Powering Place-making Innovation in Northern Ireland

Momentum One Zero has worked with local companies to integrate deep technologies and accelerate time to market. Credit: Parkway Queen's University Belfast

“We need two things: businesses’ hardest problems, and their partnership,” explains Dr. Stephen McCabe, Executive Director of Momentum One Zero, Northern Ireland’s applied innovation center for artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and wireless systems.

This global initiative has three clear objectives: create measurable commercial value, strengthen innovation infrastructure, and increase productivity and high-quality employment across Northern Ireland.

It does that by integrating deep technologies and world-class research developed at GFCC member Queen's University Belfast (QUB) into new products and services. The center is a clear example of how universities can power innovation ecosystems through place-making innovation, a flag raised by the University and Research Leadership Forum.

Dr. McCabe explained how the center operates and the impact of this strategic project in building commercial advantage for local companies while strengthening the regional economy during GFCC’s March Monthly Call.

“We are operating at a moment in which artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and advanced connectivity are converging. Each of these technologies has transformative potential, but together they are redefining how products are built and how services are delivered”, he adds, highlighting the work of Momentum One Zero in integrating these technologies.

Belfast Region City Deal

Momentum One Zero is financed through the Belfast Region City Deal, an agreement between the United Kingdom government and Northern Ireland’s Executive that secures £1 billion in investment over 15 years to strengthen key regional industries and drive economic development.

The innovation center represents a £70 million initiative within the city deal designed to transform Northern Ireland’s digital economy by expanding regional innovation capacity. It brings together more than 550 researchers and industry specialists working across six sectors: digital health, agri-food, cybersecurity, space technologies, fintech, and net-zero innovation.

Translating Research into Real-World Innovation

Since its operations began in 2025 Momentum One Zero has co-designed and co-delivered multiple innovation projects working directly with local businesses and industry partners.

A key element of this model is helping companies navigate the uncertainty of early-stage technological development by absorbing the technical risk. The center also helps companies accelerate their time-to-market by providing access to specialist engineering expertise and high-performance computing infrastructure.

One example is One Health, a cross-border initiative funded by the Special EU Programmes Body’s Peace Plus scheme. This project supports health innovation across Northern Ireland and border countries. Through this program, Momentum One Zero and partners will support 32 SMEs operating in health and agri-technology, helping them integrate digital tools and artificial intelligence into their growth strategies.

The center has also worked on an array of multidisciplinary projects, including: a) AI livestock monitoring using deep-learning system and multi-object tracking technology to detect and monitor disease outbreaks in pigs; b) personalized medicine discovery through a high-performance computing initiative designed to identify disease-specific proteoforms and biomarkers; c) water safety analytics by employing AI and predictive machine learning tools capable of detecting harmful chemicals in water systems, among others.

Coordinated Innovation Capability

Momentum One Zero is not operating alone in Northern Ireland. It is part of a broader network of innovation centers created under the Belfast Region City Deal and collaborates closely with complementary institutions across the country.

These include the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC), focused on strengthening advanced manufacturing capabilities across the region and the iREACH Health Innovation Centre, dedicated to attracting and scaling clinical trials in Northern Ireland.

Through collaboration with iREACH Health, Momentum One Zero is contributing to the development of secure health-data infrastructures that will enable faster clinical trial recruitment and improved access to high-quality datasets.

The center will be in fully operation with expanded facilities completed in the Queen's Titanic Quarter in late 2027, and will provide colocation space for innovative companies in aligned sectors.

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