Agri-Engineering Hub

Canterbury Christ Church University

Agri-Engineering Hub

Canterbury Christ Church University

The Industrial Agri-Engineering Hub at Canterbury Christ Church University provides world-class facilities and R&D to transform the UK food sector. It offers expert support in agri-engineering, automation, and advanced manufacturing to help businesses scale.

£7.6m

to £11.4m estimated uplift for the Kent & Medway regional economy from the wider EDGE Hub at CCCU.

Key engineering units established to provide specialist R&D support for agricultural automation and manufacturing.

Priority research pillars focused on sustainable production: Robotics, Precision Engineering, and Indoor Farming.

High-specification additive manufacturing suite funded to enable rapid prototyping of new agricultural technologies.

Facilities and Capabilities

Access world-class engineering labs and maker spaces designed to help agri-tech businesses de-risk innovation through hands-on technical support.

Engineering Labs

Specialist spaces for mechatronics, electronics, and control and instrumentation.

Fabrication Workshops

Advanced engineering workshops for manufacturing and prototyping.

Verena Holmes Building

A multi-million-pound STEM facility for ground-breaking innovation and pioneering research.

Maker Space

Dedicated environments for experimentation, research, and technical collaboration.

Key Expertise

The Hub's research team provides technical support and R&D across the entire product lifecycle, with specific specialisms in:

Agriculture Automation

Creation of fruit-picking robots and autonomous weeding machines.

Smart Farming

Applying data analysis and intelligence to improve crop production management.

Sustainable Manufacturing

Developing digital transformations and effluent system design for supply chains.

Materials Testing

Comprehensive characterisation, dynamic modelling, and finite element analysis.

Additive Manufacturing

Advanced product design using simulation and additive fabrication techniques.

Case Studies

Discover how our specialist R&D and business support have helped Kent-based innovators transform sustainable concepts into market-ready products.

Blonde woman (Annabelle Cox) speaks into a mic, with display boards about Tensei and sustainable materials around her. A screen shows a face behind.

Reducing Plastic Use by Transforming Crop Waste into Bio-Fillers with Tensei

Tensei Limited, supported by Growing Kent & Medway, led a project in Kent to turn Second Harvest farm waste into sustainable bio-fillers. This medium-sized R&D grant project proved that materials like hop bines can be compounded with plastic polymers, creating a new revenue stream for growers and reducing plastic use.

Growing Kent & Medway

5 min read

Close-up of vibrant green mushrooms with subtle orange hues against a soft-focus background of glowing lights and blurred lines.

Growing Gourmet Mushrooms from Zero-Waste Whiskey By-Products with Canterbury Brewers & Distillers

Canterbury Brewers & Distillers, an award-winning Kent spirit producer, used support from Growing Kent & Medway to solve their primary waste problem. One of our medium-sized grant programmes helped prove they could utilise whiskey by-products – spent grain, water, and CO₂ – to cultivate speciality gourmet mushrooms, creating new high-value food products and a true circular economy model.

Growing Kent & Medway

4 min read

Two secondary school students look at a computer image of cherries growing on a tree

Students Get Taste of Agri-Tech Careers at STEM Food Workshops

Over 180 secondary school students experienced how science and technology impact the food we grow, at our event run in collaboration with the STEM Hub.

Growing Kent & Medway

3 min read

Canterbury Christ Church University

Explore Canterbury Christ Church University’s facilities for automation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing. Access more information about their expertise and equipment on the official university website.

Visit Canterbury Christ Church University

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Discover the specialist facilities and technical expertise available across the Growing Kent & Medway innovation cluster.

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