Dublin City UniversityInnovation CampusIreland’s new cleantech test, demonstration and commercialisation hub

InnovationCampus

Dublin City University Innovation Campus

Where business, education and innovation co-exist.

As Ireland’s University of Enterprise, DCU is strongly committed to developing and delivering real innovation with an economic impact, in partnership with industry.

Located on a 9.5 acre site in the heart of The Green Way – Dublin’s cleantech cluster – the Innovation Campus will leverage the significant research expertise of DCU and its extensive industry partner network to create a cluster of like-minded, innovative companies and academics. Start-ups, SMEs and multinationals will work alongside each other in a campus environment, using dedicated office spaces, engineering workshops and research labs, with direct access to academic research centres and highly trained, emerging talent.

The Innovation Campus is uniquely positioned to drive progress on critical issues in terms of energy, resource efficiency, ICT, water, the environment, health and society, in line with DCU’s strategic plan.

For more information visit: dcu.ie/innovationcampus

Matching DCU research with regional economic development

DCU is a burgeoning hub for innovation, a major regional economic engine that is committed to aligning our research goals with Dublin’s entrepreneurial drive and sustainability objectives. With the former Enterprise Ireland site being developed as a cleantech innovation campus, we now have the space and the ambition to increase our collaboration with industry as well as fast-tracking DCU’s R&D from the lab bench to the marketplace. As we explore partnerships and opportunities, we see our Innovation Campus catering for many activities and companies, so we are keenly interested in exploring how industry visions of cleantech innovation might mesh with DCU’s objectives for the campus.

These objectives are clear. DCU, with it’s Innovation Campus, strength of location within Dublin City, longstanding tradition of collaboration with industry and depth of academic expertise, is uniquely positioned to lead innovation at the crossroads of the world’s most critical issues in terms of energy, resource efficiency, water, the environment, health and society.

Where R&D, education and business live under one roof

Bringing all of this into one location will turbo-charge cleantech research, demonstration and commercialisation in Dublin and Ireland. Start-ups, SMEs and multinationals will be able to cluster, utilise engineering workshops, prototyping/demonstration spaces and research labs, whilst having direct access to highly skilled workforce. Companies will also be able to collaborate with Dublin City University research centres in order to fast track their cleantech innovations. R&D focused companies will be able to walk across the foyer or campus to enlist the help of entrepreneurs, academics and business support partners in bringing their inventions to market in partnership with DCU, Ireland’s University of Enterprise.

A community engaged with clean technologies

DCU plans to open the site up to the City and local community over the longer term, through development of a public science museum which would complement the significant national assets of Glasnevin Cemetery and the Botanic Gardens. This would form an educational triangle for schools and the public generally encompassing history, natural sciences and sustainable technology, all within walking distance of each other.

Vision

A site steeped in history, with a vision for the future.

The DCU Innovation Campus is steeped in a rich scientific and industrial heritage. The history of innovation at Albert College on the main DCU campus dates back to the early days of the 20th century when Dr Paul Murphy made significant breakthroughs in the study of the potato blight fungus in 1911. However, the Innovation Campus site itself was created in 1946 when the Institute of Industrial Research & Standards, (IIRS) was established by the Irish state to encourage scientific research and the improvement of national industries. In 1987, the IIRS merged with the NBST (National Board of Science & Technology) to form EOLAS.

This new agency managed the national programme for science and technology, with particular focus on engagement with industry. Following a merger with the indigenous industry wing of the IDA, EOLAS became FORBAIRT, which subsequently became

Enterprise Ireland, who remained on the site until their move to Eastpoint in Clontarf, in 2007.

The campus was transferred to DCU by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation by way of long leasehold in early 2013. The transfer fell under the Government’s ‘Action Plan for Jobs’, with the objective of facilitating:

“the development by Dublin City University of the vacant former Enterprise Ireland site in Glasnevin into an internationally recognised Innovation Campus, involving a partnership of education and research institutions, enterprise and the semi-state sector” Plans for the campus now include the refurbishment of c.100,000 square feet of office space for energy-related technology companies, the commissioning of cleantech demonstration centres, R&D labs, a conference theatre and training facilities, as well as the test bedding of various clean technologies.

History

By taking advantage of its natural resources and focussing on cleantech innovation across its industrial base, Ireland has the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in areas such as renewable energy, smart grid, energy efficiency, smart water management, intelligent transport, green asset management and many more. Cleantech innovation has the potential to drive significant growth and transform Ireland’s economy.

