Impact case study database

Route to impact: 16 years of strategic interaction

Founded in 1946, Element Six is a global leader in the design, development and production of synthetic diamond and tungsten carbide supermaterials. It comprises two businesses, Technologies and Abrasives, with the synthetic diamond business forming part of Element Six Technologies, which operates production and technical facilities in Santa Clara, California and in Ascot, UK. The company is acknowledged as a major player in the synthetic diamond market, which was valued at around USD17,000,000,000 in 2016 and expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% between 2016 and 2021 [ S1].

Since 2004, when Strathclyde researchers contacted Element Six to discuss diamond quality and laser performance, Strathclyde research has underpinned impact realised by Element Six and its customers through active collaboration with the company on diamond product lines, and by developing new technologies and processes subsequently used and commercialised by Element Six. This collaboration is confirmed by the Chief Technologist at Element Six, who notes that:

‘Element Six have worked closely with Strathclyde for over a decade on optimising the optical properties of single crystal diamond. This joint research effort has been very important to Element Six in increasing our interactions with photonics and related companies in the UK and world-wide. These interactions have in turn driven sales and investment at Element Six.’ [ S2]

Strathclyde research has contributed to impact in three areas:

• The development of diamond products for photonics as well as the markets for these products, leading to commercial benefits for Element Six;

• The enabling of strategic investment in commercial R&D, leading to job creation and commercial benefits;

• The underpinning of product development between commercial partners, leading to new collaborations and markets for Element Six.

Impact 1: Commercial benefits from new products and markets

Collaborative research with Strathclyde has enabled Element Six to introduce new chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond product lines to address markets in areas including:

• Intracavity cooling elements for solid state disk lasers to enable higher power systems [ R3];

• Intracavity coolers for semiconductor disk lasers, improving longevity and efficiency [ R1- R3];

• Raman crystals for frequency shifting of established laser systems [ R4, R5].

[Text removed for publication] This has contributed to a 95% growth in Element Six Technologies’ annual turnover between 2016 and 2019 [ S3]. Overall, Element Six Technologies’ sales are approximately 30% to the UK, 50% to Europe and 20% to the rest of the world [ S3]. Much of the material has been sold for incorporation into advanced devices for the lasers, spectroscopy, semiconductor processing, biomedical optics and defence/ aerospace markets [ S4]. This, in turn, has raised Element Six’s industry reputation. As the Chief Technologist at Element Six notes:

‘Element Six have gained a globally leading understanding of the impact and role diamond can have in the field of semiconductor and Raman lasers from collaborating with Strathclyde. This has helped us increase our interactions with a range of significant companies in the UK and worldwide. Customers often point to the joint Element Six/Strathclyde research as a key reason why they are switching to diamond in their photonic products.’ [ S2]

Diamond Pure Optics is a product line launched by Element Six in 2015. In an innovative approach that allows these components to operate at 10 times the laser power density of their predecessors, Element Six use an innovative antireflection structure etched onto the diamond surface [ S5] using an etch based on that pioneered at Strathclyde [ R6]. Element Six are working with manufacturers in the high-power lasers market to incorporate these diamond components into high-power laser products aimed at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, materials processing, directed energy and imaging applications [ S5].

M Squared Lasers Ltd, a Glasgow-based company with a longstanding heritage in the development of semiconductor disk laser systems, is one company utilising Element Six diamond components in their products. M Squared’s CEO notes that:

‘*The presence of Element Six in our supply chain represents a valuable commercial partner. One of the outcomes of our extensive collective discussions with them has been continued improvement in the absorption and birefringence specifications of their material, ultimately outperforming the best available competing transparent heatspreader devices.*’ [ S6]

M Squared has two semiconductor disk lasers product lines that use intracavity diamond. The Dragonfly, a compact modelocked ultrashort pulse laser optimised as a source for multiphoton microscopy, and the Infinite, a continuous wave narrow linewidth laser, targeted towards applications in cold atom physics. These products, directed towards the important and growing life science and quantum technology markets respectively, both have the potential to be marketed at scale [ S6].

