NU/1246-17 Rail Infastructure Investigation: Commercialisation of university research through provision of management skills to assist in successful spin-out company creation.

Tender description

Rail Infrastructure Investigation Limited (RIIL) is a proposed spinout from Durham's Department of Earth Sciences,The University of Sheffield's Department of Physics and St Mary's University, Twickenham, Department of Physics. It intends to conduct surveys of Victorian rail infrastructure and a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is required to take full responsibility for all commercial aspects from "pre-spin-out" to fully-fledged company with revenues in the region £10m -£30m. RIIL will utilise novel IP and know-how from three universities; (Durham, Sheffield and Saint Mary's London), and a well-established Rail contractor. It will help Network Rail Ltd to more efficiently maintain their portfolio of 332 Victorian railway tunnels and 171 Victorian brick built viaducts. Current inspection methods require physically drilling into the structure to discover unseen "voids". RIIL will offer a non-destructive alternative to this inspection method. The equipment and methods are new to the rail environment. The first market for RIIL services is intended to be the UK Rail network. Additional markets such as mining, mine remediation and utilities (sewage and water) also exist. Additionally, if resolution can be improved, complicated structures, such as older buildings, could be surveyed for damage or faults. This potential market is currently not completely understood and addressing this will be a key task of the CEO. Sheffield, Durham and St Mary's University are currently collaborating in a joint research to develop a next generation, high TRL level instrument in Sheffield. This work will continue in parallel to the Northern Accelerator work and the CEO will be expected to collaborate with it in order to maximise the benefits to the future spinout company.