Abstract
This Ulster University (UU) research project was performed in partnership with the Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering (NIACE) Centre. It complements previous works performed in conjunction with, the National Composites Centre (NCC), Bristol, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), University of Sheffield and the NIACE Centre, Belfast, to establish an Advanced Preforming Centre of Excellence in Northern Ireland.
The authors are fully engaged in ongoing projects such as, the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) Belfast Region City Deal and ‘HyTech NI’ a joint project between UU, Queen’s University Belfast, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (MEABC) and industry underpinned by £15million in funding from the Northern Ireland Complementary Funding to support investment in the Hydrogen Economy.
The economic, societal and environmental benefits of these projects and those proposed within this report, align with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government (PfG) 2021 (1), have the required level of innovation and ambition along with scope to offer economic sustainability and inclusivity, to meet the tiered metrics for the Department for the Economy’s (DfE’s) Economic Vision of a ‘10X Economy’ (2), in addition, to aiding Northern Ireland on its trajectory to ‘Net Zero by 2050’ as part of The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (3), with the latter aligning with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Energy Strategy – The Path to Net Zero Energy (4).
A case for reviving Northern Ireland’s textile heritage was established by the authors following their assessment of the textiles and textile composites markets. The authors are confident in their assessment and understanding of the current market presence, along with present-day market challenges, derived from (i) the public domain such as, research articles and press releases, (ii) purchased sources such as, market research reports, (iii) focused market networking they partake in and the industry/stakeholder input they receive from primary interviews, workshops, conferencing, including industry visits and secondments to relevant organisations and, (iv) maintaining an active presence in the textiles and textile composites research and commercial spaces.
The authors are fully engaged in ongoing projects such as, the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) Belfast Region City Deal and ‘HyTech NI’ a joint project between UU, Queen’s University Belfast, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (MEABC) and industry underpinned by £15million in funding from the Northern Ireland Complementary Funding to support investment in the Hydrogen Economy.
The economic, societal and environmental benefits of these projects and those proposed within this report, align with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government (PfG) 2021 (1), have the required level of innovation and ambition along with scope to offer economic sustainability and inclusivity, to meet the tiered metrics for the Department for the Economy’s (DfE’s) Economic Vision of a ‘10X Economy’ (2), in addition, to aiding Northern Ireland on its trajectory to ‘Net Zero by 2050’ as part of The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (3), with the latter aligning with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Energy Strategy – The Path to Net Zero Energy (4).
A case for reviving Northern Ireland’s textile heritage was established by the authors following their assessment of the textiles and textile composites markets. The authors are confident in their assessment and understanding of the current market presence, along with present-day market challenges, derived from (i) the public domain such as, research articles and press releases, (ii) purchased sources such as, market research reports, (iii) focused market networking they partake in and the industry/stakeholder input they receive from primary interviews, workshops, conferencing, including industry visits and secondments to relevant organisations and, (iv) maintaining an active presence in the textiles and textile composites research and commercial spaces.
Original language | English |
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Commissioning body | Department for the Economy |
Number of pages | 157 |
Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 21 Jun 2024 |