SPOTLIGHT ON THE WORKSHED
WHAT GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AT THE WORKSHED ?
The Workshed in Brunel ’ s old Carriage Works in Swindon is a workspace for entrepreneurs , pioneers , and creative thinkers to connect and grow .
Situated in the heart of the Railway Conservation Area it is steeped in history and in recent years the building originally built in 1876 has been transformed into a cool , modern , lofty , New York warehouse-style space to incubate small to medium-sized businesses and provide start-ups with a co-working space to network and grow .
First launched in 2018 , The Workshed is a
Swindon Borough Council initiative and part of an ambitious plan to regenerate Brunel ’ s Carriage Works and the wider Swindon economy .
The Workshed ’ s popularity and momentum is growing with a unique blend of organisations using the space .
Here we shine a light on two pioneering organisations which call The Workshed home . iCAST
The Workshed is home to iCAST ( the Innovation Centre in Applied Sustainable Technologies ) a major new innovation hub , bringing together core partners in academia and industry to accelerate the UK ’ s transition to net-zero carbon emissions . iCAST links industry with expertise at the Universities of Bath and Oxford , the High-Value Manufacturing Catapult ’ s Sustainability Partnership ( National Composites Centre and Centre for Process
Innovation ), innovation experts at SETsquared , the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership ( SWLEP ) and investors .
The £ 17 million facility with its hub in Swindon is backed by the Research England Development Fund , an initiative from UK Research and Innovation ( UKRI ) that drives innovation in research and knowledge exchange in higher education .
In 2020 , the UK Government set an ambitious
target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and create up to 250,000 green jobs in the process . However , there is an innovation gap that needs to be filled for these goals to be met .
Matthew Davison , Whorrod Professor of Sustainable Chemical Technologies at the University of Bath and Director of iCAST tells us how the Centre is helping to fill that gap .
How is iCAST driving change and helping with the UK ’ s net-zero ambitions ? iCAST is an agile R & D and collaboration partner for companies working on clean growth technologies . We focus on translating research in sustainable chemical technologies into commercial products and processes to tackle the global challenges of climate emergency , sustainable development and plastic pollution .
Our Centre covers four core research programmes : bio-based feedstocks , sustainable manufacturing , sustainable engineering materials and circular plastics .
How are you working with industry ? The UK is one of the world ’ s top producers of chemicals and pharmaceuticals , which contribute £ 17.8 billion in GVA to the economy each year . The sector also directly employs more than 140,000 highly skilled people and supports the jobs of around 500,000 more , as well as investing in worldclass research in the sector . However , until now , industry and research have been disconnected .
AT iCAST we provide agile and flexible support for businesses to scale up new sustainable technologies and bring them to market . A large part of our work is delivering proof-of-principle , scale-up and feasibility studies to accelerate how soon cuttingedge sustainable concepts will mature into commercial reality .
By partnering companies with the critical mass of research expertise at Bath and at Oxford , iCAST is set to accelerate the scaleup of new technologies , deliver economic impact , and build supply chains , jobs and growth in the UK .
Who have you worked with so far ? The partnership already has more than 60 member companies ranging from spinouts , high growth SMEs and multinational corporates . Our members include Unilever , Wessex Water , TotalEnergies Corbion , Naturbeads and Recycling Technologies .
Why did you choose the Workshed as iCAST ’ s home ? The Workshed is a fantastic space in the heart of Swindon , a short walk from the train station and close to the M4 motorway giving us easy access to the world class expertise and facilities in Bath and Oxford as well as at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult .
Being based at the Workshed has already helped us develop new , and perhaps unexpected partnerships and collaborations , including working with Dr Rod Hebden , Founder and Director of Swindon ’ s Festival of Tomorrow . At the end of 2021 , we collaborated to create three films which share local , young people ’ s views on how world leaders should tackle global warming . The films were posted on the Festival of Tomorrow website , and across social media , at the close of the COP26 conference in Glasgow . The films were made by our neighbours in the Workshed , Create Studios and PhD students from University of Bath who helped young people from Swindon access the latest research to help shape their views . It was a powerful project .
Swindon itself provides national and international connectivity for iCAST businesses in the heart of the region ’ s Western Gateway Powerhouse innovation system .
How can businesses find out more about iCAST ? They can visit the website www . icast . org . uk or email : icast @ bath . ac . uk
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