British American Tobacco (BAT) has opened an innovation centre at its global research and development (R&D) headquarters in Southampton, UK.
BAT has invested £30 million (€35.1 million) in the facility, which will focus on developing 'smokeless products' and building capabilities beyond nicotine.
It features nine specially designed technical spaces dedicated to research for modern oral nicotine pouches, liquids and flavours for vapour products, heated products, and well-being and stimulation beyond nicotine.
The investment will also support work on packaging, engineering, innovation development and system integration, the tobacco giant added.
'An Important Milestone'
Dr James Murphy, director of research and science at BAT stated, “The opening of this new facility marks an important milestone in BAT’s transformation and will play a key role in making a smokeless future a reality.
“Evidence provided by objective world-class science is essential to facilitate the migration of adult smokers to smokeless products and support public health objectives. The investment in our Innovation Centre will support the cutting-edge research and product development efforts of our global R&D team for many years to come.”
The innovation centre will bring together cross-functional and key R&D teams with around 400 scientists and engineers from a range of advanced fields including biotechnology and clinical trials.
The teams in the centre will focus on developing the scientific evidence necessary to encourage adult smokers to switch to 'less risky' alternatives.
To date, BAT’s Southampton facilities have produced over 200 peer-reviewed studies for smokeless products published in scientific journals and have contributed to its filing of hundreds of patents a year.
The company opened innovation centres in Trieste, Italy, in 2021 and Shenzhen, China, in 2022.
