Scottish laser center receives five-year funding boost
The Strathclyde-based Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (CAP) is to receive £6.5m over the next five years from the Scottish Government.
Quantum tech, healthcare, life science, renewable energy, navigation, communication and space are just some of the fields in which Fraunhofer’s world-leading scientists have been helping companies in Scotland, and beyond, to develop and bring products to market over the last nine years.
Such is the technological and economic contribution the center is making, not only to Scotland, but globally, that the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise, which is Scotland’s national economic development agency, have committed to continuing to fund Fraunhofer’s activities.
This core funding, announced in December 2021 by Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, will enable the purchase of cutting-edge equipment and doctorate level student training. The latter is a crucial part of the Fraunhofer model and both are essential components in delivering next generation products and processes.
Housed in Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre, Fraunhofer’s CAP is the first of its kind in the UK and has a close relationship with the University. Since its inception it has become a significant player delivering more than 180 projects with 100 companies, typically producing pre-production prototypes and validating novel technology.
The center is now a cornerstone of the UK’s quantum technology program, collaborating widely and working with Scottish companies to win thirty percent of available funding.
A recent independent assessment found the economic impact of Fraunhofer in Scotland to be substantial, supporting hundreds of jobs and boosting company turnover in the hundreds of millions.
Business Minister Ivan McKee said: “The funding will support the third phase of the centre’s world-class research and innovation activities and is another step towards the Scottish Government’s target of growing business enterprise R&D in Scotland to 1.8 billion pound by 2025. In the longer term we want to boost Scotland’s innovation performance to match the levels of the best performing countries worldwide.” (Source: U. Strathclyde)
