Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre (ABC), an Enterprise Ireland funded Technology Gateway, has been awarded in excess of €800,000 for new equipment to help support Irish companies. Shannon ABC is a collaboration between the Institute of Technology, Tralee and Limerick Institute of Technology and works with companies across  the Life Sciences, Food and Biotech sectors.

Vice President for Research, Development and External Engagement, Ms Brid McElligott commented that ‘IT Tralee are delighted that Shannon ABC have secured this funding for new equipment. Together with our IMaR Technology Gateway, our ITT researchers have been successful in securing €1.2 million in capital funding over the last two years. As we move towards the establishment of the Munster Technological University in 2021, this equipment will be fundamental to our continued industry engagement.”

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD announced the successful applicants of the Capital Equipment Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland. 37 successful applicants from the Technology Gateway Network and Technology Centres have secured over €6million in funding.

The 6 successful applicants from Shannon ABC secured equipment that will assist in its expansion of R&D support for a range of sectors including food, cosmetic, nutraceutical, marine, biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, environmental and healthcare.

Dr Tim Yeomans, Centre Manager for Shannon ABC said that ‘We have now secured just short of €2 million in the last 2 years for new equipment; this will sustain and transform the support that we can provide for Irish industry – we are excited for the opportunity to put this equipment to work for Irish companies’.

The equipment awarded includes:

• Liquid Chromatographer Tandem Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer
• Gas Chromatography Infrared Interface
• Microalgae Cultivation Suite
• Plate Reader
• Cosmetic Suite
• High Throughput Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) suite

The new State of the Art Equipment will facilitate:

• More companies engaging in collaborative R&D with IoT researchers
• Enhanced technology validation and testing capabilities
• Test bed generation
• Enhanced training potential for key industry staff on emerging technologies

Shannon ABC is funded under the Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway Programme. For more information, please contact tim.yeomans@staff.ittralee.ie