
Harwell Campus Welcomes Interest in an Innovative Shared Clean Room Facility
Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is inviting expressions of interest from science and technology organisations for access to a potential state-of-the-art clean room facility. This facility would be developed to offer access to high-standard environments that enable innovation and advanced research without the need for substantial infrastructure investments.
Designed to meet ISO 6-8 standards, the facility would be built and managed by Plastron UK and would adhere to European Space Engineering Standards (ECSS) for hardware handling. It will also feature advanced capabilities such as:
- Electrostatic discharge flooring.
- Single and three-phase power supplies.
- Biofilm surface treatments for contamination control.
- Ability to handle hazardous chemicals and accommodate equipment capable of reaching high temperatures.
- Processing equipment for developing electronic micro/nano wafers.
This multipurpose clean room facility would be designed to support diverse applications, including:
- Satellite and space hardware manufacturing, assembly, and testing.
- Biological equipment and mission hardware quarantine.
- Sensitive electronics manufacturing.
“Our shared clean room facility will lower barriers to entry for innovative organisations requiring high-quality cleanroom access, removing the need for significant upfront investment. All this could support a creative and innovative environment, particularly for Small Medium Enterprises.” said Professor Ric Allott from STFC.
The facility is expected to support a variety of industries, such as space technologies, quantum computing, advanced materials, semiconductors, biomedical research, chemical etching and nanofabrication facilities to support the development of microfluidic systems and semiconductor microcircuitry. By enhancing the UK’s capabilities in precision manufacturing, it aims to strengthen the nation’s position as a global leader in these particular fields.
Harwell Campus is actively gathering feedback from businesses and researchers to align the facility with specific industry needs.
This initiative is being run jointly by STFC (led by Professor Ric Allott), the ARC Group (led by Paul McSweeney) and Graham Schultz from Plastron.
For more information and to express your interest, please click here.