0:09 – 0:45

So it’s important to innovate everywhere, I think, particularly with the global challenges, but it’s particularly important in the West Midlands because we’ve got world leading strength through our research, our universities in particular, but we’ve also got global strength in our supply chain. The success of the Clean Futures program to date has been fantastic. We’ve seen the companies that have been on the program so far raise over £20 million in private investment. They’ve won over £100 million in commercial contracts and created approximately 50 jobs. So clean Futures has really helped to accelerate innovation in the West Midlands.

0:45 – 1:22

So obviously it’s working to support transport, decarbonisation, new technologies, but it’s also been really important in terms of securing that private investment into the region. The partnership between Connected Places Catapult and Coventry University was really complementary. Being able to understand what the companies really needed to de risk their journey into new technology adoption and to explore new markets that they wouldn’t previously have access to. All the companies and supply chains are positioned to deliver the industrial strategy that we have in the UK at the moment. Forex Delivers is developing the technology to deliver transport as a service in Africa.

1:22 – 2:16

This is a world first electric ox truck and also a digital platform that optimises everything from maintenance and manufacturing through to providing transport as a service. We have developed Hyperfoil, this is a coating onto the traditional battery aluminium foil that’s at nano level, a highly durable and highly efficient current collector. We were fortunate enough to be on round one of the Clean Futures and on the Clean Futures Year three to focus on the design of experiments, understanding what the inputs are, the scalability of innovation. Oxdeliver has received funding support from Clean Futures, helping us optimize our manufacturing management system which all reduces the cost of building a truck and that benefits our customers in East Africa. We’ve got access to some really industry leading technologists which has helped us along our journey.

2:16 – 2:46

Converge University. They were able to bring on board experts who have worked with their digital twin technology. We gathered a team of software developers based in Birmingham and here in Leamington to put this project together and tested it out at the facility here in Leamington Spa. The Clean Futures programme for us has been a real catalyst, so not only providing valuable funding but also bringing us into a supportive and collaborative network across the West Midlands. This program has allowed us access into other companies on a similar journey and that collaboration is growing.

2:46 – 3:24

It’s like a similar seed has been planted with the Clean Futures program and we’re seeing the fruits of that work now having the support of the Connected Places Catapult has just been incredibly powerful for us. Whether it’s attracting investment, recruiting great people or finding the right partners to scale, Clean Futures has allowed global Nano Network to take an idea from a desk into the market. For the market, actually. To see the benefits, we’ve built an incredible team of around 40 engineers and innovators based in the West Midlands. We’ve also signed our first contract with our customer that’s worth over $120 million.

3:24 – 3:51

The criticality of innovation is commercialization. Working with Clean Futures means that we have an accelerated route to market. So Clean Futures has had a really positive impact on innovation in the West Midlands. I think it’s helped us to look at innovation and how we drive innovation differently in it’s brought new partners, and I think particularly what Connected Places Catapult have done is structure it around that market opportunity. And that’s been really critical for us.