Tilbury Douglas to build Liverpool AI and robotics labs

The builder will deliver high containment level three labs for the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in Mount Pleasant, which will allow the school to provide advanced robotic labs with AI and automated systems able to handle the danger of researching on and with deadly pathogens.

Considered a flagship project and backed by a £10m Innovation Zone fund, the Ellis Williams Architects-designed scheme is to support the school’s Infection Innovation Consortium, known as iiCON.

iiCON was conceived to accelerate the development of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic equipment in order to target and tackle high-risk pathogens and diseases. The installed labs will provide the means to research and innovate with highly infectious diseases in a safe and sealable environment.

The project, which is part of a wider £20m programme funded by UKRI’s Expanding Excellence England fund and the Wolfson Foundation, is expected to bring £40m in inward investment to the city region over the next three years.

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Martin Home, regional director for the North West at Tilbury Douglas, said: “Delivering these pioneering laboratories for LTSM and iiCON, as part of our long-standing collaboration, reinforces our commitment to enabling world-class innovation through exceptional construction delivery.

“The integration of AI and robotic systems will have a profound impact on global health, and we’re pleased to help create a space where this vital work can thrive.”

The scheme is part of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool’s massive investment drive for the city’s life science, robotics, and AI educators and businesses.