In a significant stride towards redefining the landscape of industry innovation, the Belfast Region City Deal and Innovate UK have unveiled a groundbreaking £37.6 million investment in the UK Digital Twin Centre. This pioneering initiative, set to emerge as a beacon of excellence, promises to reshape how industries conceive and develop products, services, and systems across the United Kingdom.
Led by Digital Catapult, the Centre has garnered widespread endorsement from UK industry stalwarts, marking its launch with co-investment from three major industry partners: Thales UK, Spirit AeroSystems, and Artemis Technologies.
Enabled by a core investment from Innovate UK into this new world-class Centre and the associated programmes, the partners will deliver an initial six use cases to demonstrate the potential of digital twins in transforming the maritime, aerospace, and defence sectors. As stated by Indro Mukerjee, CEO at Innovate UK, “As the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK works to support growth and increased productivity across the UK through our portfolio of products and services.”
Backed by a substantial investment from Innovate UK, the UK Digital Twin Centre aims to propel industry into a new era of digital transformation. The consortium of partners is poised to showcase the potential of digital twins through an initial rollout of six use cases, targeting the maritime, aerospace, and defence sectors. Unlike conventional research and innovation hubs, the Centre’s mandate extends beyond mere experimentation, striving to expedite industry adoption of digital twins by facilitating access to cutting-edge technologies and nurturing workforce skills.
Digital twins, increasingly embraced across global industry landscapes, serve as virtual replicas of physical objects or systems, seamlessly integrated with real-time data streams. This paradigm shift affords businesses unparalleled advantages, from rapid prototyping to real-world control mechanisms, ultimately empowering smarter decision-making, expediting time to market, and mitigating costs and emissions.
The £15 million injection from the Belfast Region City Deal will underpin core research efforts and skill-building initiatives, bolstering the region’s innovation ecosystem and propelling strides towards net-zero targets. Notably, the Centre has pledged to generate 230 new jobs in the manufacturing sector across the UK and inject £61 million into the Northern Irish economy by 2033.
Commenting on this transformative development, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, hailed the project as a catalyst for collaboration and economic prosperity. He stated, “This is an ambitious project that will bring exciting opportunities for collaboration and accelerate the fantastic transformation Belfast’s digital sector is already witnessing.”
Echoing these sentiments, Economy Minister Conor Murphy lauded the Centre as a conduit for job creation, productivity enhancement, and sustainable growth. Murphy emphasized the Centre’s role in democratizing access to digital twin technology, thereby dismantling barriers and fostering a culture of innovation across industries.
To democratize access to digital twins and drive innovation at all levels, the UK Digital Twin Centre will roll out a series of programmes tailored to cater to SMEs and large enterprises alike.
Indro Mukerjee, CEO at Innovate UK, reiterated the agency’s commitment to fostering innovation and boosting productivity across the UK. He highlighted the transformative potential of digital twins, underscoring Innovate UK’s dedication to supporting business innovation through strategic investments.
Deborah Colville, UK Digital Twin Centre Director at Digital Catapult, hailed the announcement as a watershed moment in unlocking the tangible benefits of digital twins for the UK. Colville emphasized the Centre’s pivotal role in empowering businesses with the requisite expertise and resources to harness the full potential of digital twins, driving down costs, meeting sustainability targets, and gaining a competitive edge on the global stage.
The UK Digital Twin Centre is slated to commence operations later this year in Belfast, promising a paradigm shift in industry dynamics. Businesses keen on exploring the transformative potential of digital twins can glean further insights by visiting digicat.org.uk/UKDigitalTwinCentre.
