News: Suppliers
20 July 2023
CSA Catapult expands across the UK to South West & North East England and Scotland
Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult in Newport, South Wales is expanding across the UK to Bristol, the North East of England, and Scotland.
Established in 2017 by UK Government agency Innovate UK (which provides funding and support for business innovation as part of UK Research and Innovation), CSA Catapult is a not-for-profit organization focused on accelerating the adoption of compound semiconductors in three key areas (the road to Net Zero, future telecoms and intelligent sensing). Headquartered in South Wales, it works across the UK in a range of industry sectors, from automotive to medical, and from digital communications to aerospace.
CSA Catapult hence plays a leading role in the UK’s compound semiconductor ecosystem, helping companies fully embrace compound semiconductor technology and bring their innovations to market.
Future Telecoms Hub in Bristol
With the support of Innovate UK, this Autumn CSA Catapult will open a Future Telecoms Hub at the Bristol and Bath Science Park in the South West of England. The Catapult has identified significant opportunities for growth in the UK telecoms hardware sector. The Future Telecoms Hub will support companies developing telecoms hardware.
The Future Telecoms Hub will allow CSA Catapult to deepen and accelerate its expertise in telecoms by building technology platforms and ecosystems for telecoms hardware.
Driven by the growth of 5G networks and the adoption of next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), the global telecom equipment market is forecasted to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% from $538.9bn in 2021 to $967.9bn by 2030.
Support for the North East compound semiconductor cluster
CSA Catapult will also establish a presence in the North East of England, where there is a cluster of companies working on telecoms, satellite communications and defence technologies. Based at NETPark in Sedgefield, County Durham, CSA Catapult North East will work with companies in the area as a neutral convener. It aims to facilitate market adoption of new compound semiconductor-based technologies, and build supply chains in telecoms, satellite communications and defence.
CSA Catapult North East will offer direct digital access to the prototyping capabilities in Newport, reducing the time and cost to produce advanced semiconductor modules to serve these markets.
CSA Catapult has entered into a partnership agreement to deliver a co-ordinated program with the Satellite Applications Catapult to help support the cluster’s ambitions for growth. It will have a presence at the Space Enterprise Lab and work closely with Satellite Applications Catapult.
CSA Scotland to develop high-power electronics support in Scotland
Opening this Autumn based at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology Innovation Centre in Glasgow, CSA Scotland will work with the regional cluster of companies developing technologies for high-power electrification in markets such as energy, marine, rail and off-highway.
CSA Scotland will draw on the expertise of Strathclyde University and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), offering direct digital access to CSA Catapult facilities in South Wales, allowing companies to rapidly design and prototype advanced power electronic modules for these markets.
“CSA Catapult’s purpose is to deliver long-term benefit to the UK economy and accelerate UK economic growth in industries where applying compound semiconductors creates a competitive advantage,” says CSA Catapult’s CEO Martin McHugh. “Expanding across the UK means we can support more companies and bring more products to market through our technology expertise, supply chain creation and building compound semiconductor clusters. Setting up new centers in Bristol, Scotland and the North East will allow us to grow the ecosystem to support these new and emerging technologies in the UK,” he adds. “We will collaborate with universities, start-ups and larger companies to build new UK-based supply chains in telecoms hardware. We want to support and attract companies leading R&D in the UK. These critical markets, using compound semiconductors, will create significant jobs and growth in the future,” he believes.
“Innovate UK is committed to supporting growth and increased productivity across the UK, with the Catapults having a significant role in developing local economies,” states Dean Cook, director – Place and Levelling Up, Innovate UK. “This new investment by Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult will build on its foundations in South Wales and connect this national capability to opportunities across the telecoms industry and their applications in support of business innovation in Scotland, the North East of England and the South West of England.”
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