The project has received a green light to submit its Full Business Case (FBC) to the Department for the Economy following the specialist and peer-reviewed process which provided an objective view of the ability of the project to deliver on time and to budget.

The green light feedback indicates that successful delivery of the AMIC project in terms of time, cost and quality is highly likely and that there are no major outstanding issues significantly threatening its delivery.

The AMIC project is being delivered in partnership with industry, Ulster University and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. It will reinvigorate Northern Ireland’s industrial potential and address the future technology and skills challenges faced by the region’s manufacturing sector.

It builds on 50 years of sustained innovation and industry support through the Northern Ireland Technology Centre (NITC), the Polymer Processing Research Centre (PPRC) and the more recent university-industry partnership, the NI Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE).

Planning permission for AMIC’s 10,500m² Factory of the Future at Global Point in Newtownabbey was granted in May this year and contractors Henry Brothers have been appointed. It is planned that construction work at the site will start in spring 2024 following FBC approval and that AMIC will be operational by 2026.

Find out more about AMIC here, or contact amic@qub.ac.uk.