This week, we celebrated a major milestone at Harwell Innovation Centre, one of the flagship centres in the Oxford Innovation Space network, as it marked 25 years of supporting early-stage science and technology businesses.
Since opening its doors in May 2000 on what is now the world-renowned Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, the centre has played a key role in nurturing hundreds of start-ups and scale-ups – many of which are delivering cutting-edge innovation across energy, space, health, and quantum computing.
To mark the occasion, a special event was held on Wednesday 11 June 2025, bringing together current and former centre clients, partners, and stakeholders to celebrate the Centre’s journey and impact.
Over the last 25 years, more than 300 businesses have been based at Harwell Innovation Centre. As the workspace operator, we’re proud of the role we’ve played in helping these businesses accelerate their growth through flexible workspace, expert business support, and a thriving entrepreneurial community.
Our Managing Director, Jo Stevens, said:
“Harwell Innovation Centre highlights the power of innovation centres to build communities of SMEs, drive local economic growth, and support the development of groundbreaking technologies. We are proud to have supported so many companies to start, scale and succeed over the last 25 years and we are proud to have contributed to the success of the wider campus.”
Harwell Innovation Centre has supported a wide range of pioneering businesses including Astroscale, Planet IT, RedWave Labs, T-Squared, Oxford Sigma, Digostics, Gigaclear, Agamatrix, and Woodruff Scientific – many of which began their journeys in the centre and have gone on to national and international success.
Digostics Ltd, for example, is one of the centre’s long-standing success stories. Having first moved into the centre in 2002 under a previous company, founder and CEO James Jackson later launched Digostics there in 2019. Today, the company employs 10 people and has expanded to New York. James credits the centre’s collaborative environment as instrumental in the business’s development:
“I don’t think we would be where we are today if we hadn’t been located within the Harwell Innovation Centre,” he said. “It exposed us to a vibrant science and tech ecosystem. The centre plays a vital role in connecting the science community and fostering collaborations. Without centres like this, innovators risk being isolated in little silos.”
Planet IT, now a leading Oxfordshire-based IT services provider, also started at Harwell Innovation Centre in 2003. Founded by childhood friends Gavin Jones and Sean Smith, the company has grown to nearly 100 staff and supports clients around the world.
“When we looked around Harwell Innovation Centre, we were new to business and very nervous about signing a contract for an office,” Sean explained. “The help Oxford Innovation Space gave us, especially in the early days, was essential to our success.”
“What we learnt at Harwell Innovation Centre helped us fill in the gaps in our knowledge and accelerate us as business owners,” added Gavin. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without that early support.”
The wider Harwell Campus – managed and developed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and investor Brookfield – has become a global centre of excellence for science and technology. Since 2022, it has formed part of the Advanced Research Clusters (ARC) network.
Commenting on the milestone, Paul McSweeney, Senior Director at ARC, said:
“Harwell Innovation Centre is a vital part of the ecosystem on the Harwell Campus, providing a nurturing environment for those at the start of their innovation journeys and a crucial stepping stone on to their own premises. The centre boasts many success stories, and there are exciting developments going on across the Harwell Campus to provide a home for many more businesses graduating from the centre, now and in the future.”
Over the past 25 years, Harwell Innovation Centre has evolved into a launchpad for pioneering businesses that are shaping the future of science and technology. The success stories shared at our anniversary celebration are a testament to the value of supportive, collaborative environments for early-stage companies. As the campus continues to grow and transform, we remain committed to nurturing the next generation of innovators at Harwell and beyond – helping them turn bold ideas into real-world impact.
