Glasgow, 22nd May 2025
Today saw the first meeting of Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster Advisory Board. The supercluster initiative – developed in partnership between Technology Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde – has a stated ambition to grow revenues beyond £10bn by 2035 with a focus on key areas such as skills development, investment, scale up, internationalisation and collaboration.
The newly established Advisory Board brings together experienced individuals from across Scotland’s critical technologies sectors to input strategic guidance on activities that will support this ambition.
Ally McInroy, CEO, Technology Scotland said:
“We are hugely encouraged by the momentum that the supercluster has generated to date and the creation of the Advisory Board represents another important step forward. We have assembled an impressive group of individuals who share a vision to build our capabilities in photonics, quantum technologies, semiconductors, connectivity & sensing and we look forward to generating real impact with their support in the years ahead.”
Evelyn Toma, Director of Strategy at the University of Glasgow’s James Watt Nanofabrication Centre said:
“Scotland’s central belt is a powerhouse of innovation in critical technologies, with world leading companies, research and commercialisation infrastructure. Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster is empowering industry, academia and the public sector to collaborate more effectively, and the Advisory Board will help to ensure Scotland’s full growth potential is unlocked in the years to come. The James Watt Nanofabrication Centre plays a key role in the supercluster, supporting world class research and working with companies to bring products from concept to production.”
Colin Cook – Director of Economic Development, Scottish Government said:
“The Scottish Government welcomes the establishing of this advisory board to both inform and deliver the impressive growth ambitions for the cluster.
The Critical Technologies Supercluster is a catalyst for securing Scotland’s unique value proposition in these next-generation technologies, powering innovation across industries from precision healthcare and clean energy to advanced manufacturing and space.”
Mark Western, Team Leader, Future Industries, Scottish Enterprise said:
“Analysis of successful clusters internationally has shown that close interworking of industry, academia and the public sector is key to driving sustained growth. This board gives us the mechanism to achieve that across the Critical Technologies in Scotland.”
Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster – List of Advisory Board Members
· William Alexander, Technical Director OME UK, Thales (not pictured)
· Alan Anderson, Senior Director of R&D, Optos
· Simon Andrews, Executive Director, Fraunhofer UK
· Andy Birnie, VP, Automotive System Engineering, NXP Semiconductors
· Brendan Casey, CEO, Kelvin Nanotechnology
· Chris Courtney, CEO, NMIS (not pictured)
· Jillian Hughes, Head of Semiconductors, TechWorks
· Shahida Imani, CEO, Singular Photonics (not pictured)
· Darryl McCoy, VP and General Manager, Coherent Scotland
· Gordon McInnes, Strategic Operations Manager, Diodes Inc
· Andy McKee, CTO/Site Lead, Sivers Photonics (not pictured)
· Gill Murray, Deputy Principal (Enterprise & Business), Heriot-Watt University (not pictured)
· Martin Murray, Director of Business Administration, Shin-Etsu
· Iain Scott, VP Capability & CTO, Leonardo UK
· Graeme Shaw, CEO, Semefab (not pictured)
· Andrea Taylor, CEO, Edinburgh Innovations, University of Edinburgh
· Jen Walls, CEO, Clas-SiC (not pictured)
· Paul Winstanley, CEO, CENSIS
Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster – Executive Committee
· Ally McInroy, CEO, Technology Scotland
· Alison McLeod, Director, Photonics Scotland (not pictured)
· Jack Keays, Team Leader, New Market Clusters, Scottish Government
· Mark Western, Team Leader, Future Industries, Scottish Enterprise
· Evelyn Toma, Director of Strategy, James Watt Nanofabrication Centre, University of Glasgow
· Matthew Maynard, Director, Strategic Projects, University of Strathclyde (not pictured)
About the Critical Technologies Supercluster
Scotland is home to a Supercluster in Critical Technologies, a constellation of overlapping and mutually supporting technology sub sectors – photonics, quantum, semiconductors, and wireless and sensing technologies.
Although these technologies remain largely invisible to the public, they form an important base for critical supply chains in life sciences, space, future automotive, energy, communications and defence and security. They will also be essential in our efforts to tackle the climate emergency and meet our collective net zero ambitions.
The supercluster currently generates £4.2bn in revenues for Scotland, with over 150 companies supporting nearly 11,000 jobs at salaries significantly above the Scottish average. This aggregation of expertise, unparalleled anywhere else in the UK, has been recognised by both Scottish and UK Governments and has been identified as one of Scotland’s Key Strategic Industry Clusters.
Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster has been set up to provide a focal point and coordinating force that will support the innovation and growth ambitions of all cluster participants. It aims to raise the profile of these important technologies to UK stakeholders, influence policy at Scottish and UK Government level, develop a robust value proposition to attract international investment and talent, and support the sector to meet its growth ambitions over the next decade. To this last point, central to the initiative is an ambition to grow revenues beyond £10bn by 2035 and add upwards of 6,000 high paying jobs.