciences Investment Zone programme
These seven also include the creation of new £21m high-containment labs by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine-led iiCON (Infection Innovation Consortium).
They will be equipped with robotics and AI that will dramatically accelerate the development of new treatments to fight deadly infections.
Another is the KQ Liverpool Future Innovators Programme. Led by Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, the programme will aim to raise awareness and aspiration for careers in life sciences and will work with local employers to develop traineeships for young people.
Also included is the Embedded Skills Development Programme delivered by St Helens form, Inovus; the Health Tech Business Incubator; Microbiome and Infectious Disease Innovation Hub led by the University of Liverpool; and £2m for the TriRx manufacturing facility.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will consider the seven projects at its meeting on June 7, with final approvals to follow in the coming weeks and months after further scrutiny.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “We are already home to world leading clusters in life sciences, gaming, advanced computing, and infectious disease control – but I am never content with resting on our laurels.
“That is why we will invest 5% of local GVA in R&D by the end of the decade, nearly double the national target.
“I truly believe that innovation will be the fuel that powers our economy forward and by establishing ourselves as a hotbed of innovation, we will be ready to attract many more highly skilled, well-paid jobs, businesses and opportunities from around the world.”