Plugging into Campus Expertise

Chemicals for soft contact lenses, additives for new cleaning products and the latest reagents for use in fuel cells for products such as mobile phones - these are just three of the projects that have recently been helped on their way by the Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC).

Set up in 2004 with backing from Chemicals Northwest and funded by the DTI, the £4.3 million Manchester-based centre is helping to link up businesses working with organic materials and polymers and the vast bank of knowledge inside the region's universities.

"OMIC is all about helping companies to innovate," says Dr Mike Holmes, the organisation's industrial Liaison Manager. "We help carry out 'knowledge transfer' from the university to the companies, and then continue to support them as they develop their products."

Crucially, this support can both be on a long or short-term basis, depending on the company's needs, and can range from desktop research to producing small quantities of chemicals for evaluation.

"OMIC offers a fast and flexible service that's as useful to a blue chip company as it is a new start up," adds Holmes. "And it's helping to put the Northwest firmly in the driving seat when it comes to chemical innovation."

The Northwest has also become the base for the Centre for Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacturre (CoEBio3), a new national research centre based at the University of Manchester, and the DTI-funded Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network (CIKTN), which has received £3.5 million funding from the government.

Led by Chief Executive Carol Boyer-Spooner and sharing offices with Chemicals Northwest, CIKTN has a broad remit to encourage innovation, boost foreign trade and ensure companies across the UK have easier access to new markets and new technology.