Professor Darren Ansell
Companies in Lancashire and the North West that specialize in developing innovative drone technologies have received a huge boost.
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This is thanks to two multi-million dollar grants secured by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) business support program has allocated £ 1.8 million to the university to provide new and existing small and medium-sized enterprises in Lancashire with specialized drone technology and related research and development support.
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UCLan offers support through a series of specialist workshops and hands-on technical demonstrations to show how the use of drones can help companies grow.
In addition, university experts will work with individual companies to support, develop and test new technologies, bring new products to market and secure long-term research and product development collaborations with the university.
In a separate but related initiative, the £ 1.4 million Lancashire Drone Command and Control Center project was funded by the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership.
The funding has enabled the purchase of the latest drone technology and equipment to upgrade the existing facilities at UCLan’s £ 35 million Engineering Innovation Center (EIC).
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The project complements the ERDF investment to provide long-term support to companies in the drone sector and drone end-users in the region by providing access to one of the best-equipped drone research facilities of any UK university.
Both projects are expected to create up to 100 high-quality jobs, support 265 companies and add £ 4.5 million to gross value added in the region.
Darren Ansell of UCLan, Professor of Aerospace, said: “This is a turning point for us as the additional investment allows us to increase our engagement with companies in the region to increase the level of innovation and create new, high-profile ones To create jobs. ”For the future.
“This funding will put UCLan, Preston and the Northwest at the heart of this high-growth industry and allow us to develop world-class expertise, jobs and economic growth for the region.”
The investment builds on the university’s long-term activity and competency program, including the establishment of a Civic Drone Center in 2014.
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This center has demonstrated novel drone solutions in various areas such as mountain search and rescue through to gas sampling for rescue services and minefield surveying.
Funding also builds on Preston’s selection as the UK test city for drone use in the Nesta Flying High Challenge competition in 2018, a European aerial photography project with a partnership between Preston City Council and UCLan in 2019 and the opening of UCLan’s EIC on.
The additional investment is part of a platform for larger investments in a Lancashire Drone Innovation Cluster led by UCLan, supported by BAE Systems and the North West Advanced Manufacturing Research Center with the support of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.
Sarah Kemp, Chief Executive of the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership, said, “Here in the North West we have one of the largest clusters of aerospace activities in the world. The Lancashire Drone Innovation Zone has the potential to capitalize on this fact by rapidly advancing advances in drone use and enabling industry and the public sector to capitalize on the opportunities of a rapidly growing global drone market.
“Fostering innovation in new emerging aerospace markets is a Lancashire priority and an important part of the county’s response to UK industrial strategy.”
The vision is to build on existing regional strengths and respond to a major international opportunity to provide the UK with a world-class innovation cluster for the development, testing and manufacturing of civil unmanned aerial vehicles.
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