RACE is a key part of Oxfordshire’s global lead in science and innovation

Culham CAM facilities

The conclusion of a new Science and Innovation Audit (SIA) is that Oxfordshire is playing a world leading role in developing four transformative technologies – Digital Health, Space Led Applications, Quantum Computing and Autonomous Vehicles. UKAEA (through the RACE robotics facility) is supporting industry (notably Oxbotica) in the rapid development of driverless cars, using the Culham site as a test centre and hosting pre-road trials.

By continuing to lead in these technologies, the report, commissioned by the Oxfordshire Transformative Technologies Alliance, suggests that Oxfordshire could be contributing £180bn to the UK economy by 2030.  It also concluded that, to maximise this opportunity, investment in living labs and pilots is required to develop and prove the value and utility of these exciting technologies.

Rob Buckingham, RACE Director, was delighted with the report’s conclusions “Oxfordshire has a notable concentration of world class autonomous vehicle companies. There is no reason why we cannot build on this expertise and deliver the predicted societal benefits for the UK and globally.”

Nigel Tipple, OxLEP Chief Executive – said: “This report underlines the major strengths that already exist within Oxfordshire as well as – perhaps more strikingly – the huge potential we as a county could play, both nationally and globally, in science and innovation.  World-class assets like the University of Oxford, Harwell Campus and Culham Science Centre really do demonstrate that Oxfordshire has the ability to grow and take advantage of the opportunities outlined in the SIA report.”

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