Cleantech innovation campus to support 500 jobs in 5 years

A new innovation campus in Dublin City University (DCU) is expected to support about 500 jobs over the next five years.

Opened by Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, the DCU Innovation Campus is a new national centre for innovation in the cleantech sector, one of the fastest growing areas of economic activity and worth €5tn globally.

The new campus, which will be a location of choice for cleantech start-ups, SMEs and larger companies, is expected to drive significant green economy growth in the north Dublin and Leinster area, supporting 200 jobs over the initial 18 months. This is expected to grow to 500 over five years.

The establishment of the campus follows the transfer of a vacant Enterprise Ireland-owned site to DCU for the project.

The cleantech sector develops innovative products and services to address sustainability issues concerning water, waste, energy, and emissions.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Bruton said the green economy was crucial to creating jobs into the future. “The green economy is a sector targeted as part of the Government’s plans for jobs and growth, and late last year we published our plans in this sector aimed at driving the creation of 10,000 additional jobs in this sector over the coming years.”

“The DCU Innovation Campus will play a key role in this by bringing together innovative start-ups and more established companies with the skills and ideas that only a university can provide.”

The campus will be a central element of DCU’s contribution to the development of the Green Way, a collaborative venture established by industry, academic institutions and public/semi-state players in the north Dublin region to create jobs and trade opportunities through its internationally recognised cleantech cluster.

DCU president Prof Brian MacCraith said the university was committed to delivering innovation and economic impact at regional and national level.