On March 12, 2025, Technology Scotland hosted a reception at the Scottish Parliament, providing an opportunity to showcase Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster to more than 200 influential individuals from various sectors, including industry, academia, and government.
This initiative brings together Scotland’s strengths in photonics, quantum, semiconductors, connectivity, and sensing, aiming to drive economic growth and position Scotland as a leading hub for these technologies in the UK.
The supercluster, launched in November 2024, is a collaboration between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Technology Scotland, and the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. It currently supports nearly 11,000 highly skilled workers and generates revenues exceeding £4 billion. The ambitious goal is to grow this to over £10 billion by 2035, creating an additional 6,600 jobs through a focus on skills, investment, scale-up support, and internationalisation.
The evening served as a platform for industry leaders and policy makers to discuss the importance of essential technologies, with attendees having the chance to engage with eight live demonstration booths that showcased groundbreaking innovations that form the foundation of the Supercluster. Alongside Kenneth Gibson, speakers included Alastair McInroy, CEO of Technology Scotland, Evelyn Toma from the University of Glasgow, and Scottish Government Minister for Business, Richard Lochhead, MSP.
Ally McInroy, CEO of Technology Scotland, commented:
“This evening has been a fantastic illustration of the strength of Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster. The huge turnout from our sectoral leaders, key external stakeholders and MSPs shows the momentum that has been built by the supercluster initiative over the last 12 months.
The stars of the show though, were the technologies themselves, and it was exciting to be able to bring these technologies to life through a series of demonstrators showcasing cutting edge innovation in sectors as diverse as space and healthcare. Technology Scotland looks forward to building on this momentum to support the sector’s growth ambitions in the decade ahead.”
Business Minister Richard Lochhead has emphasised the supercluster’s potential:
“Scotland’s four critical technologies are a major economic strength. They incorporate synergies of expertise, technical processes, and overlapping global markets and customers from electric vehicles to satellites.”
“The supercluster’s rightly ambitious aim is to exploit these existing strengths in Scotland to generate £10 billion in revenue and support up to 17,500 jobs by 2035. Technology Scotland is playing a pivotal role in helping realise this ambition, and I was delighted to confirm at the Holyrood Reception a 50% increase in their funding, helping them to continue to drive growth of the cluster and growth across Scotland’s economy.”
The reception at Holyrood coincides with Photonics Scotland’s 30th anniversary, providing an opportunity to showcase Scotland’s capabilities in photonics and quantum to political figures ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election.
