A new initiative has been launched to help developers bridge the so-called commercial ‘valley of death’ in the UK.
PP Plus, which is being led by PP Control & Automation, will deliver immediate access to specialist expertise and knowledge to help support companies looking to develop and scale green technologies. More than 20 organisations are involved in the biggest growth-support network currently available in the UK, including the likes of Brandauer, Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems, Cleveland Scott York, Product Approvals, Protolabs, Silverstone Technology Cluster and WMG. Together, they will help to take innovators from concept development and prototyping to protecting their IP, contract manufacturing and driving sales through PR and marketing.
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‘PP Plus is all about unlocking and commercialising the ideas that will contribute to a more sustainable future, making UK manufacturing stronger and more successful,’ said Tony Hague, CEO of PP Control & Automation. ‘It is clear that the UK has a wealth of innovative companies that come up with new concepts and ideas that have true commercial potential and the opportunity to scale. However, they simply don’t have the capacity or additional expertise to realise these fantastic ideas.
‘Even if they know where to look for this, they often tie themselves in knots trying to find the right route as the traditional support network is convoluted,’ he continued. ‘We know this first hand from working with companies on innovative new technologies, so felt the best approach was to create our own way forward.
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‘That is where PP Plus was born and the reaction from industry partners, business development strategists and some of the UK’s leading universities has been phenomenal,’ he concluded. ‘We now believe we have everything in place to take potential customers on and through the entire journey.’
The initial focus of PP Plus will be on supporting companies developing solutions for clean energy, future mobility, agritech innovation and machinery/equipment that contribute to a circular economy. This will create sustainable innovations that will answer critical questions about how we’re going to feed ourselves in the future, how we ‘power’ our society and how we travel without destroying our planet.
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The journey starts with a free one-hour discovery session aimed at identifying the next steps and the specialist support required to commercialise and scale-up the technologies. That may see the client access one, two or three of the main pillars (manufacturing, business, academia) covering anything from product approval and manufacturing capabilities to accessing grants and funding, marketing support and collaborative research and testing facilities.
‘PP Plus is a great initiative that meets an ever-present need in the UK to bridge the valley of death, pulling lots of commercial, manufacturing and academic expertise together in one easy-to-access programme,’ said Sara Williams, senior marketing manager at Protolabs. ‘Protolabs is delighted to be one of the founding members and looks forward to working closely with all the partners involved to leverage the collective strength of our knowledge and expertise.’
Further information can be found here.