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The doors open on a new multi million pound research facility for biofuels, brewing science and food and drink processing at The University of Nottingham on Friday 21 October 2011. This building has been created to advance innovative and sustainable solutions for the benefit of industry.
The Bioenergy and Brewing Science Building on the University’s Sutton Bonington Campus will feature a new state of the art micro-brewery – small in comparison with SABMiller’s new £2m pilot plant which is also housed in the building – but the biggest research facility of its kind in the country.
The new building will also be home to one of the six BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre research programmes, set up to develop sustainable bioenergy fuels from industrial and agricultural waste materials. The new food processing facility, equipped with everything from a bakery to the latest analytical equipment, will support the food industry in its quest to develop new products from conception to consumption.
The official opening of this distinctive new building, partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is one of the highlights in the launch of the University’s biggest ever fund raising campaign. Impact: The Nottingham Campaign aims to raise £150m over the next five years to transform research, enrich the student experience and enable the University to make a greater contribution to the communities it serve: http://tiny.cc/UoNImpact
Katherine Smart, Professor of Brewing Science, said: “The state of the art facilities housed in the new Bioenergy and Brewing Science Building will provide an excellent foundation for the development of innovative technologies for the global and regional brewing, food and bioenergy sectors. This would not have been possible without significant investment from the ERDF, SABMiller, BBSRC and the University for which I am very grateful.”
The Food and Biofuel Innovation Centre is housed within the building and is open to businesses across the East Midlands. In particular, small and medium sized enterprises are being invited to make use of the expertise, technology and other facilities within the building to develop new products and improve their competitive edge.
Together with the Food and Drink iNnovation Network (iNET) scientists are already working with a Nottinghamshire cheese maker to examine what gives blue cheeses their distinctive taste, texture and smell. And the Derbyshire Brewers’ Collective is hoping the University can find a way of tracking the thousands of beer casks that go missing every year.
The building will be officially opened by SABMiller Chief Executive Graham Mackay. There will be an address by The Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, Professor David Greenaway, and a response from Andrew Morgan Head of the ERDF East Midlands Programme Delivery Team.
Professor David Greenaway said: “The research, development and demonstration which will be carried out within this new building have the potential to be transformational and far-reaching on a local, national and international level.”
The opening will take place at 11.10am at The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD.
Guinness World Record for sustainable energy generation
In celebration of the University’s search for innovative energy technologies the week-long campaign launch will end at 6.30pm on Friday 21 October with what is hoped to be new Guinness World Record for sustainable energy generation. The 24 hours row will take place in the Great Hall at the Trent Building.
Staff and students, largely comprising the University of Nottingham Boat Club, will attempt to set a world record for the most electricity generation in a 24 hour period using human power alone.
The athletes will have to produce more than 10KW hours of electricity using five modified Concept 2 rowing machines attached to electricity generators. This is roughly the same amount of electricity a small family home would consume in a 24 hour period.
The goal is to raise awareness of how much effort is required to produce electricity in terms of human effort.
To watch the results live go to:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/impactcampaign/campaignpriorities/sustainablefutures/world-record-attempt.aspx
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