New climate change hub blows into Innovation Birmingham

A NEW regional hub focused on tackling climate change has been established in Birmingham. The West Midlands Regional Innovation Centre, funded by Climate-KIC, is based at the Innovation Birmingham Campus.

The new centre will receive in excess of €1m of funding per annum, spread across a number of local initiatives.
 
Innovation Birmingham is creating five new jobs to help run the centre. Katharine Fuller has been recruited as Senior Project Manager for EU Projects to lead the new team, joining from her previous role as Birmingham City University’s EU Funding Manager.  
 
The centre’s main initiatives are: Pioneers into Practice – a grant-funded European exchange programme for low carbon specialists; the Low Carbon Accelerator Programme for start-up businesses; and a range of grant-funded education programmes aimed at students, professionals and organisations.
 
The centre was formally launched as part of the UK’s Climate Week initiative. The launch event showcased a range of initiatives and provided information about how to access the available funding and support.
 
Dr David Hardman, CEO of Innovation Birmingham said: “Since the closure of Advantage West Midlands, we have been lobbying our European partners to increase the amount of funding for climate change initiatives across the West Midlands. We are delighted to have secured over €1m per annum to allocate across a number of low carbon projects, which will support the work of organisations, professionals and students.”
 
The new centre is one of six across Europe working to develop the low carbon economy within their regions. The other centres are located in; Valencia (Spain); Emilia Romagna (Italy); Hessen (Germany); Lower Silesia (Poland) and Central Hungary. The centres are supported through the Climate Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC) project, which receives funding from the European Commission through the European Institute for Innovation and Technology.
 
Ms Fuller said: “The West Midlands Regional Innovation Centre will be a real asset to the city’s climate change agenda. Support and grants are available to assist start-ups – as well as larger organisations – to develop innovative low carbon products and services. In turn, the Pioneers into Practice exchange programme is focused on developing the skills and experience of those already working in the sector.
 
“The €1m we’ve been able to secure for the West Midlands is a reflection of the rapid growth of the region’s sustainable energy market. The low carbon agenda is capturing the interest of serial entrepreneurs, as well as prompting industry professionals to step away from a corporate career path and start their own business. The initiatives and funding that will be available will have a wide reaching impact.”