AMIDS – Scotland’s home of manufacturing innovation
Simon Penfold speaks to some of the team behind the groundbreaking AMIDS site, Scotland’s growing centre for cutting-edge manufacturing technology and research
One of the most exciting innovation projects taking place in the UK in recent years has been AMIDS – the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland.
The aim is to transform a 52-hectare site next to Glasgow Airport into Scotland’s home of manufacturing innovation, creating a base for business alongside a range of sector expertise, resulting in a major boost for the region in terms of jobs and the wider economy.
The project’s first major success was securing two anchor tenants: The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC).
The £65m NMIS building opened in June 2023. Operated by the University of Strathclyde, it supports manufacturing, engineering and associated technology business with innovate R&D. It is home to a Manufacturing Skills Academy, a fully connected Digital Factory, and a publicly accessible collaboration hub.
But the first building to officially open on the site was the £88m MMIC, in November 2022. It is a unique collaboration between technology innovation catalyst CPI and 23 partner organisations from across the pharma sector, business, academia, and government agencies. The Centre aims accelerate the development and manufacturing of new medicines by focusing on areas like small molecule manufacturing, sustainable processes, and automated clinical supply chains.
In December last year CPI started construction of a second facility on the site, a new Oligonucleotide Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (OMICE). Oligonucleotides are a revolutionary new therapeutic in the pharma industry. These short, chemically synthesised fragments of DNA or RNA modulate protein expression through several different mechanisms to treat the underlying drivers of disease.
There was a further boost for the AMIDS site earlier this year, when green aircraft engine developer ZeroAvia announced plans to build its own manufacturing base on the site, creating around 350 jobs – a move backed by a £9m Regional Selective Assistance grant from Scottish Enterprise.
The US company’s Hydrogen Centre of Excellence will work closely with NMIS and produce advanced fuel cell systems for its hydrogen-electric aero engines. The facility is expected to begin operating by 2028.
Advanced manufacturing gap
The AMIDS project has been led by Renfrewshire Council, working alongside Strathclyde University and backed by Enterprise Scotland, along with both the Scottish and UK Governments.
Project lead for AMIDS at the Council is Barbara Walker, City Deal and Infrastructure Programme Director. She recalled: “We started on the project back in 2014, when the Glasgow City Region City Deal was launched. At that point we called it the Glasgow Airport Investment Area (GAIA), to bring forward this 52-hectare piece of land adjacent to the airport as a possible business district.
“We were doing the enabling work to get the land ready for development and started drawing up a masterplan, talking to the wider partners – universities, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government. And it became quite clear the big gap in the market was for advanced manufacturing and innovation.
“Then the Scottish Government announced that the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland would be located at AMIDS, in about 2019. That gave us our big anchor organisation,
“We started studying what makes a good innovation district, visiting Sheffield and sites in Europe, doing a lot of background research. We had a blank canvas, so how could we turn it into a world-renowned innovation district?
“We cherry picked ideas from everywhere, working with Scottish Enterprise. And then we were fortunate enough to have CPI decide to locate their Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre on the site, giving us two anchor tenants.”
While it has taken longer than originally expected to bring new companies onto the site, the Council and its partners have not been sitting on their hands.
“We’ve constructed a very high-quality public space called Netherton Square – the whole site is called the Netherton campus – and we wanted the site to be carbon neutral, so we have invested in a district heating network which is the first of its kind in Scotland,” said Barbara.
The source of the heating is a wastewater treatment works, with the water pumped through 1.7km of insulated pipes to AMIDS, and it already feeds both NMIS and MMIC.
“We see this as a city region, even Scotland-wide programme. We want to see the site creating fantastic new jobs in Renfrewshire but it’s all about connectivity and the wider talent pool. So the new Renfrew Bridge over the River Clyde, part of the £117 million Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside project, opens up the talent pool to the wider Glasgow city region.
“Meanwhile Tilbury Douglas have started work for CPI as the contractor for their new Oligonucleotide Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (OMICE).
“We’ve also brought in Buccleuch Property as a joint venture partner. We’re not property developers at the council, so they bring their expertise from similar work all over the UK and that has been really helpful.
