A cleantech and modern hydrogen revolution is happening – and it’s happening in Mid and East Antrim.
The council and businesses in the wider borough are undertaking a series of ambitious and forward-thinking initiatives and investment to lead the way in Northern Ireland, and throughout the UK.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, alderman Noel Williams, said: “Mid and East Antrim is uniquely placed within Northern Ireland in terms of the key strengths and assets we boast in energy and cleantech that align with the ambition of net zero by 2050.”
At the centre of this cleantech focus is hydrogen innovation, training and support – something which Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has dedicated resources to over the last few years through a host of major developments and pioneering initiatives.
This includes the new £23.5m, 7,000 sq m i4C Innovation and Cleantech Centre, which is planned for Ballymena in 2027, as part of the Belfast Region City Deal.
Housed within the proposed i4C Innovation and Cleantech Centre will be an iLAB workshop, designed to provide a flexible combination of ‘makerspace’, ICT AR/VR suite, meeting and collaboration areas together with demonstration and training space with a primary focus on support for the clean technology sector.
Mid and East Antrim boasts a successful, first of its kind in the UK Hydrogen Training Academy, (pictured), developed with a public-private investment of almost £700,000 from the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund, the Department for Communities’ Covid-Revitalisation Fund and EP UK Investments, delivered in conjunction with key academic partners including the University of Birmingham, Belfast Metropolitan College, Northern Regional College, Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University.
