Renewable energy tech-centre for Middlesbrough

Mar 13 2007 By The Journal

In the early nineties motorists in Middlesbrough's Riverside Park would have barely noticed the regional presence of the World Centre for Materials Technology….a single ground floor office in the CadCam centre. Today the same establishment takes up a football pitch in area.

Its name… TWI North East. And it's poised to double in size in 2007 with a brand new energy-related technology centre.

As a world leader in research, consultancy, training and technology transfer it already houses Europe's largest deep water diving and underwater technologies tank. It even has its own decompression chamber.

The North East's existing TWI complex houses fabrication, inspection and NDT training. Some 15,000 trainees have passed though its portals in the last decade.

So far TWI North East's technology transfer activities in the region have either created or safeguarded £25m of turnover and been responsible for creating nearly 500 jobs. So, armed with this enviable track record, TWI is now developing a new centre at Riverside Park dedicated to the renewable sector - called the Energy & Materials Technology Centre (EMTC).

Its partners in such an ambitious project include several of the North East's most worthy - One NorthEast, the Tees Valley sub-region's joint strategy unit, Government Office North East and Middlesbrough Council.

The work represents a multi-million pound investment from TWI and the region. EMTC will support regional development of companies for the energy and environmental sectors through research and development, technology transfer and training.

The worldwide TWI network has its headquarters in Cambridge. It already has strong strategic links with the energy sector world-wide. Regionally it will work with the organisations driving the Energy Pillar including the Centre for Process Innovation, Renew Tees Valley, NaREC and other regional centres.

It will make a direct contribution to the world-class status of the sub-region in the sustainable energy field, and will act as a magnet for external resources and commercial interest; all of which will be of direct benefit to the sub-regional economy and its long-term growth potential.

Looking to tomorrow, as a result of this project the sub-region will acquire leading edge fabrication technologies for designing and making products for the new and renewable energy markets.

EMTC's innovative technology developments will also allow sub-regional industry to compete globally with rivals in the alternative energy field. TWI's existing facility in Middlesbrough will become a permanent energy and materials technology centre for the North East and part of the Innovation Connector for the Tees Valley.

To learn more about TWI, and its presence in the North East, why not visit www.twi.co.uk