NSG Group is a partner in a £2M part-Government-funded project which aims to turn buildings into "power stations," capable of generating, storing and releasing energy. SPECIFIC - short for Sustainable Product Engineering Centre for Innovative Functional Coatings - will develop and manufacture prototype steel and glass building products, which may then be taken up for large-scale commercial production by the project's industrial partners. "This is a good opportunity that may well lead to us being able to introduce valuable new products into the market," said Chief Technology Officer Phil Ramsey. Seen as a major shift in energy generation for the built environment, the product development in SPECIFIC has the potential to turn into a £1BN UK industry, creating up to 10,000 new jobs in the supply chain, anchoring advanced manufacturing in the UK and providing global export opportunities. Led by Swansea University and based at the Baglan Bay Innovation & Knowledge Centre (IKC), Port Talbot, S Wales, the partnership involves six other university groups, plus multi-nationals such as Tata Steel and BASF. R&D Incubation Portfolio Manager Su Varma will act as liaison between NSG Group and is also sponsoring an Engineering Doctorate within the programme. "We have always looked to the universities as a source of innovation and there is a strong team assembled at Baglan Bay, with around 60 students based there and smaller groups working at other universities. Apart from the Doctorate, we will be contributing our expertise in the relevant technologies and supplying glass samples and substrates for the students to work with. We are also looking forward to the opportunity to work more closely with companies like Tata, exploring the ways that glass and steel can work together in buildings," Phil said. The IKS is backed by £10M funding from the EPSRC and the Technology Strategy Board, £2M from the Welsh Government with the remainder from other sources.