The new campus, which is ready for occupation, is adjacent to the DCU main campus and will facilitate a clustering of cleantech companies and

associated demonstration and commercialisation activities. With its broad range of facilities including office space, lab space and demonstration space, the Innovation Campus will dramatically increase the number of entrepreneurs that DCU can engage with, support and nurture, as well as increasing the range of industry collaborations and joint research projects that it can undertake. Cleantech companies will be able to leverage the R&D capabilities and talented resources of DCU in areas such as renewable energy, semiconductors, sustainability, green finance, ICT, big data analytics, water and sensor technology, amongst others.

Future Focus

Croke Park

AvivaStadium Google

National Convention Centre

Dublin PortSiliconDocks

DogpatchLabs

IFSC

View from the top of Innovation House, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland.

Digital Hub Spire

NDRCCity CentreBon Secours

Hospital

Met ÉireannHQ

Combined 200,000 square feet of office space, engineering workshops, R&D laboratories, training & showroom solutions, meeting rooms, cafeteria & conference facilities, as well as product demonstration/prototyping space, across a 9.5 acre site adjacent to DCU main campus.

Cleantech is the collective term for a wide range of innovative products, services and solutions across all industries that seek to optimise the use of natural resources for long term commercial, social and environmental sustainability.

Within DCU, many researchers, campus companies and national research centres are already working on technologies and solutions with multiple applications within the green economy, such as environmental technologies, energy storage systems, electric vehicle technologies, sustainable energy finance, building energy efficiency, sensor technologies for water and energy management, and renewable energy such as solar and wind.

Three of the four key thematic pillars of the DCU strategy for developing research and innovation are underpinned by cleantech, namely: 1) Health technologies and ageing society, 2) Information technology and digital society and 3) Sustainable technology and stable society.

With the development of the cleantech Innovation Campus, DCU now has the space and ambition to increase collaboration with industry and fast-track

ideas and innovation from the lab to the marketplace in important cleantech areas of opportunity such as Big Data Analytics, the Industrial Internet, Water and Renewable Energy amongst others. DCU’s Faculties of Engineering & Computing, Science & Health, and Business School are all aligned with the cleantech sector. The University’s National Centres of research include Plasma Science & Technology (NCPST), Sensor Research (NCSR), Marine & Environmental Sensing (MESTECH), Cloud Computing (IC4) and Innovative Engineering Technologies (RINCE), which are all enablers of multiple technologies and applications across the cleantech spectrum. Similarly DCU Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology across Biomedical Diagnostics (BDI), Sensor web technologies (Clarity), Photonics (CTVR) and Software Engineering (Lero) are all cleantech-centric institutes, while the University is also collaborating with other academic institutes and industry partners in a variety of strategic research clusters in areas such as Separation Science (ISSC) and Plasma Technology for nano-manufacturing (Precision), working to develop emerging technology for the advanced manufacturing, food and environmental sectors amongst others.

Cleantech and DCU

The DCU Innovation Campus will play a key role in facilitating the national strategic plans for jobs and growth, particularly across the Green Economy. Targeting high growth, cleantech industries from both Ireland and abroad, the campus will bring together innovative start-ups and established companies along with the skills, facilities and ideas that only a University can provide.

With the unique combination of DCU’s high class R&D facilities and the physical infrastructure of the new Innovation Campus, DCU can now offer a suite of support services and opportunities for companies to research, develop, test, validate, commercialise and showcase clean technologies in real world settings. The DCU Innovation Campus can facilitate and accelerate the commercialisation process for new technologies, acting as a large scale ‘living laboratory’ within the city of Dublin to test and commercialise innovative solutions for international markets.

DCU Innovation Campus offers a focal point for those who are passionate about inventing, commercialising and delivering a cleantech future for Ireland. If you would like to explore the opportunities available to your business at DCU Innovation Campus, contact:

Ronan Furlong,Executive Director,DCU Cleantech Innovation Campus.

E: ronan.furlong@dcu.ieP: 086 6059 597

Getting Involved

Campus Map

Navan Road to

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St Peters Church

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Notes

For all enquiries relating to office requirements, test bedding opportunities, demonstration space, R&D collaborations etc, please contact

Ronan Furlong,Executive Director,DCU Cleantech Innovation Campus.

E: ronan.furlong@dcu.ieP: 086 6059 597