Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI)

Northern Ireland has active companies in the field of MNT in a number of different industrial sectors including ICT, textiles, Agriculture and Food, Aerospace and Bioscience and Medical. In general, there are relatively few large, vertically integrated companies capable of spanning the technology supply chain from R&D to commercial products and Northern Ireland has a large proportion of SMEs. Thus, there are a large number of companies that will employ components containing MNT either in their production process or in their products.

In July 2003, Science and Innovation Ministry announced a cash injection of £90 million over the next six years to help industry harness the commercial opportunities offered by nanotechnology.

Within this initiative, the DTI has allocated £50m for an applied research programme that will support collaborative research and development projects and technology transfer initiatives, and £40m for Capital Projects for a UK Micro and Nanotechnology Network.

Additionally, Northern Ireland, through Invest Northern Ireland, is represented on the UK Micro and Nanotechnology (MNT) Network. This Network has been established by the DTI and the 12 Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and Devolved Administrations (DAs) working together, to provide a market-oriented focus for the facilities, people and organisations engaged in Micro and Nanotechnologies in the UK. The UK MNT Network will enable regions to work together in micro and nanotechnology in a unique way by allowing access to assets across all Regions and by building an MNT community which links all regional skills and capabilities. It will enable Regions to work together in these technologies in a unique way by allowing access to assets across all Regions and by building an MNT community which links all regional skills and capabilities.

www.investni.com