A large life sciences facility developed by the Institute of Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems to support the transport industry's transition to net zero has garnered a 2023 CoStar Impact Award for best commercial development in the South West.
The development is a 121,632-square-foot purpose-built facility at the Bristol and Bath Science Park in Emersons Green, South Gloucestershire and houses a green hydrogen manufacturing and testing facility that will help to develop renewable transport methods.
The new hydrogen production and storage facility at Dirac Cescent in Bristol will be operational in Spring 2023, while the IAAPS facility, was opened last summer. CoStar data indicates that estimated light industrial rents at the facility are £9 to £12 per square foot.
It sits on the wider Bristol and Bath Science Park, a large 59-acre park that was opened in 2011. It houses several small business and SMEs, including engineering, accountancy and IT firms, and offers flexible office space. The largest building at the site is called the Forum.
About the project: The £70 million-facility houses state-of-the-art powertrain, propulsion and both vehicle and component-level research platforms, fitted out with specialist equipment capable of serving the transport sector, including from automotive, aviation and marine.
The facility and its equipment will help to reduce the whole building carbon footprint and towards the country's net zero target. It was funded by the University of Bath, the UK government’s Research England and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.
Bristol Parkway Train Station is four miles away from the Science Park and around a 20 minute car journey from the centre of Bristol.
What the judges said: Peter Musgrove, Lambert Smith Hampton, head of office, director, said: "The investment and development at Bristol and Bath Science Park highlights the excellent research happening in the region.
"This development not only has local, regional and national reach but with the research that will happen here will have a global impact."
Programme Leader MSc Real Estate Finance & Investment, University of the West of England, Ytzen van der Werf said: "This development sets the bar higher for this type of logistics/office developments. We especially appreciate the net-zero aim that has been set at the Bristol & Bath Science Park."
They made it happen: Professor Greg Hawley, IAAPS chief executive.