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WMG was pleased to host a visit from Lord Younger, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Intellectual Property at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Meeting with Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Lord Younger was keen to hear about how WMG develops partnerships with industry and the significant economic benefits of such partnerships. He was also interested to understand the breadth of research undertaken by WMG which leads to the development of innovative products, processes and services.

WMG is a significant partner in the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult. Lord Younger met with , CEO of the who gave an overview of the research that is undertaken through the WMG centre in light technologies and energy innovation. Lord Younger also met with Dick Elsy, Chief Executive, HVM Catapult and Bob Gilbert, Chairman of the HVM Catapult supervisory board, who gave an overview of the HVM Catapult as a whole.

Lord Younger had a tour of WMG’s impressive R&D facilities which included the new , which is a centre of excellence for electric and hybrid vehicle batteries, providing a one-stop-shop for the development of new battery chemistries from concept to fully proven traction batteries, available in sufficient quantities for industrial scale testing. Lord Younger was shown the facility which includes a battery characterisation laboratory, aggressive testing chambers and an electric/hybrid drives test facility, as well as a new, co-funded by government and industry, . There was also an introduction to other key areas of research in composites, automation and additive layer manufacturing (3D Printing).

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya said:

I was pleased to host Lord Younger and show him the breadth of WMG’s research. Energy innovation is the future and through our centre of excellence we will be at the forefront of electric and hybrid battery research. This builds on the impact our research programmes have had on industry and society over the last 34 years.”

Lord Younger comments:

Warwick Manufacturing Group is an international role model for how universities and business can successfully work together. The fact that it is one of the world's leading research groups goes a long way to demonstrating this and to showing how the UK's economy is being rebalanced.

I was delighted to have been given the tour today at this partner centre of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and see their fantastic work first hand. It is yet another example of a national centre of excellence, promoting innovation in collaboration with business. In the last year the HVM Catapult has worked with over one thousand private sector industrial clients and grown to around 1,100 employees which is a magnificent achievement and should be congratulated."