Scotland is building a Deeptech Supercluster

Scotland is commencing a phased, multi-year programme to establish a series of deeptech advanced manufacturing pathways across several technology domains. The purpose of the initiative is to create scaling pathways for spinouts, deeptech start-ups and existing deeptech SMEs by giving them affordable access to advanced manufacturing capabilities and associated expertise.

We’ll refer to the aggregate of these advanced manufacturing pathways, in combination with our world-class university research and spin-out capability, and our existing start-up support assets such as Techscaler, Filament STAC, Converge et al as Scotland’s Deeptech Supercluster. This article explains:

• The opportunity that we are addressing
• What each manufacturing pathway in the supercluster will offer
• The approach that will be taken to establish the supercluster
• Detail about Supercluster Phase 1
• Next steps

The opportunity that we are addressing

According to the QS World Rankings, Scotland has per-capita, the highest concentration of world-class universities anywhere on Earth.?? These universities generate spin-out activity derived from the research that they conduct. But it is difficult for these spin-outs and other start-ups that need access to advanced manufacturing capabilities to find those pathways within Scotland, at least beyond the origination and prototyping stages.

That constraint creates an impetus to relocate elsewhere or else causes the company to remain for too long in the prototyping stage.? It also discourages the formation of spinouts in the first place.? It’s also very expensive for an individual early-stage start-up to set up manufacturing premises, build out a manufacturing line for initial limited-scale manufacture and product iteration, and to hire the specialist supply-chain and process engineering expertise required.? ?

What if Scotland’s tech sector included a series of advanced manufacturing pathways, across a variety of key tech domains that enabled deeptech and related start-ups to move from prototyping to limited-scale manufacture in Scotland???

That’s what we’re trying to do through this initiative.? Such a capability would sit alongside and integrate with Scotland’s other tech ecosystem assets such as Techscaler, Filament STAC and our range of accelerator programmes.? It would also stimulate more spinout creation, and the flow of more private capital into Scotland, which should instigate a virtuous cycle.?

Examples of individual advanced manufacturing pathways include robotics, pharmaceuticals, biotech, nanotechnology and compound semiconductor manufacture.

What each manufacturing pathway in the supercluster will offer

The detailed services offered by each pathway will of course vary, depending on the particular domain being addressed. But a typical pathway will be configured as follows:

• The entry point will be a deeptech start-up which is ready to move beyond the prototyping stage.
• The pathway will provide a suitable physical environment to construct a limited-scale advanced manufacturing line.?
• The start-up will have access to shared supply-chain discovery expertise, with both a local and international scope.
• Shared access to process engineering and optimization expertise will also be available.
• Facilitated and discounted access to Scottish contract manufacturers will be included.

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The general approach to building out the Deeptech Supercluster

The following will guide our efforts to pragmatically build the supercluster, within current operating constraints.

Leverage and connect existing assets and address service gaps: Scotland’s wider entrepreneurial ecosystem strategy takes the approach of leveraging existing ecosystem assets, connecting them together into logical, coherent pathways, and filling in capability gaps where they exist.? We’ll take the same approach in this case.?

A phased build-out, and a deliver-learn-iterate cycle: The supercluster vision is bold and will take several years to fully realise.? So, we will proceed in a phased basis, along two dimensions:

Geographical: we aim to build a network of advanced manufacturing pathways across Scotland, one location at a time.

Technology domain: we will prove the model in one technology domain, and endeavour to add others over time.

As progress builds, we’ll learn what works well and what needs to be adjusted along the way.? A phased and iterative approach will ensure that we adapt and apply what we have learned.?

Wide-collaboration: ?Such an ambitious project requires wide collaboration between expert stakeholders. ?It will also see us use Scotland’s investment into the supercluster as leverage to bring in funding from outside Scotland’s borders, and from the private sector.? Early and pending partners in the Phase 1 consortium include:

• Scottish Enterprise, which is a lead partner.
• Strathclyde University, joint lead partner with SE.
• The Scottish Government
• The National Robotarium (Heriot Watt University)
• National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (Strathclyde University).
• Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (CPI)
• Filament STAC IoT Accelerator
• Aberdeen Energy Transition Zone
• The University of Glasgow James Watt Nanofabrication Centre (JWNC)
• The University of Edinburgh

We expect that this consortium will expand to include more ecosystem stakeholders as we move through Phase 1 and beyond.?? The Deeptech Supercluster will also be closely integrated at a UK level with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and with other UK and international partners.

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The Phase 1 deeptech manufacturing pathway

Phase 1 will be located at AMIDS (Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District) in Renfrewshire, which is home to a major NMIS advanced manufacturing demonstrator and consulting site as well as the Medicine Manufacturing Innovation Centre, the upcoming Oligonucleotides Innovation Centre, with the Advanced Forming Research Centre (also part of NMIS) nearby. The original focus of these impressive facilities was on demonstrating advanced manufacturing technologies and providing consulting services to industry.? As part of the Deeptech Supercluster plan, this scope will be extended to support spinouts, start-ups and SMEs with requirements for access to advanced manufacturing line set-up and operation.?

A dedicated facility for manufacturing line set up will be built at the site. Shared services for supply chain discovery support and process engineering will be established alongside this facility.? Additionally, a voucher scheme will be implemented through which qualifying start-ups can access expertise from contract manufacturers.? ?The result of these efforts will be that qualifying start-ups can cost-effectively establish initial production lines and access the precious skills required to bring them to life.

We intend to divide Phase 1 into a series of smaller phases (Phase 1A, 1B…), each addressing a different technology domain.? Phase 1A will focus on Advanced Robotics.?

Next Steps

Scottish Enterprise is leading the funding approvals process across several funding channels, and we expect these approvals to be concluded during H1 2025.? In parallel detailed delivery planning and design is underway for Phase 1A, as well as the high-level design of future phases and technology domains.? There'll be further updates on all of this from the partner organisations as things progress.

It's been exciting to witness both the collective ambition and collaborative spirit of so many stakeholders in getting to this point.? The Deeptech Supercluster initiative is an important step in establishing Scotland as one of the world’s best places to launch and scale a Deeptech start-up.

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