The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD has announced the successful applicants of the Capital Equipment Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland through the Technology Gateway and Technology Centre Programmes.

A total of 29 successful projects from across the third level sector have secured over €6 million in funding to assist them in buying world-leading research equipment that will serve the Research and Development (R&D) needs of Irish industry.

The €6 million fund will provide companies with access to critical, leading-edge equipment that will allow them to engage in R&D activities, pilot manufacturing capability for new products and process development, enhance technology validation and testing capabilities, test bed generation and enhanced training potential for key industry staff on emerging technologies in collaboration with the technology gateways and technology centres across Ireland.

Eligibility criteria

The winners were selected through a rigorous evaluation process based on eligibility criteria for the call which included, but was not limited to, a strong track record of industry engagement, a significant industrial need for the new equipment, and space to service and maintain the equipment according to international standards.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD said: “This €6 million Capital Equipment Fund will give 29 projects across the country access to world-class research equipment, helping them test new products and ways of doing things.

"We hope to see some exciting new ideas and breakthroughs as a result. Great things happen when companies collaborate with third level institutions. Recent data show that companies which collaborate with our universities have double the turnover of those that don’t.

"Third level institutions benefit too, by getting to work with creative, business-minded entrepreneurs, working on solutions to real life problems. Congratulations to all the successful applicants, I look forward to seeing the fruits of this collaborative effort.”

Gearoid Mooney, divisional manager, research and innovation at Enterprise Ireland said: “This important investment coupled with the support and expertise of our technology gateways and centres will enable Irish industry to pursue their own innovation agendas particularly on challenges where they don’t have all of the resources 'in house'.

"The successful projects announced today will provide equipment that is essential to serving the R&D needs of Irish industry and may give them an opportunity to try important assets before they invest in them.”