Abstract

The £81m Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) is an 11,600m2 purpose-built facility containing one of the largest collections of automation and analysis equipment available globally for materials chemistry research. The facility was co-founded in 2017 through strategic innovation partnerships between the University of Liverpool, Unilever and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The building is ‘open by design’ and its labs are available for use by academics and industrialists alike, with a dedicated team of technical experts available on site to assist with experiments and train scientists on how to use our cutting-edge equipment. The MIF has since attracted additional funding from the Henry Royce Institute, hosting the Royce’s Chemical Materials Discovery theme, a wide range of commercial partners, and the Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Material Design.