As part of a £780m national package to expand catapult centres across the UK three research and development centres in the West Midlands will receive £270m from the government. Catapult centres bring together business, science and engineering to develop products for market.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry will get £122m, Warwick Manufacturing Group’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult will receive £99m, and the Energy Systems Catapult in Birmingham will get £50m.

Catapults were started in 2011 and operate in areas where significant opportunities have been identified to drive growth. They are designed to fuel innovation across the country as part of the UK’s industrial strategy.

The centres have so far helped create hundreds of new products, services and inventions as they bridge the gap between business and academia by helping to turn ideas into reality. They provide access to world-class research and development facilities and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach for many businesses in the UK.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the funding on a recent visit to the region. The investment provides a five-year funding package to support work in high-tech labs, factories and advanced training centres.

Mr Hammond said: “It is by backing innovative British companies to grow and create jobs that we will continue this progress and build an economy fit for the future.

“Today’s £780m investment will support innovators across the country to create the technologies of the future, and the better, highly-paid jobs we urgently need.”

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