Impact 2: Strategic investment in commercialisation infrastructure

In July 2013, Element Six opened the [Text removed for publication] Global Innovation Centre (GIC) at Harwell, Oxfordshire, the ‘world’s largest and most sophisticated synthetic diamond research and development facility’ [ S7]. This 5000m² facility now employs over 100 scientists and technologists, bringing together and expanding Element Six’s global R&D capability in one integrated site [ S2]. The GIC allows Element Six to partner with customers to rapidly design, manufacture and test market-ready diamond components, improving performance, increasing productivity, and reducing cost for the customer company. Strathclyde was the lead partner in bringing laser applications expertise to Element Six, and thereby played an important role in the decision to establish the GIC, as explained by the Chief Technologist at Element Six:

‘one of the key reasons Element Six [Text removed for publication] set up the GIC in the UK was the quality of the UK research base in diamond science. Strathclyde is one of a core of five UK universities with whom Element Six has cultivated long term relationships that enabled and continue to support our GIC investment. Strathclyde research has supported the expansion of our optics and photonics business and helped underpin our GIC investments in this area, including a team of [Text removed for publication] scientists and technologists working on CVD diamond.’ [ S2]

Strathclyde has continued to contribute to GIC activities through the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Diamond Science and Technology, as one of eight university partners. The CDT has been a key source of both research support for Element Six and of highly skilled staff once its students graduate. [Text removed for publication]

Impact 3: Product development and collaboration between industry partners

The ability that the GIC gives Element Six to rapidly prototype new diamond technologies – working with both prime manufacturers and SMEs in the relevant applications areas to drive both the technology and the market – is exemplified in two areas that build on Strathclyde diamond etch research [ R6]: the development of diamond components for cutting-edge systems for EUV lithography in computer chip manufacture [ S8], and the nurturing of the nascent quantum technologies industry [ S9]. In both cases, Element Six are actively working with companies in the relevant areas on product development.

Element Six have built on the successful Diamond Pure Optics range of components for high power lasers [Text removed for publication].

The precision diamond etching capability has also contributed to Element Six’s role in underpinning the creation of SMEs and products from those SMEs in the quantum technology sector [ S9]. Precision etching is vital to the manufacture of diamond devices for quantum technology. [Text removed for publication] This has put Element Six at the centre of the commercialisation of diamond quantum technologies, developing products with, and selling material to, companies including start-ups like Qnami and NVision, as well as manufacturers like Lockhead-Martin, Bosch and Thales [ S9].

As the Chief Technologist at Element Six notes: ‘these are exciting new commercial partnerships and new markets for Element Six in EUV lithography and quantum technology. They are driven by the interaction of our in-house expertise and university research, with the Strathclyde diamond etch research being a vital part of that’ [ S2].

From research to impact

The intra-pulse spectroscopy technique described, allowing for interference-free operation to be achieved in multi-pass optical cells, was patented by the University of Strathclyde in 2003 ( A semiconductor diode arrangement, GB0208100.8, Semiconductor diode laser spectrometer arrangement and method, US Patent 7,283,243, 2007). The patent was subsequently assigned to Cascade Technologies Ltd, a company established by Erwan Normand, a former doctoral student of Langford’s, in 2003 [ S1]. As noted by Cascade Technologies’ Lead Technologist:

‘*This allowed Cascade Technologies to become the first supplier of quantum cascade laser-based spectrometers capable of making trace gas measurements.*’ [ S2]

The company went on to develop instrumentation that has been applied to many different gas sensing markets. During the period 1 August 2013 – 31 December 2020, a range of impacts have been realised:

• Economic impact of Cascade Technologies – new product development, sales turnover, creation of high-quality high-tech jobs and market development via trade sale of company

• Adoption of Cascade Technologies emissions monitoring products by customers across a range of industry sectors, with associated economic and environmental impacts.

Impact 1: Economic impact of Cascade Technologies

Cascade Technologies’ strength in a variety of different markets contributed to the decision of US-based electronics manufacturer Emerson to purchase the company in 2014 for GBP37,000,000 [ S3]. This gave Emerson access to a range of sensors operating in the mid-infrared, a wavelength range that their existing products didn’t cover, thereby strengthening their position as a manufacturer of sensing systems. The purchase has also granted Cascade Technologies, as a subsidiary of Emerson, further access to global markets, increasing the reach of the technology underpinned by Strathclyde research.

The growth of Cascade Technologies has benefitted the UK economy and led to the employment of highly skilled graduate-level staff. Table 1 shows the company’s growth from March 2013 to September 2020 [ S4a, b]. Note the 18-month reporting period from March 2015 to September 2016 and that figures for year to 30 September 2020 are estimates. Aggregated turnover in the period amounted to approximately GBP62,500,000, with staff doubling from 43 in 2014 to 85 in 2019.

