New research is looking to the coast to explore ways to generate sustainable hydrogen supplies to power up the UK's ceramics sector.

An expert in marketing and business development for products and services based on complex technologies has been appointed to a key role at Lucideon.

Ambitious plans to place the Midlands at the heart of the multi-billion-pound global advanced ceramics industry have been set out by a consortium of the region’s business, academic and research bodies.

Lucideon has pulled together information from across the globe for the latest version of its cross-industry reference guide, which sets out details on the safe use of ceramic, glass and enamel ware in contact with food.

Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, saw first-hand the opportunities advanced materials will bring for the future in a tour of Lucideon's Stoke-on-Trent facility.

The Midlands Industrial Ceramics Group has secured £18.27 million in government funding provided through UK Research and Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund (SIPF), to put the area firmly on the map as a global centre for advanced ceramics.

Lucideon, in collaboration with i3D robotics, experts in stereo vision systems, and Glass Technology Services, consultants to the glass manufacturing supply chain, has been working on a project to improve production processes within the energy-intensive foundation industries, specifically Glass and Ceramics.

A blueprint setting out the compelling opportunities for the Midlands to position itself as a world leader in advanced ceramics has been launched.

March sees the launch of a new online community for anyone interested in materials.

Colour Standards developed by Lucideon are helping to ensure that the colours captured by the Perseverance mission to Mars are recorded to pinpoint accuracy.

Lucideon is set to benefit from seven-figure growth from the free trade agreement between the UK and Japan.

Lucideon, along with consortium partners including Vesuvius UK Ltd, Glass Technology Services Ltd, the University of Sheffield and Knowles (UK) Limited is receiving funding as part of the Transforming Foundation Industries programme for the 'Hybrid Sintering for Decarbonisation and Productivity in Manufacturing' project.

• Department for International Trade (DIT) steps up engagement with British industry and farmers as UK trade negotiations intensify
• Eleven new trade advisory groups, covering a range of key sectors, established to provide knowledge and experience
• Insight and expertise of top business people being used to inform UK negotiating position and deliver deals that benefit the whole country.

Government funding provided through UK Research and Innovation's flagship 'Strength in Places Fund' has helped unlock plans to put the Midlands on a unique footing as a global centre for advanced technical ceramics.

Lucideon and PCL Ceramics, a market leader in the manufacture of high-pressure casting equipment, have joined forces to deliver new advances in processing across key market sectors.