“We also have a strategic advisory group which consists of Strathclyde University, the Scottish Government, NMIS, MMIC and other partners so we can respond to any kind of inquiry we got from an organisation potentially looking for space.”
Barbara continued: “One of the areas that Scottish Enterprise and the wider partners had identified that is really missing in Scotland is space for university spin outs – those organisations that are ready to move out the university and into a small space but with support. So, we're now bringing forward plans for Tech Terrace, a flexible space where they can take one unit, expand into two and then at some point go out into their own purpose-built premises on the AMIDS site.
“But they will still have the business support and be part of this cluster. That's what's going to make the site really unique and successful because firms will be able to work on joint projects with NMIS, calling on all the support they can provide.”
At the heart of AMIDS
NMIS is clearly at the heart of the AMIDS project. Its chief strategy and commercial officer is Siobhan Campbell: “As part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult network we absolutely embody its mission, to catapult businesses small and large, getting them over what’s typically called the Valley of Death – getting them from really good innovative ideas to a commercial product, with all the R&D involved in make it work and how to manufacture it in the most efficient way.
“It also involves all the validation and compliance checks, all the challenges that businesses face in coming up with something investable or marketable.
“And the NMIS building provides technical support on an industrial scale, so a manufacturing firm doesn’t have to shut down its production line – they can do all their testing, experimentation and R&D within our facilities.
“We can advise startups on the right equipment, the right design, the right processes. We also do help around the supply chain wherever you are going to be manufacturing through our work with Scottish Enterprise and the Government.
“NMIS is a fantastic facility. It’s not just testing and R&D; we’ve got some really cutting-edge manufacturing facilities. There’s a digital factory as well as facilities for additive manufacturing – also known as 3D printing.”
Like all catapults, NMIS receives a third of its funding from the Government’s Innovate UK agency, a third from competitive bidding for grants and one third from collaborative R&D.
“The core funding lets us buy equipment and the collaborative, competitive work we do keeps us at the cutting edge. We are constantly bidding competitively to identify those areas where we can work with industry and really push forward the cutting edge of manufacturing technology, be that digital or additive or any of other things that we do which allow us to do really good commercial work.
“It's that kind of model of the thirds that keeps us distinct at the commercial edge. We’re doing things that are not competing with the market, but they are genuinely unique, with a unique capability and unique facilities.
Premier material science
NMIS’s research and development work includes developing wind turbine blade recycling, making more energy-efficient parts in the aerospace industry and developing a space and photonics manufacturing facility.
Siobhan said: “A lot of work is around efficiency and productivity, but also how manufacturers can get the maximum out of their materials. We’ve become one of the premier material science facilities in the world, which is why we have global companies like Rolls-Royce working with us around materials and material testing.
“Another area where we are making huge strides is around remanufacture, keeping products and components in service for as long as possible – which has huge environmental, social and economic benefits.”
She added: “The innovative work we do, with small start-ups and established global giants, means we can attract top notch talent really keen to work in this space. So, we have this great building, great equipment and then great people alongside that, which makes NMS a genuinely exciting place to work.”
Since May 2023, Buccleuch Property, a well-respected Edinburgh-based private property investment and development company, has been Renfrewshire Council’s joint venture development partner to advance and secure investment into AMIDS.
The agreement with Buccleuch stipulated that speculative building work must take place and this has led directly to the Tech Terrace scheme: a speculative development that will see the construction of two terraced units comprising ten individual units for start-up or spinoff companies.
Sandy Smith, development director at Buccleuch Property, said: “I’m confident that by the time we put a spade in the ground for these incubator units they will be filled, which is why we're going to go for planning consent for not just the first phase, but a second phase as well.”
Sandy continued: “At the same time we are engaged in very detailed discussions with ZeroAvia and they're talking about a big scheme. I think the combination of AMIDS and our connectivity to Glasgow Airport next door makes us something of a natural home for them.
“Renfrewshire Council have done a really good job with Scottish Enterprise in kickstarting AMIDS. We now want to capitalise on that and deliver this collaborative project which we believe will end up being a huge success.”
Go online for more Discover more about Scotland’s New Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District at: https://amids.co.uk. More on NMIS can be found at https://nmis.scot/ and MMIC at https://www.uk-cpi.com/about/national-centres/medicines-manufacturing-innovation-centre