Table 2, provides a representative breakdown of Cascade Technologies’ turnover by geographical region for the financial year ending September 2018 [ S2], illustrating the global reach of the company’s products.

For the same period, two key market sectors were [Text removed for publication] (turnover GBP4,723,800) and aerosol leak detection (turnover GBP2,237,881), with sales into marine contract equipment manufacturers an emerging market sector for the company. In addition, approximately GBP3,000,000 of turnover related to service and maintenance contracts [ S2]. The impact that these sales enable for Cascade Technologies’ customers are discussed further in the following section.

The compact nature, sensitivity and speed at which signals are generated (<0.1s) by Cascade Technologies’ sensors have seen these instruments sold to a variety of different markets, including the shipping, automotive, aerosol and food packing industries, where they are used to ensure that companies meet the strict emission guidelines set out by EU and US regulatory bodies. In this way Cascade Technologies’ products contribute to effective environmental pollution and manufacturing process monitoring, with resulting positive impacts on production, on compliance with environmental regulation and on the environment.

With the rise of global environmental consciousness, including the need to restrict greenhouse gases, global regulations on vehicle exhaust emissions have become more stringent, demanding reductions of several pollutants notably nitrogen oxides (NOx including NO, NO₂ and N₂O) and ammonia NH₃. Industry therefore has a need for easy and accurate measurement of these gases in vehicle emissions.

The ease with which Cascade Technologies’ frequency chirped system can be integrated with gas handling lines has seen this instrumentation become an integral component of combustion engine exhaust monitoring systems [Text removed for publication]. [Text removed for publication] [ S5] systems, which utilise multiple QCL sources of varying mid-IR wavelengths to provide simultaneous analysis of the multiple NOx pollutants, are sold to a range of companies across the automotive supply chain including all global car manufacturers, tier one suppliers, fuel companies and catalyst manufacturers that perform engine tests [ S6]. [Text removed for publication]

Emissions associated with global shipping fleets are significant contributors to global warming. The ability of the intra-pulse spectroscopy technique to give rapid species-specific information in a compact footprint has seen the technology adopted for the monitoring of smoke stack emissions from ships. The sensors developed by Cascade Technologies are used to ensure that the companies that have purchased the instrumentation meet the strict emission guidelines set out by EU and USA regulatory bodies.

To this end, in September 2019 Cascade Technologies signed an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with [Text removed for publication] [ S2], one of the world’s largest maritime emissions monitoring companies, to provide instrumentation capable of the simultaneous detection of emissions from up to eight species including SO₂, CO₂, NO, NO₂, CH₄, CO, O₂ and NH₃. The resulting [Text removed for publication] systems incorporating Cascade Technologies products are recognised and accepted by various bodies, including the American Bureau of Shipping, the Korean Register, Lloyds Register, DNV-GL (a major industry accredited registrar and classification society) and the European Union for its Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) requirements [ S7].

In addition to the OEM supply of spectroscopy components for emissions monitoring described above, Cascade Technologies also develops full monitoring systems primarily for environmental process monitoring. The company’s CT2210 Micro Leak Detector system offers a simple cost-effective approach to detecting defective aerosol cans when compared with the competing approaches of monitoring bubbles in water baths, using acoustic sensors or flame ionisation detectors. It can operate on production lines running at up to 500 cans per minute compared with the 200 cans per minute limitation of conventional systems. The system satisfies the leak detection performance requirements as specified by the Fédération Européenne des Aérosols (FEA) in its FEA Waterbath Alternative Guidelines, and has been certified to comply with EU transport regulations [ S8].

With some 3 billion aerosol cans produced annually in the US alone, the success of the CT2210 Micro Leak Detector in improving the productivity of aerosol manufacturers has led to this technology becoming embedded in the production lines of all major aerosol manufacturers [Text removed for publication] [ S2]. The system was highly commended in the Process Safety and Training category of the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association annual awards in 2019 [ S9].

