AMBER the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and Bio-Engineering Research, headquartered at Trinity College Dublin, has welcomed the announcement of €40 million funding for phase two of the centre by the Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD and Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD.
The funding of €40 million will be delivered through Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Research Centres Programme, coupled with €77 million in cash and in-kind contributions which AMBER will raise in investment from industry and non-exchequer sources through their collaborative and international research activities.
Critical and emerging sectors of the economy
The funding will support world leading academic and industry orientated materials science research in critical and emerging sectors of the economy, particularly sustainability, ICT, medtech, manufacturing technologies and energy. The funding will be provided over the next six years, from 2019 to 2025.
The €230 million investment made by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through SFI, will directly benefit about 850 researchers employed by the centres, while also supporting the government’s Future Jobs Ireland initiative.
The investment is buoyed by industry support; there are 170 industry partners involved who are committed to investing more than €200 million in cash and in-kind contributions over the next six years.
Under the new funding model, these six SFI research centres are successfully scaling up to secure 66 per cent of the funding from other sources, so only 34 per cent of their funding over the six years will now come from Science Foundation Ireland.
Ministers Humphreys and Halligan announced a total investment of €230 million in six SFI research centres as part of Project Ireland 2040.
Minster Humphreys said: “This investment by my department in the six SFI Research Centres is part of the government’s strategy to prepare now for tomorrow’s world, through plans like Future Jobs Ireland and Project Ireland 2040.
'Positioned Ireland as a world leader in research'
"The work that has been done to date has positioned Ireland as a world leader in research, further strengthening our global credibility across a number of different sectors. The economic impact of this research is clear, not only through direct and in-direct employment levels, but also through increased foreign direct investment.
"Our research centres not only act as magnets to attract and retain investment; they also encourage companies, both Irish and foreign-owned, to develop their R&D activities here. This will continue to benefit Ireland and the world for years to come.”
Professor Mick Morris, director of AMBER, said: “This funding will ensure that the centre and our researchers can carry out breakthroughs in some of society’s greatest challenges through collaboration and engagement with national and international academics, businesses and communities.
"With the expanded remit in training and researcher development that this funding provides, we have the ability to contribute significantly in preparing highly skilled individuals for the Irish workforce.
"AMBER, through excellent research, will deliver scientific, economic and societal impacts into Ireland for the benefit of the entire population and assist international and indigenous industry to grow and flourish.
“AMBER’s researchers will continue to make world-first discoveries that lead to new Irish start-ups, and help global corporations deliver new applications in the areas of sustainable materials, ICT, energy and health, among others.”
Dr Patrick Prendergast, provost of Trinity, said: “This announcement illustrates the leading role AMBER has played in consolidating Irelands reputation for materials science research and the ongoing ambition of the centre to create high-quality, high-tech employment opportunities for the future.
"AMBER has demonstrated that linking industry and academia, underpinned with fundamental research, is a successful model and can bring economic and social impacts.
"Trinity is committed to fundamental research and generating close links between industry and academia which AMBER will continue to forge and that will create new business opportunities for the future.”
'Support both basic and applied research'
Professor Mark Ferguson, director general Science Foundation Ireland and chief scientific adviser to the government, said: “SFI research centres support both basic and applied research, which I believe is one of the reasons they have been so successful to date.
"The research across the centres spans a wide range of sectors at varying levels and stages – the holistic approach we are taking to our research is fundamental to its success.
"In only a very short period the SFI research centres have made incredible progress, in terms of increased academic and industrial collaboration, training PhD students for industry, winning competitive funding from the EU, producing excellent scientific results and public engagement.
"We look forward to continued support from the government and industry as we move forward, increasing our ability to positively impact both society and the economy through excellent scientific research.”