Manufacturing & Fabrication for Critical Technologies SIG

The next meeting of the Manufacturing & Fabrication for Critical Technologies Special Interest Group will bring together industry and ecosystem partners to explore what a more interconnected manufacturing environment could look like for Scotland.

The ambition is to consider what a genuinely interconnected manufacturing ecosystem could look like: one in which a company developing a new technology can understand where to go next, what capabilities are available, how different facilities connect, and how a product can progress from early fabrication and prototyping through testing, packaging, integration, pilot production and ultimately scalable manufacture.

This is increasingly important as technology architectures cross traditional boundaries and can require combinations of capabilities that do not necessarily exist within a single facility. Scotland has an opportunity to compete globally through the strength and connectivity of the pathway between its specialist capabilities, rather than expecting every capability to sit under one roof.

As part of the session, we will also hear from PIXEurope, a European pilot line bringing together capabilities and facilities across different European countries. This will provide an opportunity to explore how a distributed European initiative is approaching the challenge of connecting capabilities across organisations and borders, and how similar approaches could support a more connected manufacturing ecosystem in Scotland.

Alongside this, we will hear from Scottish start-ups about their experience of navigating the manufacturing ecosystem – what they would like to see from Scotland’s manufacturing landscape and what could make it easier for new and growing companies to identify, access and move between local capabilities.

Together, these perspectives will help stimulate discussion around how Scotland can create clearer and more accessible manufacturing pathways, while also connecting more effectively with wider European capabilities and pilot-line infrastructure.

Speakers

• Marina Santana – PIXEurop
• Valentino Seferai – CTO of Quantcore
• Simon Munro – LumiAIres

The session will explore:

· Where and how existing capabilities could be connected more effectively

· How companies can more easily identify and access the facilities and expertise they need

· Where important gaps and bottlenecks remain

A key part of the discussion will also focus on interoperability, process compatibility and standardisation. We will consider where common processes, interfaces, design rules, qualification approaches or emerging standards could make it easier to transfer technologies between facilities and move from R&D towards manufacturing.