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Stokesley engineering firm plays key role in new £700m biomedical complex

Teesside-based Applied Integration has played a central role in the completion of a new £700m biomedical research centre which is due to launch in central London.

The Stokesley firm has provided key power management systems work for The Francis Crick Institute, which is set to be Europe’s largest centre for biomedical research centre when it launches later this year.

Once the launched, the facility will house 1,250 scientists whose research will help to find new ways to diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, across eight floors of laboratory space over 79,000 sq m.

The £500k works contract saw the engineering firm’s 30 engineers implement hardware that controls and monitors the facility’s electricity, transferring supply to generators in the event of a power cut.

More than 500 energy meters will also allow the building’s control staff to monitor electrical, gas, steam and water levels to ensure that the facility remains within regulatory limits.

Graham King, who is a Director at Applied Integration, explained how the sheer scale and complexity of the building made for a tricky project that was ‘so complex’ in comparison to the firm’s usual projects.

He said: “It’s been extremely technical but we’re now close to completion and the experience and knowledge we’ve taken from this will come in very useful on future projects.”

“Our work is to ensure the research facility experiences minimal disruption to its core service in the event of a power cut. It’s been a challenge and an incredible amount of work to get all those units scattered around an eight-storey building to communicate to one another.

The project was carried out in conjunction with global giant ABB, and working on such a high-profile project has already attracted further work for the Teesside business with potentially more research facility work in the pipleline.

Graham added: “Talks are now underway for five similar research facilities. Thanks to our relationship with ABB, we’re in a strong position to win that work too.

“Our experience and knowledge gained in working at the Crick Centre will certainly hold us in good stead to design the systems behind any similar work.”

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