Sheffield University energy research centre to attract hi-tech manufacturers

TERC will develop low carbon technologies for power systems using renewable energy, bioenergy and ‘smart grid’ equipment. It will also feature a carbon dioxide capture facility.

The building will be home to up to 24 pieces of equipment pushing the £6m build costs well over £10m.

Some 36 people are set to work at the Translational Energy Research Centre on Europa Avenue, on Sheffield Business Park.

It will be part of a cluster of multi-million pound research buildings around the £46m Factory 2050 known as the ‘Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre 2’.

In October, three research centres on the site costing £47m were opened in one go: the Royce Translational Centre, the Laboratory for Verification and Validation, and the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre.

Plans for a £20m ‘Lightweighting Centre’ are also in the pipeline.

The investment has helped attracted global manufacturers including Boeing’s first factory in Europe, Rolls Royce and McLaren.

University plans state the AMRC2 could create 1,800 jobs, and pump £74.2m annually into the local economy.

TERC will be the latest in a line of research centres, following the original Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre on the Rotherham side of the Parkway, within the Advanced Manufacturing Park, which is home to more than 100 hi-tech companies.

Together, it is hoped, they will eventually form Europe’s largest research-led cluster of businesses and science research facilities.

A university spokeswoman said: “The aims are to increase interaction between the university sector and manufacturing businesses, as well as securing further inward investment on Sheffield Business Park and surrounding area resulting from the concentration of research and development facilities.”