Furthermore, the simplicity and robustness of the instrumentation makes it well suited for use in the food packing industry, where concerns about food quality, level of ripeness and the airtightness of packaging have led to the adoption of Cascade Technologies’ instrumentation in this sector. The Rosemount CT 4215 Packaging Leak Detection System marketed by Emerson [ S10] is a modified version of the Cascade Technologies CT2211 Microleak Detection System and has been used for leak detection in a variety of food processing industries ranging from brewing to dairy at speeds of up to 200 packs per minute. The primary market is food packaged in a protective atmosphere, such as fresh meat, dried meat (for example beef jerky) and cheese [ S2].

In summary, the impacts realised in the period 1 August 2013 – 30 December 2020 encompass not only the economic impacts of Cascade as a successful technology company – new products, sales and employment – and the economic impacts of both their OEM and end-product customer companies, but also the efficiency and cost savings, plus the safety, regulatory compliance and environmental improvements that result from the use of Cascade products.

Co-founded by David Birch and incorporated in 1977 as a spin-out from Strathclyde, IBH Ltd was acquired by multinational company HORIBA in 2003 to form HORIBA Jobin Yvon IBH Ltd (HORIBA-IBH), bringing together IBH’s leading technology in pulsed fluorescence lifetime systems and HORIBA steady-state fluorescence systems to produce a joint product line [ S1]. The success of the IBH acquisition helped trigger HORIBA’s 2014 acquisition of Photon Technology Inc. David Birch served as IBH Chairman from 1977 to 2003 and subsequently as HORIBA-IBH Director of Science and Technology. Through this route, the body of research described has:

• Expanded the commercial success of HORIBA-IBH, through new products, improved product performance, and wider application of fluorescence lifetime instrumentation across a number of sectors but particularly in underpinning healthcare

• Enabled economic growth, including contributing to HORIBA achieving and maintaining the leading position in the global fluorescence spectroscopy market

• Facilitated global multidisciplinary research through enhanced capabilities for users

• Supported fluorescence research communities globally, with international training workshops and the founding of a fluorescence journal

Impact 1: New and improved products

Strathclyde’s research has been a major influence on HORIBA-IBH’s product development [ S2] and has enabled the company to introduce fluorescence products, both optical source components and full systems, utilising semiconductor optical sources that combine lower cost, improved reliability, enhanced repetition rate (up to 100MHz) and better spectral coverage than the previously used spark discharge sources. R1 and R2, which described these developments, were noted in world-leading expert Joseph Lakowicz’s 2006 Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy (3^rd Edition) as ‘perhaps the most important development for TCSPC since 2000.’

The NanoLED range of sources, with repetition rates up to 1MHz, was introduced from 2000, with the UV version launched in 2004, followed by the DeltaDiode range in 2013. At launch, the DeltaDiode’s repetition rate of up to 100MHz, combined with pulse durations of ~100-200ps, was the highest available in the field. Improved time resolution enables lifetimes down to 5ps to be measured with TCSPC [ S3], facilitating a better understanding of transient dynamics in solids, liquids, colloids and polymers on the nanometre scale. The reduction in timing electronics dead time to 10ns combined with the 100MHz DeltaDiode has enabled fluorescence decays to be measured in ms rather than seconds [ S3], opening up application in the analysis of transient samples. The main commercial and application benefits have been achieved through integration of these semiconductor sources in complete fluorescence lifetime systems such as the present range of DeltaFlex, DeltaPro and DeltaTime dedicated lifetime systems, introduced around 2013 and hybrid lifetime versions of the Fluorolog and FluoroMax steady-state fluorimeters [ S1].

Compared with previous technologies and systems, these products are very user friendly with largely turnkey operation, benefiting from features such as a touchscreen software interface as well as the ease of use and reliability of the semiconductor sources. This has significantly widened market appeal by attracting non-specialist users, with HORIBA-IBH fluorescence products now employed across healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical, material sciences, nanotechnology and energy research, in both academic and commercial settings.

Recent product development has resulted in a fully integrated spectroscopy-microscopy laboratory suite incorporating the single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) research described in [ R3]. FLIMera, the HORIBA-IBH new SPAD FLIM molecular movie camera, launched at Photonics West in February 2020, enables, for the first time, video rate live cell FLIM, benefiting applications such as cancer screening and fluorescence guided surgery. A leading expert in fluorescence from Texas Christian University (TCU) has described this work as ‘ground-breaking …. this new contribution has the potential to revolutionize biomedical imaging, enabling truly live imaging of various cellular processes’ [ S4]. When awarding the FLIMera its 2019 Business Innovation Award, the Institute of Physics described it as ‘game changing technology’ [ S5].

