The University of Liverpool is leading two high growth projects- AIM-HI and NBIC-LIVE- selected by Liverpool City Region (LCR) under the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Local Innovation Partnership Fund (LIPF), with new funding exceeding £23.7M.
The flagship AI Materials Hub for Innovation (AIM-HI) programme, dedicated to accelerating the application of artificial intelligence in materials chemistry, has secured £15M LIPF funding, with a private sector match of more than £30M, to create a high growth economic cluster in LCR.
Critical to the UK's manufacturing base and accounting for 9% of manufacturing jobs in the North West, the chemical sector faces challenges including translational gaps. AIM-HI will address these, bridging academic work on AI in materials chemistry and industry to ensure its full commercial exploitation.
Focusing on areas such as catalysis, materials for net-zero, soft matter, and product formulation for fast moving consumer goods, AIM-HI will respond to key sector challenges including the lack of commercially available lab robotics and AI-driven software/hardware platforms that advanced materials and chemistry companies need, as well as workforce skills gaps.
The AIM-HI cluster will see: the co-creation of new open innovation platforms to make leading edge AI technologies available for use by LCR and UK companies; an 'AI for Materials Chemistry' skills development programme for LCR students and workers; and bespoke incubator and accelerator programmes to kick-start growth for AI and materials chemistry businesses and start-ups.
AIM-HI supports UK Government national strategies including the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, Modern Industrial Strategy, and AI for Science Strategy.
The National Biofilms Innovation Centre: Liverpool Engine for Antimicrobial Surface Technologies (NBIC-LIVE) programme will establish the world's first centre of innovation excellence dedicated to AI-enabled rapid innovation of antimicrobial and anti-biofilm surfaces, positioning LCR as a global leader in these technologies.
Biofilms are highly resilient microbial communities which have a global economic footprint of $5 trillion annually. They cause 80% of bacterial infections, compromise medical devices, contaminate personal-care, food, and therapeutic manufacturing, and create major costs in water, energy and maritime systems.
Supported by a LIPF award of £8.7M within a £26M programme, NBIC-LIVE will tackle these challenges by accelerating the development and commercial uptake of next-generation antimicrobial and antibiofilm surfaces and materials. It introduces groundbreaking high-throughput technology fabrication, multimodal testing, validation, and bespoke workflows to create an internationally distinctive open innovation asset within the LCR innovation ecosystem.
The enhanced capability will address critical gaps in the UK innovation pipeline by increasing regional company access and open mobility, accelerating progression from applied research to industrial adoption, extracting maximum value from Intellectual Property and securing companies and supply chains in the UK. Alongside this, a bespoke skills training and outreach programme will ensure that the talent in the region is nurtured to drive growth, and the role of biofilms is demystified for the population to reduce health inequalities.
LIPF is a new £500 million programme led by UKRI. It empowers innovation leadership through local partnerships between civic institutions, business and universities, delivering impact, at scale.
Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool said: "This new funding recognises the power of partnership between universities, industry and civic leaders. Through AIM-HI and NBIC-LIVE, the University of Liverpool will help accelerate world-leading advances in AI-enabled materials chemistry and life science, while creating new opportunities for businesses, researchers and the LCR workforce.
"The projects have been developed through strong partnership working with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and our industry partners. The LCR LIPF projects will foster long-term economic growth and support high-value jobs whilst securing our region's reputation as a global centre for scientific and technological innovation."
Professor Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKRI said: "The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund exists to ensure that world-class research gets into the hands of local organisations and businesses to create real economic value in communities across the UK.
"Liverpool City Region is demonstrating exactly how that works: taking deep scientific expertise in areas like AI-enabled chemistry and antimicrobial innovation and connecting it directly to industry and global markets.
"This is how UKRI's investment in places becomes investment in the nation's future and helps achieve our mission to advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth."
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said: "This funding is a major vote of confidence in the Liverpool City Region and our position at the forefront of global innovation. We're already building real strength in areas like artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, and this investment will help us accelerate that progress - turning cutting-edge research into high-quality jobs and opportunities for our communities.
"It also comes at an important moment, helping us to launch our Innovation Investment Fortnight and put a spotlight on the scale of opportunity here. We have the talent, the assets and the ambition - and with backing like this, we can continue to lead from the front, both nationally and internationally."
Portfolio to benefit region's productivity
Early outcomes of the LCR LIPF portfolio will include new jobs, safeguarded roles, and acceleration of 200+ R&D projects.
Deepening the capability of local assets consolidates LCR's unique concentration of applied science, ensuring long-term competitiveness in AI-enabled industrial R&D and providing education and employment access to cutting edge environments. These facilities provide clear progression routes, from school outreach and internships, to CPD and PhD's into specialist employment, anchoring talent locally and strengthening priority clusters.
