By Pádraig Hoare
A record injection of €7m in funding will see Cork’s Tyndall National Institute create 40 research positions to further what has been described as world-class innovation in the region.
Tyndall received €5.4m from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, while a further €1.83m was given for five Irish partner companies in eight EU-wide technology innovation projects.
Tyndall chief executive William Scanlon said the funding demonstrates “the real value of market-leading innovation” by Tyndall across its core areas of nanoelectronics and photonics.
“Securing funding for 57% of our proposals in this very competitive European programme is a strong endorsement of the world-leading research being undertaken at Tyndall, and nationally we are providing important leadership by showing what’s achievable for Ireland through excellent and transformational research at this level,” he said.
Nanoelectronics refers to use of nanotechnology, or engineering on tiny objects, in electronics. Photonics is the science of generating and harnessing light.
Prof Scanlon said the funding boosts an already lucrative year for investment that would lead to new and highly skilled jobs.
“This exceptional research funding success reflects a record year for Tyndall in the European arena, with €13m in project funding secured in 2018 from 13 high-potential research projects. Importantly for Ireland, Tyndall’s industry partners will accrue €5m of this total,” he said.
“As part of large-scale European consortia, these cutting-edge research projects have an overall budget of €80m and involve groundbreaking research in emerging technology areas, with potential ultimately for knock-on high-value jobs in Ireland.”
Over 40 research and development jobs will be created directly as a result of the funding and the ultimate commercialisation impact will be significant for the economy, according to Tyndall.
Funding will also be available to support innovators, and SMEs in particular, through access to research expertise, infrastructure, and manufacturing pilot lines, said the institute.