Impact 2: Economic impact, market leading product sales

HORIBA-IBH’s product innovation has led to considerable and ongoing economic success for the business. Sales figures presented here are obtained from reputable and independent market reports from Strategic Directions International (SDI) [ S6], supplemented by market share information provided by the company [ S2]. From SDI data on the global fluorescence spectroscopy market (wider than the lifetime fluorescence market), HORIBA corporately has the largest market share, growing from 16% of USD152,000,000 i.e. USD24,300,000 (04-2013) in 2013 to a projected 22% of USD186,000,000 i.e. USD40,900,000 (04-2020) in 2020 (nearest competitor at 13% market share). Turning to the global lifetime fluorescence segment of the market, this is consistently the fastest growing segment and SDI consistently record HORIBA as the major player in the segment. [Text removed for publication] This growth is also evidenced by the HORIBA-IBH’s annual reports which show net assets growing from GBP465,000 to GBP725,000 over the REF period, a growth of 56% [ S7].

As a result of sales growth, HORIBA-IBH, which undertakes all of HORIBA’s lifetime fluorescence product design, manufacturing and sales support functions in Glasgow, moved to new premises, increasing its space in 2015 from 4,800sq ft to 6,660sq ft. [Text removed for publication] HORIBA-IBH is part of HORIBA Scientific which internationally expanded into new premises in New Jersey, USA, in 2018 by 90% to 132,000sq ft.

Impact 3: Facilitating global multidisciplinary research and development

HORIBA-IBH’s market reflects the international nature of the fluorescence spectroscopy market which is approximately evenly split across North America, Europe and Asia with China the fastest growing market [ S6]. The company has over 1000 customer sites world-wide which span industry, government laboratories and academia [ S2, S4] reflecting the market sector breakdown across pharma/biotech (41%), applied (27%), public sector (20%), industrial (12%) sectors [ S6]. Experts in the field and users describe HORIBA-IBH products as ‘a major leap in technology’ that provide ‘outstanding performance combined with ease of use’ and are ‘used by leading laboratories all over the world’ [ S4].

Impact 4: Supporting fluorescence research communities, industrial and academic

Strathclyde and HORIBA’s roles at the forefront of the sector have led to a range of activities supporting communications across academia and industry, and providing training to increase fluorescence R&D capacity internationally; these include:

• First launched in 2009 and sponsored by HORIBA (enabling nominal cost or free registration), FluoroFest is a series of international hands-on training workshops. Five FluoroFest workshops have taken place around the world since August 2013, consistently attracting around 100 delegates from industry and academia [ S2, S8].

• A Photophysics CPD course was launched at Czech Technical University, Prague, in 2013, when it ran over 6 days, and rerun in 2017 over 3 days, each with approximately 25 attendees

• Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP), launched the journal Methods and Applications in Fluorescence (MAF) in 2013, with David Birch as founding co-editor in chief, a position he still holds. IOPP’s decision to launch the journal was based in part on their strong connection to Strathclyde’s Photophysics Group through the latter’s publications in IOPP journals [e.g. R1, R2]. An associated MAF international conference series, launched biennially in 1989 and annually in 2019, is now the world’s largest fluorescence conference. Both the journal and conference are heavily supported by industry and HORIBA is always a major sponsor.

From research to impact – foundations and ongoing

Strathclyde and Fraunhofer IAF’s successful research collaboration on semiconductor disk lasers emitting at 2μm [ R2] laid the foundation for a wide-ranging and strategic partnership between Strathclyde and Fraunhofer IAF’s parent organisation Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (FhG), resulting in 2012 in the incorporation of the UK’s first Fraunhofer Centre, the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (Fh-CAP). From FhG’S perspective, a vital precondition for the foundation of Fh-CAP was the strong alignment of research, technology and application interests and capabilities of the two organisations, notably across the spectrum of research areas described in Section 2.

