Imagine the laboratory of Q, James Bond’s chief scientist and gadget maker, but covering 550 acres, employing 1,000 PhDs, and boasting $500m a year in funding. Such is the scale of General Electric’s Global Research Centre.

Unlike Q, whose only customer was a dapper British secret service agent, GE’s scientists have to feed the voracious appetite of one of the world’s largest conglomerates, with interests ranging from jet engines and nuclear power stations to microwave ovens and wind turbines.