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County Durham
Cutting edge ambition
Some of the most exciting leading edge technologies and products in the world are under development in County Durham. One of the main focuses for a range of ambitious projects is NETPark at Sedgefield, one of the most advanced science and business parks in the UK.
Research and development work on printable electronics and nanotechnology is being carried out at NETPark, in collaboration with scientists at Durham University. This is set to transform the way many kinds of products – such as, for example, lighting systems - will be manufactured in the years ahead. Companies are also creating innovative technologies in photonics, software and microelectronics.
NETPark is the location for the Printable Electronics Technology Centre (PETEC), which is a national facility for research and prototyping design work in this emerging technology. The centre occupies a flagship building with state-of-the-art laboratories staffed by teams of scientists and technologists.
At the forefront of many scientific developments with huge commercial potential is Durham University. Its School of Engineering is involved in leading edge molecular and biomedical research. It is also home to the Biophysical Sciences Institute and the North of England Stem Cell Institute.
There are thriving industrial parks at Peterlee, Bowburn, Seaham and in the north west of the county. In Consett, for example, Thomas Swan & Company has created the first commercial scale nanotube making facility in the country.
And Romag, in Leadgate, has jointly produced with BP Solar a laminated glass, PowerGlaz, for a new generation of photovoltaic energy from light panels. These are used as integral parts of canopies for electric vehicle charging points or the roofs of buildings.
Thorn Lighting, which has a large manufacturing plant at Spennymoor, is working on the TOPLESS (Thin Organic Polymer Lighting Semiconductor Surfaces) project with Durham University and Cambridge Display Technology. This is developing ultra-thin plastic sheets with printable electronic circuits that emit light of sunlight intensity, using a fraction of the energy of a conventional light bulb.
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This company, created on Durham University Science Park, is now based in purpose-built laboratories at Bowburn. It provides R&D and chemical synthesis services for large companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and fine chemicals industries.
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Thomas Swan, created in Consett over 80 years ago, is a manufacturer of specialist chemicals and now has offices in the US and China. The carbon nanotubes it has developed are used in memory devices for computers as well as in advanced composites for aircraft and wind turbine blades.
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This spin-out company from Durham University has developed ground-breaking x-ray and gamma ray technology for use in detection work in the security, defence, medical and industrial sectors. It is based at NETPark in Sedgefield and has major customers in Europe and the US.
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The world’s second largest pharmaceutical manufacture employs more than 1,100 people at its complex at Barnard Castle. The site makes more than 40 products, mainly leading prescription medicines, which are supplied to 100 markets across the world.
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