A grant of £49,887.53 from Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership’s Innovating for Success scheme has unlocked a flagship research and development project for Delkia, who are based in Whitehaven, Egremont and Preston.
Delkia provides some of the most complex, high performing control systems
in the UK. In its 11th year, the company, which operates in highly regulated sectors including nuclear, aerospace and maritime, is on track to make £10m+ in revenue.
Project Bumblebee, at a total cost of £99,775, is their first research and development project. It is focussed on developing a technology that will allow the rapid development of safe, vehicle control systems for submarines, ships, aircraft and other complex defence and commercial systems, as Pete Hudson, Delkia's R&D Manager explained:
“We used the investment to take Bumblebee to a proof-of-concept demonstrator, using a remote-controlled submarine. The Cumbria LEP grant has helped us to establish the Bumblebee team and to buy essential computing and equipment.
“The project also provided a stipend to a Masters student from the Lancaster University School of Data Science, and provided a summer placement for an aerospace engineering graduate from the University of Central Lancashire. To help us embed data science skills into our business, Bumblebee also saw us fund a project with the National Innovation Centre for Data at Newcastle University.
“Project Bumblebee, has allowed us to turn our innovative idea into intellectual property and add value to our rapidly growing company,” added Pete.
Jo Lappin, Chief Executive of the Cumbria LEP, said: “It is great to see the difference that the Innovating for Success grant programme has made with Delkia’s project Bumblebee. This is an excellent example of why we launched Innovating for Success. It was to encourage small and medium sized businesses across Cumbria to invest in either innovating or decarbonising their business.”
The LEP’s ‘Innovating for Success’ grant was launched in September 2022. It has resulted in dozens of businesses being awarded a share of a £1 million grant to either support innovation or cut carbon emissions. Grants were split into two areas:
● Innovation: Maximum grants of up to £50,000 to part fund initiatives that turn new ideas into commercially viable and deliverable propositions.
● Carbon reduction: Maximum grants of up to £20,000 to part fund practical projects that will help businesses reduce energy usage or increase renewable energy production.
Independent economic assessment by the LEP has confirmed that over a 10-year period, the Innovating for Success investments will deliver an additional £37 million of economic growth, create an additional 97 full time equivalent jobs and save over 4,160 tonnes of CO2.
For more information about CLEP’s grants and support for businesses visit https://www.thecumbrialep.co.uk/