Kildare Innovation Campus

New projects announced for Kildare Innovation Campus

as new ‘Science & Technology Campus’ launches

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, announced 140 new jobs in IDA Ireland client companies, Nikon (Japan) and MGS Manufacturing (US) as he attended the launch of Kildare Innovation Campus (KIC) in Leixlip.

Under new ownership, the 78-ha site formerly developed by Hewlett Packard, is to become home to a new science and technology park, which has been re-branded as Kildare Innovation Campus.

Over 1,000 people are currently employed on-site, and its new owner’s vision is for the campus to accommodate potentially in excess of 4,000 jobs over the next ten years in the fields of life sciences, innovation, and technology, including biotech, med-tech, pharmaceuticals, quantum computing, data analytics, photonics, AI, and robotics, among others.

The Tánaiste said: “This is great news for Kildare and also for Ireland’s overall offering for foreign direct investment. This campus will act as a real beacon, attracting jobs and investment to Kildare, where companies can expect to find a wealth of talent and a network of other global leading companies. The news that MSG is creating 100 new jobs and Nikon is creating 40 is a fantastic boost and I hope a sign of things to come. Congratulations to the management teams who have worked so hard to create these jobs and to all involved in making the Kildare Innovation Campus a reality.”

Speaking on behalf of the owners, Iwan Iwanow, Partner, Kildare Innovation Campus said: “KIC is being developed with an ESG-focussed, long-term investment view. The overall vision for the Campus is to re-establish the widely recognised importance of the former Hewlett Packard site as a major scientific and technological hub, thereby contributing to the fast growing knowledge economy which characterises Kildare and its neighbouring counties. We chose to invest in KIC for that reason as well as the exceptionally high quality of the local talent pools; potential for collaboration with third level education bodies; and its connectivity to key transport nodes. We look forward to establishing the Campus through a phased development programme as a major hub for science, innovation, and knowledge-based industries over the next ten years. With this launch we are now ready and open for engagement with interested parties in this regard.”

Welcoming this announcement and its potential to drive economic development, research and innovation in County Kildare, Maynooth University has indicated that it would explore opportunities for collaboration and activity at Kildare Innovation Campus.

Speaking on behalf of the owners as planning advisor, Gavin Lawlor, Director, Tom Phillips + Associates, said; “KIC is an exciting new development which seeks to capitalise on north

Kildare’s long association with science, innovation, and technology. The former HP campus will be redeveloped in line with a new masterplan which will see the expansion of facilities and companies on-site in the science and technology sectors.

The ambition for the site is that the companies located here will be synergistic and the best principles of ESG will apply to the future development of the campus.

The masterplan, which we are currently working on, will also be designed to accommodate the provision of two instrumental pieces of public infrastructure, a new public road and a new pedestrian and cycle overpass of the M4. The new public road has been an ambition of Kildare County Council over multiple Local Area Plans for Leixlip. In this regard the masterplan will include the new public road to connect the Celbridge Road (at KIC’s entrance) to the M4 Interchange Junction 6.

The new road will be delivered entirely by the owners as part of the initial phase of development. The masterplan will also seek planning permission for the delivery of a pedestrian and cycle overpass of the M4, linking the Wonderful Barn at Leixlip to Castletown Demesne in Celbridge. This will help to achieve an objective set out in the 2020 Leixlip LAP and the future Greater Dublin Cycle Network. We are currently working with Kildare County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and other key stakeholders to agree the funding and delivery of the new bridge. KIC have confirmed that they will contribute substantially to this important piece of community infrastructure.”

Upon completion, the new overpass will facilitate new linkages between Celbridge, Leixlip (via Castletown House),

KIC and the nearby Wonderful Barn, providing a unique off road facility that maximises safe pedestrian and cycle links and sustainable transport between the two towns.

Welcoming the KIC initiative, Allan Shine, CEO of County Kildare Chamber said; “These announcements illustrate that Kildare is the location of choice for potential business enterprise in the region. Our proximity to Dublin City, its airport and port, rail and motorway networks, ensures that Kildare is the most accessible county in Ireland. Kildare Innovation Campus can now attract leading Irish and international science and technology companies.

The campus with its new investors and the companies it will engage with, will create a cohesive cluster, facilitating collaboration around science and technology with cutting edge innovation.”