The Henry Royce Institute is building a national network to train and connect the 150-plus research technical professionals (RTPs) who operate over £200 million worth of materials equipment across eleven UK universities and national labs. Materials innovation—developing new substances for batteries, medical implants, lightweight aircraft parts, and recyclable packaging—currently takes too long to meet the UK’s 2050 net-zero and circular-economy targets. The problem is not just a lack of ideas; it is a lack of coordination among the skilled technicians who make, test, characterise, and model these materials. These RTPs often work in isolation, with limited opportunities to share techniques, learn new skills, or visit equipment suppliers. This platform will break down those silos through workshops, secondments, masterclasses, and conferences focused on four core areas: making, testing, characterising, and modelling materials. It also covers cross-cutting themes such as automation, digitalisation, and novel technique development. If successful, the platform will accelerate the journey from a materials discovery in the lab to a product in the factory. That could speed up the deployment of next-generation batteries, more efficient solar panels, and stronger, lighter structural materials—all of which underpin the UK’s manufacturing competitiveness and net-zero commitments.
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This Research Technical Professional (RTP)-led National Technical Platform will empower the RTP community in materials innovation and associated manufacturing technology. Materials innovation will underpin our transition to a sustainable society, delivering advances in sustainable manufacturing, net zero, healthcare technologies and a circular economy. Currently the time to innovate and deliver these materials is too long to meet for example our 2050 net zero and wider obligations. The UK Innovation Strategy highlights Advanced Materials and Manufacturing as one of seven technology families where the UK has globally competitive R&D and industrial strength that can make a fundamental contribution to tackling societal challenges and realising economic benefit. As the UK's national institute for advanced materials research and innovation, the Henry Royce Institute (Royce) supports world-recognised excellence in UK materials and manufacturing research and technology, accelerating commercial exploitation of innovations to deliver both positive economic and societal impact for the UK. Royce coordinates over 400 major items of equipment with a capital value in excess of £200 million, and directly employs or supports, via a hub and spoke model, more than 150 RTPs across its eleven partner institutes, the Universities of Cambridge, Cranfield, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield, Strathclyde, Imperial College, NNL and UKAEA, and has a wide reach into other institutes across the UK. Royce spans the make, test, characterise and modelling capabilities across the diverse materials science and engineering landscape, and interfaces directly with related research networks, institutes and industry both nationally and internationally, including equipment suppliers and materials users. Royce therefore has the critical mass, convening power, academic and industrial networks of RTPs to deliver a national technical platform for the benefit of all materials RTPs in the UK. The platform will focus on delivering training, development, and professional networking opportunities across the UK’s materials innovation community and in the process increase visibility of RTPs and help in breaking down existing silos. This RTP-led technical platform will be centred around four key areas that underpin materials innovation, i.e. (i) make, (ii) test, (iii) characterise and (iv) modelling, and will focus on specific themes such as technical innovation, automation / digitalisation, novel techniques, equipment / capability development, training methods / teaching tools, and creating a connected and visible community. Cross-cutting activities including technical workshops / masterclasses, visits / secondments to equipment suppliers / manufacturers, non-technical skills training, conferences and external engagement (i.e. professional bodies and the Technician Commitment Programme), will be used to deliver the themes. The platform will naturally align to many of the existing Royce research areas and will engage with existing national networks, community of practices and initiatives in their respective fields related to materials innovation. This technical platform will also benefit from existing Royce infrastructure, operational and professional support (e.g. Chief Technology Officer, Training and Skills Manager, Communications Manager, Events Manager) and leverage existing activities such as the Henry Royce Institute National Conference.
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