This is highlighted in the figure (left), based on one in initial planning documents for the partnership, which shows the complementary compet-encies of the partner organisations. References to the outputs cited in Section 3 have been added. Fh-CAP’s Executive Director confirms [ S1] that while Strathclyde’s collaboration with Fraunhofer IAF on 2μm semiconductor lasers was an important initial focus, the establishment of Fh-CAP was predicated ‘on the wider Strathclyde research base in, for example, lasers, optoelectronics and life science applications. This Strathclyde expertise not only seeded the foundation of Fh-CAP through both knowledge and personnel transfer from Strathclyde, it continues to form a core part of the R&D competency that underpins the impact we generate with partner companies.’ [ S1]

A number of features of Fh-CAP’s operating model continue to support and encourage ongoing research collaboration with Strathclyde. Fh-CAP facilities have, since its establishment, been located on-campus, and are currently co-located with the University’s Institute of Photonics. Staff transfer between the organisations is encouraged. Initially, the 6 founding Fh-CAP employees transferred from Strathclyde and today 16.5FTE Fh-CAP staff, of a total 34FTE, are former Strathclyde staff or research students [ S1]. Further, Prof Dawson holds a joint appointment, serving 0.5FTE as Head of Centre at Fh-CAP.

Since 2014, Fh-CAP has committed some GBP664,000 in part support for 5 research fellowship positions at Strathclyde as part of a key programme to underpin their internal R&D activities, and ongoing impact creation, via continuing links back into the underpinning Strathclyde research base. Highlights include prestigious, externally validated, awards of a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in laser engineering and Senior Research Fellowship in chip-scale photonics, an EPSRC Innovation Fellowship in digitally modulated light and single photon detection and a UKRI Turing AI Acceleration Fellowship in neuromorphic photonics.

Through the establishment of, and ongoing research collaboration with, Fh-CAP, Strathclyde underpinning research has contributed to impact in three areas:

• Influence on Government innovation policy and increased UK innovation infrastructure

• Economic impact of Fh-CAP as a commercial business – income generation and creation of high-quality, high-tech jobs

• Increased R&D capability of, and new product development by, Fh-CAP partners and customers across several industry sectors

Impact 1: Government innovation policy and innovation infrastructure

Fh-CAP was established as a joint venture between FhG and Strathclyde, with additional public sector investment from the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise (SE) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). A total investment of GBP8,700,000 from these bodies, including [Text removed for publication] foreign direct investment from FhG, provided a 5-year core funding package for Fh-CAP during its start-up period (2012-2017). Scottish public sector institutional investment in the establishment of Fh-CAP represents a significant policy statement in terms of support for innovation in Scotland’s vibrant photonics and quantum technology sector. By choosing to provide support for an intermediary organisation with the mission and expertise to bridge the gap between UK academic excellence in photonics and this dynamic industry sector, government demonstrated a commitment to the ambitions of the influential Hauser and Dyson reviews of 2010, both of which called for enhanced infrastructural mechanisms to accelerate the transfer of technology to industry.

Fh-CAP quickly demonstrated its effectiveness in the technology intermediary role, with a 2019 independent review on behalf of the Scottish Government noting that the organisation had met, or was on target to meet, its government set development targets to 2020, including exceeding its target for industry funding to 2019, as a result of its ‘high-quality work, its continued success in engaging with companies, and the high level of repeat business it achieves.’ [ S2]

The success of the Fh-CAP approach is further confirmed by the Chief Executive of industry organisation Technology Scotland, which represents around 120 organisations across the enabling technologies sector including photonics and quantum technology, who commented that ‘Fh-CAP has partnered with a significant number of our member organisations on applied R&D projects here in Scotland, in addition to their projects across the UK and beyond. ….. Fh-CAP is now an integral part of the Scottish innovation landscape, helping to enhance the output of the photonics sector and accelerating the pull through of technology by our member companies.’[ S3]

Fh-CAP has also taken on a significant role in the training of highly skilled doctoral students who go on to provide a key staffing pool for the Scotland photonics and quantum technology cluster in particular, and UK high-tech manufacturing more generally. Fh-CAP has invested GBP1,460,000 in training 39 doctoral students since August 2013, the majority (29) based in Fh-CAP, and the balance based in collaborating university research teams across 4 universities [ S1]. As of December 2020, 14 students have graduated with 9 going on to work in the UK photonics industry (including 3 now staff members at Fh-CAP) and 2 in the EU photonics industry. The remaining 3 are working in UK and EU academia and research facilities. The University Liaison & Emerging Technology Manager at technology and aerospace company Leonardo acknowledges the vital contribution to the training of the future workforce at PhD and EngD levels and notes: ‘the Fraunhofer CAP students we have recruited have an excellent and wide skill set, not just technical, and are making an important contribution to our business. ’ [ S4]

Impact 2: Economic impact of Fraunhofer CAP as a commercial business

Trading as part of Fraunhofer Research UK Ltd, a company limited by guarantee also established in Glasgow in 2012 to act as the UK headquarters for Fraunhofer activities, Fh-CAP has directly created economic impact throughout the REF impact assessment period through income generation from technology development activities funded by a range of commercial and public partners and the creation of high quality, high-tech jobs.

