The award-winning event series, Art of Possible returns in August alongside the World Cycling Championships, and this time we will explore how innovation and technology can unlock Scotland’s pedal-based transport industry.

Art of Possible: Beyond Bikes – Unlocking Scotland’s pedal-based transport industry
14.00 – 17.00 on 8 Aug 2023
Free, In-person at Glasgow Science Centre, and livestreamed

Cycling is one of Scotland’s fastest growing sectors, with huge research and development potential for associated industries. Join Glasgow City of Science and Innovation as they bring together the tech and innovation community for the chance to network over beers, wine and nibbles – and hear how our SMEs are leading the way to developing sustainable, practical alternatives to traditional forms of transport – from electric pedal-assisted vehicles to innovative cycling accessories!

The event will also include a special-edition exhibition where you can network, meet the companies shaking up Scotland’s cycling industry and experience the latest tech from virtual reality to space data-based products and the newest e-bikes disrupting the pedal-based markets.

As well as hosting the inaugural Cycling World Championships this year (bringing together 13 international competitions in one country for the first time in 2023), Scotland is home to the Mountain Biking Centre of Scotland (MTBCOS), the world’s first centre for open innovation in the mountain bike industry – and a new Innovation Centre at Innerleithen, in the Scottish Borders, providing industry support with market research, developing, testing and launching new products. With strong infrastructure and market opportunities, the future of the Scottish bike industry is bright. Hear how new tech and innovations in the circular economy and remanufacturing are revolutionising the industry.

The SCOUT Project, in partnership with PwC UK LLP, is running an innovation clinic for SME leaders and line managers to gain insights from industry experts on what lies ahead for the sector and how SMEs can best take advantage of upcoming future opportunities. Topics up for discussion will include; Designing your operating model; R&D Tax Credits and incentives; Moving into manufacturing and Getting support.

In addition, attendees will also be granted a guided tour of the new, state-of-the-art Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, hearing first-hand about the exciting work already underway within this world leading, carbon neutral facility – including how cutting edge technologies are delivering; a reduction of API, solvent and energy usage in manufacturing; leveraging digital twins to maximise operational efficiency; and reducing <50% wastage in automated clinical trial manufacture.

Spaces are limited, and demand is expected to be high, so book your place today by emailing ERDF.SCOUT@uk-cpi.com.

The SCOUT Project is a fully funded service which aims to accelerate and de-risk the growth of Scottish SMEs in chemical, biochemical and life science sectors, who are seeking or developing disruptive technologies and is jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (managed by Scottish Enterprise) CPI, CMAC Future Manufacturing Research Hub (CMAC) and the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC).

The meeting place for the renewable and low carbon energy community

All-Energy takes pride in being the UK’s largest low carbon energy and full supply chain renewables event; while the co-located Dcarbonise is aimed at private and public sector energy end users. The next live edition of All-Energy & Dcarbonise is taking place in May 2023 at the SEC, Glasgow.

All-Energy will offer an opportunity to meet, network and make connections with the renewable energy community with two days of uninterrupted business. Join us to drive your business forward in 2023 and beyond.

Get your free badge for this year’s event and discover the latest trends, insights and innovations in the renewable and low carbon energy industries.

Regional partners are co-creating a new Innovation Action Plan; a plan that will use our collective creativity and innovation capability to tackle the productivity gap and help realise our climate ambitions. Above all, this plan will support more responsible innovation and contribute to levelling up the longstanding and endemic inequalities of place. And if we get this right, it will enable us to pitch the region domestically and globally as an inclusive, progressive place with a distinctive innovation offer that is open for business.

The Regional Innovation Partnership, Glasgow City of Science and Innovation are arranging a series of Roundtable sessions with selected innovation actors (with a presence in, or a connection to, the Glasgow City Region) to help shape this new plan to progress our diverse innovation economy for productivity, people and planet. You are invited to contribute to this session on: Designing Seamless and Integrated Innovation Support across Key Industries

The Glasgow City Region (GCR) has a remarkable heritage in driving forward new global frontiers in the field of innovation – from the television and ultrasound to the transformational technologies powering today’s industries.

