An environment where scientific breakthroughs and life-changing innovations are discovered, developed and made commercially viable

Ever since it took control of RAL back in 2007, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has helped establish Harwell Campus as a world-renowned business address.

This is where leading scientists, engineers, universities and businesses come together to share knowledge and expertise through STFC’s extensive network. For early-stage companies looking to scale up and grow, joining this thriving Oxfordshire Business Incubation space presents an ideal, cost-effective solution.

The STFC provides affordable and flexible state-of-the-art facilities – along with access to funding opportunities and tailored business support from on-site business advisors.

Choose from various offices in a range of sizes, each priced per sq m so you can find the perfect space for your team. Dedicated desks are an alternative option for one named person or per company. Laboratories offer both wet and dry labs and clean room space. Lab tech support is part of the package and for key equipment, there are also ‘pay as you go’ facilities. If you’re after more of a halfway house between an office and a lab, Assembly Areas come complete with antistatic flooring and lab style furniture.

Business Incubator specifications

  • Lab Space

    Both wet and dry spaces available

  • Flexible payment

    Pay as you go facilities available

  • Flexible unit size

    Priced per sq m to accommodate all businesses

  • Assembly areas

    Complete with antistatic flooring

Mark Burrows

Head of Business Incubation – Harwell

Extensive knowledge network

Working alongside likeminded companies

Funding opportunities

To help your organisation grow

Tailored business support

From on-site business advisors

Flexible payment

Allowing for scale-up opportunities

Life at Harwell

Companies thrive when their people do. Harwell is designed to bring out the best in your teams, whether you’re a two-person start-up or a FTSE-listed multinational. Our campus combines beautiful countryside with city-level facilities, including on-site food and drink and numerous sports clubs, covering rugby to archery. The facilities are set to expand too, with cutting-edge conference spaces, a new hotel, and contemporary homes in our residential quarter all due to open soon.

Location

Harwell is located in beautiful countryside just south of Oxford, one of the fastest growing cities in the UK.

Oxford city centre is just over 20 minutes, drive away, Heathrow is 55 minutes by road, and nearby Didcot Parkway station connects you to London Paddington in just 42 minutes. The launch of Crossrail and the upgrade to the Didcot Parkway Line mean it will soon be possible to reach central London Underground stations in under one hour.

There is a shuttlebus service through the day to Didcot Parkway and Oxford.

Innovation

At Harwell, your neighbours are some of the most innovative science and engineering organisations in the world. Our collaborative approach supports companies of all sizes, and companies here have access to a wide range of practical business support and funding, from grants and tax breaks to venture capital opportunities. What’s more, being at the centre of the Oxfordshire innovation ecosystem allows you to easily attract and recruit talented candidates from a wide range of fields.

Network & collaboration

Harwell is your gateway to a lively, 6,000-strong community – as well as a unique opportunity for holding talks with leading thinkers, scientists and senior politicians from across the globe. Make new connections at Connect Harwell, our central forum which links up over 200+ companies at inspiring events. And collaborate in our range of meeting room and conference spaces. The campus also organises free Special Interest Groups and Forums, C-Suite symposiums, and hosts university placements and apprenticeships for students in Science, Engineering, IT and Business.

Our clusters

One of Harwell’s greatest strengths is the way it brings people together. And basing yourself or your organisation here gives you easy access to the UK’s most unique professional clusters: Space, Quantum, Health Tech and Energy Tech. Each cluster gathers businesses, organisations and people from across the campus and the UK to share ideas, take risks and attract funding – and ultimately, solve the biggest problems facing our planet.

A healthy place to work

Where wellbeing comes first

Wildflower areas. Fresh air. Leafy walkways and views out to the rolling Oxfordshire countryside. Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Harwell is as beautiful a place for your employees to work as it is inspiring – giving easy access to green space, nature, and various walking and bike trails. A real pleasure to stroll around, the campus also runs a Bicycle Loan Scheme for staff to hire manual and electric bikes.

Harwell Campus has been an integral part of our manufacturing capability portfolio for the last seven years. Harwell supported us throughout the design and build phases, delivering us a bespoke facility with elements of its design taken from our first commercial product.

Rhodri Davies
VP, Oxford Nanopore Technologies

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