A pioneering technology company at one of the region’s leading science parks has announced a major expansion.
Engineered graphene technology firm SEEDS will be moving into a new dedicated facility at NETPark, as part of Durham County Council’s £100 million expansion of the site.
Taking on the new unit will enable SEEDS to move from research development to commercial production, positioning the company to supply its advanced graphene technology to major international manufacturers across the global aerospace, energy, semiconductors, and automotive sectors.
The growth of industry‑leading science and technology companies like SEEDS has been enabled by the expansion of NETPark, which now offers an increased capacity of more than 285,000 square feet of flexible, high‑specification laboratory and advanced manufacturing space.
With the expanded site now fully operational, it is expected to create 1,250 skilled jobs on site and contribute £625 million to the local economy over the next decade.
Cllr Joe Quinn, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for planning, investment and assets, said: “SEEDS’ expansion at NETPark reflects the critical role County Durham plays in the UK’s advanced manufacturing landscape. We have outstanding, state‑of‑the‑art space for laboratories and manufacturing facilities, ready now and unique in the North East.
“We are delighted to support SEEDS’ growth and would urge any expanding business looking for purpose‑built, modern facilities to come and see the exceptional offer we have here at NETPark.”
SEEDS’ growth reflects the strength of NETPark’s innovation. Working alongside the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Durham University and the council’s business support service Business Durham, the company has transformed groundbreaking research into a commercially scalable process.
CPI has been a key partner in this journey, helping the company test and refine its ideas and providing the support needed to move SEEDS from early research into practical, scalable production.
The company’s partnership with Mitsui is also now helping to accelerate its commercial reach. SEEDS formally signed its agreement with Mitsui in November, and the collaboration is already enabling introductions to major microelectronics manufacturers and opening access to global markets that would otherwise take much longer to reach.
Jason Chehal, founder of SEEDS, said: “This expansion marks a defining moment for SEEDS, as we move from research excellence into full commercial deployment. Over the past decade, we’ve developed a way to engineer graphene not just as a material, but as a platform technology that can be tuned to solve real-world industrial challenges at scale.
“Moving into our new facility at NETPark allows us to begin delivering customer specific systems across industries including microelectronics, energy storage, aerospace and advanced manufacturing. What’s particularly powerful is the ecosystem we’re part of here. Collaborations with CPI, Mitsui, and Pragmatic Semiconductor demonstrate how innovation in County Durham can translate directly into global industrial impact.
“We are now at the point where the technology is proven, the demand is established, and the pathways to market are clear. Each production system we deploy has the potential to support a major manufacturer anywhere in the world. That positions not only SEEDS, but the North East and the UK, at the forefront of next generation materials and electronics.”