Glasgow became one of the first UK cities to undergo a post-industrial renaissance, and we are now home to a world-class R&D base and one of the most diverse innovation economies in Europe. With the largest academic community outside London, we are developing clusters of strength across a range of specialisms from space and precision medicine to advanced manufacturing and quantum. Critically, we are working to strengthen the interactions between sectors and technologies through market mechanisms, engagement in supply chains, governance and networked infrastructure – notably our innovation districts.

The world knows about Glasgow again and there’s something really exciting happening in the innovation space here. But there is more to do to exploit and develop our rich assets to unlock GCRs innovation potential and create a fairer, greener and more prosperous City region for all our citizens.

Join the Traveltech for Scotland team, industry partners and guest speakers for an evening of networking and conversation on Wednesday 17 May, from 6-9pm at Barclays Eagle Labs, Glasgow.

Start-up Journeys: In conversation with SENSECity and My Customer Lens
Guest speakers and start-up founders Pooja Katara of SENSECity and Paul Roberts of My Customer Lens, will share how they have gotten value from communities and networks in their start-up journey, offering reflections, challenges and ideas for discussion.

Investing in Start-ups: In Conversation with Plug and Play
Guest speakers from Plug and Play, one of the world’s leading early stage investors, will share what they look for when investing in tech start-ups, and explore the challenges involved, with opportunities for thoughts and discussion.

The Traveltech for Scotland team will be joined in guest conversations by CodeBase industry colleagues Alison Savill, Head of Regional Engagement for Glasgow, and Shona Marsh, Head of Education Programmes.

Make New Connections
Enjoy relaxed networking, snacks and drinks and make new connections with communities in the room, including industry colleagues from Glasgow City Innovation District and CodeBase.

More Information
Barclays Eagle Labs Glasgow is accessible on foot from both Queen Street and Central train stations. It is also close to Bridge Street Subway. Please note, there is no designated parking on-site. There will be opportunities for networking before and after the speaker sessions which will take place from 6.30pm – 7.45pm. Drinks and snacks will be served. Timings for the evening will be published shortly.

For any questions about the event please contact the organiser, Traveltech for Scotland. In addition, if you need further information about the location or the event you can also contact CodeBase.

A unique opportunity to showcase your social enterprise/social business initiative.

On May 18th-19^th Glasgow Caledonian University will be hosting a Social Innovation Fair as part of its annual Research Celebration. At the Fair Changemakers and Pioneers will be brought together from across Scotland and beyond to help strengthen ties between organisations and to encourage lively interaction and knowledge exchange.  There will also be related talks and workshops highlighting especially how universities and social innovators can work together.

This opportunity is absolutely free!

The Fair will take place at Glasgow Caledonian’s Alex Ferguson Library between 9.30 and 5.30 on Thursday 18^th May and 9.30-12.30 on Friday 19^th May.

Interface will be exhibiting at this event so come along to our stand and meet Lorraine Thomson and Mari Findlay.

In order to book a place at the event, register at the link below:

5G technology offers more than just improved mobile phone connections. Companies of all sizes across the world are embracing 5G technology to take advantage of the benefits it enables. If you are looking to increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve and future-proof your systems, operations and products, then The Scotland 5G Centre (S5GC) is here to help you unlock the transformational benefits that 5G has to offer.

Businesses are invited to join this event and workshops series and hear about the free range of support services and access to state-of-the-art 5G testbeds. You will also find out how 5G is being used in industry, for example within manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and agriculture to drive efficiencies and cut costs.

This event comes in two parts.

Part 1, is an event on the 17th April 2023, and will provide information and examples of how 5G is transforming businesses as well showing how the Scotland 5G Centre can help.

Part 2, a series of 121 private sessions running from April until September and providing you with the opportunity to have a private consultation with one of our Business Engagement Managers (at your local S5GC innovation) and discuss how you can test the application of 5G to a specific business need or challenge.

Come along to this event on 17th April and discover how 5G can transform your organization.