Fh-CAP occupies a 700sqm facility within Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre, 50% of which is high-quality optics, laser and electronics lab facilities. Employment has grown from 9 staff in August 2013 to 34 staff in December 2020, 25 of whom are trained to a doctoral level [ S1].

As a business, Fh-CAP’s turnover has grown year on year since August 2013, with 2020 turnover from contracted R&D for industrial benefit reaching GBP3,000,000. [Text removed for publication] In the same period, Fh-CAP has worked on 151 projects involving 116 companies, including 60 direct R&D contracts with companies and 40 Innovate UK programmes. The total value of these projects is GBP87,000,000, GBP19,200,000 of which came to Fh-CAP [ S1].

Impact 3: Impact created by Fraunhofer CAP’s partners and customers

In addition to its direct economic impact as a commercial organisation, Fh-CAP activities contribute to the creation of significant impact for a wide range of partners and customers across several industry sectors including quantum technologies, renewable energy and healthcare. One key impact has been to bring R&D capability that companies are unable to support in-house, enabling greater innovation in the SME-dominated photonics sector [ S3]. Further, impacts span many areas, including business benefits such as impact on company strategy, product development, employment and sales, as well as downstream impacts on the environment and contributions to health and well-being.

A 2020 independent review of Fh-CAP included a detailed economic impact assessment utilising established Scottish Enterprise Impact Appraisal and Evaluation Guidance. Starting with a detailed survey of Fh-CAP’s customers in Scotland, the conclusions are as follows [ S5]:

• Approximately 70% of companies reported that collaboration with Fh-CAP had enabled them to secure public sector funding to support their R&D.

• On average, projects undertaken in collaboration with Fh-CAP moved from technology readiness level (TRL) 2 to TRL 6.

• Within the period 2013-2020, collaborations with Fh-CAP have resulted in additional turnover of GBP27,100,000 for Scottish companies, equating to a total net Gross Value Add (GVA) to the economy of GBP2,660,000; noting that some 50% of Fh-CAP’s partners are Scottish-based [ S1], this allows an estimate of total additional turnover for all Fh-CAP partners of GBP55,000,000 and a total net GVA of GBP5,300,000.

• Further the majority of this additional turnover, estimated at 78%, is from sales outside the UK: engagement with Fh-CAP is enabling its customers to operate effectively in global markets.

The following examples give a flavour of the range and depth of impact realised to date by Fh-CAP’s customers and partners.

A series of projects with Scottish company Optocap Ltd (now part of European company Alter Technology) brought together Fh-CAP’s laser design expertise and Alter’s manufacturing capability to enable new products, in particular a new class of semiconductor lasers for quantum technology applications, the FLAME and REMOTE series, launched in 2019. This represents a significant change in the company’s strategy from service provider to also being a product manufacturer, which would not have happened without the partnership with Fh-CAP. The market for the lasers is as a critical OEM component in optical clocks, accelerometers, and quantum computers. Now selling units internationally, the partnership has enabled Alter to secure a minimum of 5 high value jobs along with Innovate UK funding totalling GBP27,900,000 (to all partners), allowing them to further improve performance and expand wavelength coverage [ S6].

[Text removed for publication] [ S7].

The detection of hydrogen is of crucial importance in the nuclear industry, one requirement being as a mechanism for remote condition monitoring in long-term (~100 years) nuclear materials storage, where conditions preclude the use of man-portable sniffing detectors. The ability to do this has significant health and safety, environmental protection and cost benefits, including reducing costs to the tax payer. Developed under the nuclear industry’s Game Changers Innovation Programme [ S8], a collaboration with Sellafield Ltd resulted in the proof-of-concept demonstration in 2019 of a Raman spectroscopy based system providing remote 3-dimensional mapping of hydrogen concentrations down to 0.05% at distances of up to 100m. These trials informed system design and the refinement of internal procedures. The system was actively deployed into a nuclear material store at Sellafield in February 2020 [ S9]. This is the first active deployment of technology resulting from the Game Changer programme.