The advanced manufacturing and engineering sector is essential to Northern Ireland. It drives innovation and exports, leads on productivity, boosts investment in skills, and has a significant multiplier effect throughout the economy. The sector includes numerous industries from aerospace to agri-tech, and its momentum continues to grow.
Northern Ireland has also become a leader in green technologies, particularly in offshore energy, energy storage and intelligent systems. Northern Ireland companies are also diversifying into space technology, defence and advanced air mobility.
With so much scope for growth, it’s essential we future proof the sector to remain globally competitive.
Invest Northern Ireland
In June 2024, the Department for the Economy launched an Advanced Manufacturing Materials and Engineering Sectoral Action Plan, which details key activities and delivery partners to help grow the sector. In support of this, Invest NI’s 2024-27 Business Strategy outlines eight strategic priorities to support priority sectors such as advanced manufacturing and engineering.
These priorities are: boosting business investment, accelerating innovation, driving global ambition, achieving sustainability, promoting places and maximising City & Growth Deals.
These strategic priorities support our mission to help more businesses to increase external sales, innovate more and create good, quality jobs. We will also focus support towards projects to increase productivity and reduce carbon emissions as we all work towards net zero.
Collaboration and partnership will be key to success. Invest NI has supported industry-led networks taking place across Northern Ireland. These include Generating Engineering & Manufacturing Excellence (GEMX) in the North West; Manufacturing & Engineering Growth & Advancement (MEGA) in Mid Ulster, and the Manufacturing Task Force in the North East. Bringing together knowledge, expertise and creativity these collaborative networks are helping find solutions to shared problems, raising the profile of Northern Ireland manufacturing through export partnerships and enhancing competitiveness.
Belfast Telegraph Business Awards 2025
Further investment in the sector is also being made through the £1.3bn City and Growth deals. For example, a new Factory of the Future will open next year in Newtownabbey. The £98m Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) will be an open-access manufacturing and engineering innovation centre. In a partnership between Queen’s University of Belfast, Ulster University and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, AMIC will provide advanced manufacturing and engineering businesses access to the very latest technology, specialist equipment and expertise.
And at Ulster University’s Derry~Londonderry campus a £39m investment includes a new purpose-built facility the Cognitive Analytics & Digital Robotics Innovation (CADRIC) Centre. The centre will support new jobs and provide equipment to help design, develop and launch innovative services and products relating to subjects such as bio-inspired AI and cognitive robotics.
These, and other investments in our advanced manufacturing ecosystem, will generate world-leading research outputs, build new innovative partnerships both locally and internationally and help attract new foreign direct investment.
Invest NI is committed to working with companies and industry partners to shape the future of this key sector and drive NI’s economic growth.
If you’re interested in learning more, visit www.investni.com. To enter the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards, go to www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/businessawards/enter