What can you expect from the event?

• Engage with The Scotland 5G Centre and find out how it can help your business
• Explore the benefits that 5G is bringing across multiple industry sectors and places across the UK.
• Discover the opportunities available to Scottish Businesses through our free to use S5GConnect Programme and innovation hubs.
• Preview innovative 5G use cases, that show how 5G is transforming everyday business operations
• Discuss how we can support your business needs, challenges and opportunities and gain free access to our 5G testbeds

This event, hosted by the Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM),  showcases the innovative processes and outcomes from 50 collaborative student team projects through a series of presentations.

As well as providing a platform for our students’ industry-related output, academics will highlight opportunities and mechanisms for industry to work collaboratively with the university in the future.

Evolve™ green energy technology is the first hydrogen electrolysis solution that can extract hydrogen from any natural water source including groundwater, tap water, and seawater, without desalination. 

Background 

Evolve Hydrogen Ltd wants to develop novel Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser technology to produce “green” hydrogen for use in industrial processes. This innovation unlike the traditional flat-stack designs of common PEM and alkaline electrolysers is designed in a honeycomb configuration with reactive parts placed in a concentric layout. The reactive parts are fabricated via injection moulding of a custom polymer which allow this technology to utilise impure water sources. 

The Challenge 

In developing their technology Evolve Hydrogen Ltd required a bespoke polymer material that enabled direct electrolysis of impure water sources, for example, seawater without the need for desalination. Optimisation of this material required a thorough understanding of its electrochemical performance and transport mechanism in various electrolysis environments. To improve the efficiencies of their prototypes this project required electrochemical engineering expertise to give a full characterisation of the polymer raw material and to recommend improvements in composition to advance Evolve™ technology. 

The Solution 

Evolve Hydrogen Ltd sought the expertise of the University of Strathclyde to perform this project based on recommendations by their technical advisors, two of whom were alumni of Strathclyde University.  Funding provided by Interface’s Inward Investment Catalyst Fund permitted the material characterization of the original polymer and suggestions for efficiency improvements to be carried out by the University of Strathclyde. 

Evolve Hydrogen Ltd provided samples and previous technical data to the University’s research staff, who performed the physical and electrochemical characterisation required as part of Evolve’s aim to achieve TRL 4 (Technology Readiness Level) status. Dr Edward Brightman and his team of electrochemical engineers used their expertise to create a specialised test cell. They also demonstrated the knowledge and the flexibility to adjust the research scope to address new questions of the materials being analysed.   

The work performed by the team of electrochemical engineers successfully characterised the original polymer material and suggested material and dimensional changes to improve the efficiencies of Evolve Hydrogen’s technology. 

The Future 

Evolve Hydrogen Ltd is committed to working with the University of Strathclyde because of their demonstrated level of professionalism, knowledge, creative thought, and the working relationship that has been established.  The University, the Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC), and their industrial partners plan to collaborate for the testing of future prototypes and the fabrication of Minimal Viable Products for Evolve Hydrogen’s demonstrations.  They are seeking joint funding together to support an R&D pathway towards commercialisation in Scotland. 

The Benefits 

• The benefit of this project is to further the development of a novel green hydrogen production technology and to commercialise the technology in Scotland.  

• Decarbonization of transportation and many industrial processes with the integration of Evolve’s technology throughout Scotland.   

• Development of future strategic partnerships with key industry players in manufacturing, polymer production, and hydrogen end users such as offshore wind farms, utilities, and the transportation sector. 

• With the global demand for electrolysers far exceeding the supply Evolve see a tremendous growth in exports of their technology for Scotland starting in 2024. 

This project benefitted from the Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund.  The Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund launched by Interface and the Scottish Government promotes Scotland as a leading destination for inward investment and supports businesses not yet located in Scotland but seeking to establish stronger ties with academia here.  As well as funding research and development it provides an opportunity for the company to establish relationships and give insight into other aspects of the Scottish landscape, such as further investment opportunities, supply chains and the skills base to strengthen the case for investing in Scotland.