The Northern Ireland Space Enterprise Lab (SEL) was launched at Queen’s University Belfast’s AMIC Harbour site providing users with access to the latest collaborative technology, resources and expertise – the latest addition to the Satellite Applications Catapult’s UK wide network. This new addition ensures that technology and support are accessible to innovators and businesses based in Northern Ireland and connected to other SELs nationwide. This expansion marks a significant milestone in fostering innovation and collaboration using space data and technology, powered locally through the longstanding commitment of the Northern Ireland Space Office.
The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) is a £100m collaborative, innovative powerhouse of advanced manufacturing led by Queen’s University Belfast in partnership with industry, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, Ulster University, and supported by the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive through the Belfast Region City Deal.
The innovation centre combines state-of-the-art facilities and an expert engineering team to support economic growth, drive industrial transformation, and pave the way for future technologies with a more sustainable focus. AMIC has a team of expert engineers with experience in delivering design programmes, materials processing, and digital manufacturing projects for a range of sectors, including aerospace, automotive, and precision engineering.
The new SEL was announced this week at a Stormont event to launch World Space Week (4th – 10th October) in the UK, attended by key stakeholders including representatives from the Department for the Economy. As the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, the SEL will provide a dedicated facility for space innovation – enabling collaborations between local industries and helping increase space-based economic activity in Northern Ireland and beyond.
The Space Enterprise Lab provides a range of equipment for those looking to benefit from space data and technologies, enabling them to work together more effectively. It is part of a linked network of 14 such facilities around the UK which can be used independently or together. They are local places for space innovation which offer free to access digital kit to work collaboratively, host hybrid meetings, run demonstrations and events and engage with organisations across the whole ecosystem. SELs include collaboration software, virtual reality headsets and interactive screens, as well as a modern, professional and safe working environment.
Dr. Nafeesa Dajda, Director of National Capabilities at Satellite Applications Catapult, commented: “We are delighted to be launching the new Space Enterprise Lab at Queen’s AMIC – Harbour today to fully connect the Northern Ireland Space cluster to our space ecosystem. With this new addition, we now have nationwide coverage, removing barriers to collaboration and ensuring that support for businesses and academia is accessible regardless of where they are based in the UK. The UK’s vibrant space sector is active in every part of the country, and this SEL will encourage collaboration between innovative organisations as they reimagine how we use satellite technology and create new applications to solve our biggest global challenges.”
President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s, Professor Sir Ian Greer, said: “This new Space Enterprise Lab is a fantastic initiative and is another example of the continued progress of our Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre, which is part of a transformational £230m programme of innovation at Queen’s.”
Sam Turner, AMIC CEO, said: “We are proud to host the first Space Enterprise Lab in Northern Ireland at our AMIC Harbour site, which will enable innovative collaborations to help grow the local space industry, both here in Northern Ireland and the wider UK. Our Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre is live now – we’re working with industry to increase competitiveness and deliver solutions, and this new SEL will support companies in the development of space technologies and services.”
Robert Hill, NI Space Cluster Manager, said: “Northern Ireland has a growing space sector across advanced manufacturing, cyber and resilience and data analytics. However, space is a global endeavour and we do not work in isolation. The establishment of the Space Enterprise Lab at AMIC will bolster and support new collaborations in research and industry and accelerate national space ecosystem growth.”
This latest opening takes the total number of Space Enterprise Labs to 14, including those in the locations below:
- SEL Adastral (Ipswich, Suffolk)
- SEL Daresbury (Liverpool City Region)
- SEL Edinburgh (South-East Scotland)
- SEL Glasgow (Central Scotland)
- SEL Harwell (Oxfordshire)
- SEL Leeds (Space Hub Yorkshire)
- SEL Leicester (Leicestershire)
- SEL NETPark (County Durham)
- SEL Newport (South Wales)
- SEL OpTIC (North Wales)
- SEL Spaceport Cornwall (Cornwall)
- SEL Portsmouth (Hampshire)
- SEL Westcott (Buckinghamshire)
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