Glass Futures has been awarded a UK government grant to help develop the bid for the proposed centre of excellence. The group was awarded an initial grant by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation group (UKRI) to help prepare a feasibility study for Phase 2. It has received up to £50, 000 earl-stage funding from the Strength in Places Fund (SIPF) to develop a full-stage bid. It is the first time the UK government has publically announced it wold back the Glass Futures project. Glass Futures is a proposed centre of excellence to be built on two sites in the UK. One is an R&D centre at the University of Leeds, the other is a hot glass pilot plant in St Helens. Director and Glass Futures Advisory Board member, Richard Katz, welcomed the award but said there were still significant hurdles to overcome.
