European funding of £6.7million has meant a planned innovation centre for the development of renewable energy technologies can now go ahead.
The cash is for the Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) at Strathclyde University, for which funding of £89million had already been secured from organisations including Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Funding Council.
The university, alongside industry partners, aims to more than double the scale of research investment from £70million to more than £150million over the next five years and create up to 500 new research, technology and engineering jobs.
The £6.7million funding comes from the Lowlands and Uplands European Regional Development Fund.
The TIC forms part of the International Technology and Renewable Energy Zone in Glasgow, led by Strathclyde University.
It aims to “provide Scotland with a research and knowledge exchange facility that will allow industry to work with academic groups, researchers, engineers and graduates in a shared location to develop research concepts through to commercialisation”.
It will have a particular focus on renewable energy and related low carbon technologies.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “Scotland leads the world in renewable energy, with astounding green energy potential and vast natural resources, and we have a responsibility to make sure our nation seizes this opportunity to create tens of thousands of new jobs and secure billions of pounds of investment in our economy.
“International corporations and domestic firms are investing for the future in Scotland’s world leading renewables industry, and an industry report has shown that there are already 11,000 jobs in renewables in Scotland.
“The work that will take place at the TIC will help us build on this, developing the innovative technologies which will help us ensure generations to come benefit from Scotland’s green energy revolution.”
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