UCD's Dr David McKeown. Image: UCD
The National Space Subsystems and Payloads Initiative aims to help Ireland develop its own sustainable space industry and will focus on space communications, smart satellites and spacecraft.
A new space project led by University College Dublin (UCD) has secured nearly €8m from the sixth call of Ireland’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).
The latest call of this fund was revealed last week, giving 12 projects a total of €58.8m to develop various technologies for eventual commercial application.
The UCD-led project – the National Space Subsystems and Payloads Initiative – received the largest amount of funding out of the 12 projects. This initiative aims to support the development of an economically sustainable and expanding space industry.
The project will initially focus on three clusters, which are optical communications for space, autonomous smart satellites and spacecraft. The third cluster includes payload modelling, simulation, assembly, integration and test research support.
There are seven consortium members involved in the project, including Intel, UCD spin-out Equal1 and Ubotica Technologies. The project is led by Dr David McKeown, an assistant professor in UCD’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
McKeown is also the engineering manager of EIRSAT-1, Ireland’s first ever satellite which is scheduled to launch later this week.
“The project is a fantastic example of how university led research can naturally support the development of disruptive technologies by Irish space companies,” McKeown said. “It is a clear backing of the importance of space technology research to Ireland and comes at a very exciting time at UCD.”
Other projects that received funding from the latest DTIF round include a targeted treatment for metastatic lung cancer and an initiative to detect abnormal brain activity in infants at birth using AI. Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, TD, said the funded projects are diverse and “potentially life-changing”.
“These disruptive projects will also ensure that Ireland’s research and innovation ecosystem is well placed to capitalise on emerging growth sectors while delivering on net-zero commitments, decarbonisation and digital transformation,” Coveney said.
To date, €364m has been awarded to 103 projects from this disruptive technology fund. In April, a total of €17.8m was awarded to five projects under this fund.
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