Cambridge Cleantech will work closely with the OxFutures (*) team to launch Oxfordshire Greentech which will support the growth and impact of the low carbon sector in Oxfordshire whilst complementing the existing activities of Cambridge Cleantech. Activities in Oxfordshire will include: events on low carbon vehicles, the built environment and social enterprise; finance and contract alerts, and training support for cleantech businesses.
This move opens up new connections and commercial opportunities for Cambridge Cleantech members in the Oxford region. The expansion will be a positive step for large companies seeking the latest cleantech innovations, investors looking for technology partners in Oxford, and small companies seeking to sell solutions into the developing cleantech economy in the region.
The initial contract is for two years and Cambridge Cleantech will retain its full presence in Cambridge, whilst taking on additional staff and utilising space in the growing town of Bicester.
More information about the new partnership will be made available at the Cambridge Cleantech Annual Conference on 4 July at the Trinity Centre in Cambridge.
Martin Garratt, CEO of Cambridge Cleantech, commented: “This is a major opportunity for Cambridge Cleantech to create a new greentech network in Oxfordshire as a counterpart to the existing cleantech network in Cambridgeshire. The prize is a world-leading environmental cluster, based on two internationally renowned centres of excellence connected by an ‘arc’ of innovation and entrepreneurial activity”.
"The ‘Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford Corridor’ is a longstanding economic development initiative which aims to advance the region as a major centre of the UK's high-tech manufacturing and research sectors. As Martin explained, “Cambridge Cleantech already has excellent contacts at Cranfield University, the high-performance technology and motorsport cluster at Silverstone and the Transport Catapult at Milton Keynes. The combination of Oxfordshire Greentech and Cambridge Cleantech will be a driving force to achieve the double win of ensuring sustainable development along the corridor and creating commercial opportunities for our members”.
Hugh Parnell, Chairman of Cambridge Cleantech commented that “the new partnership with Oxfordshire Greentech is a natural extension to the work of Cambridge Cleantech and helps support a broader cleantech community across the re-energised Oxford to Cambridge arc”.
Nicole Lazarus, Director at Bioregional and part of the OxFutures team added: “We are delighted to be working with Cambridge Cleantech to establish Oxfordshire Greentech, bringing together two world renowned centres of excellence in the environmental sector. We will work closely to serve the low carbon sector in Oxfordshire, both growing its size and impact and creating a new network. We will also work across the Oxford- Cambridge arc to create opportunities for our members and support the development of one of Europe’s most important economic corridors”.
(*)The Oxfordshire Greentech initiative is part of OxFutures which is a £3.2m project to boost low carbon economic development in Oxfordshire. It is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and run through a collaborative partnership between the Low Carbon Hub, Cherwell District Council, Bioregional, Oxford City Council, the University of Oxford, and Oxford Brookes University.
Oxfordshire Greentech will be a network for businesses and organisations that support the growth of the low carbon sector and want to deliver a sustainable, low carbon future for Oxfordshire and the world.
- Building on the global reputation of Oxford as a home for academic excellence and technological innovation it will:
- Promote Oxfordshire as a hub for low carbon, resilient economic growth and job creation
- Support businesses and organisations in bringing services and products that will enable resilient, low carbon lifestylesFacilitate collaborations between a wide range of business sectors
- Provide a forum and opportunity for our members to demonstrate and showcase what they are doing to contribute towards a Low Carbon, sustainable world
- Provide a platform for collaborative funding bids and partnership working as opportunities arise
Cambridge Cleantech is a leading membership and business support body for a community of partners – including private companies, universities and public-sector organisations – that is driving the development of Europe’s fastest growing cleantech cluster. http://www.cambridgecleantech.org.uk