Major funding for retrofit project

Led by the University of Salford in partnership with The University of Manchester, Sustainable Ventures, and the Energy Innovation Agency, The Retrofit Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Centre (RAMMIC) will be funded with a grant from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF).

RAMMIC will receive £8.56 million to explore how we can use advanced materials and manufacturing processes to support the decarbonisation of the estimated 27 million existing homes and 1.8 million non-domestic buildings that require energy efficiency retrofits.

It aims to unlock new market opportunities for businesses while driving progress toward net zero and wider societal benefits, such as improved housing quality, addressing fuel poverty, reducing emissions, and better health outcomes for residents.

The centre will use the Energy House 1 and Energy House 2.0 facilities. The world-leading Energy House 2.0 features two chambers that can test the energy performances of buildings and products in any climate - it has a temperature range of -23°C to 52°C and can recreate wind, rain, snow and solar gain. It is a unique facility that reduces the time taken to collect the data needed to evaluate performance, meaning accurate results have been achieved much more quickly than standard testing, saving time and money. 

The team will be constructing a 1930s house, built by Bree Construction, and a 1980s built by Barratt Redrow with funding provided by Garfield Weston.

The focus of the project will be on innovation. Working with partners Sustainable Ventures and the Energy Innovation Agency, the project will work with innovators to develop retrofit products and services with a view to attracting investment. In addition, the team will address major industry-wide issues such as ventilation and overheating. The project brings together expertise on building performance, systems, energy flexibility, and acoustics from the University of Salford, with its new £24M dedicated Acoustics Building, providing world class laboratories and specialised facilities, as well as air quality and materials expertise from the University of Manchester

Professor Will Swan, of the University of Salford said: “RAMMIC represents a major opportunity for industry to come together with academia and policy makers to help shape the future of retrofit for the built environment. Collaboration is at a heart of Energy House Labs and RAMMIC is built on the principles of generating benefit for a wide range of stakeholders, including the wider industry, policy makers, innovators, and, ultimately, people in their homes.”

The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) is a flagship UK government programme - delivered through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) - investing up to £500 million to strengthen regional innovation economies across the country.

Forming a central pillar of the government's modern Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change, the Fund brings together local leaders, businesses and research organisations to build on regional strengths to create new jobs, drive innovation-led productivity and attract further public and private investment into communities across the UK.