UK’s £37m Digital Twin Centre opens in Belfast to drive transformation
2 May 2025 
The £37.6m UK Digital Twin Centre has opened in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with the aim of driving the next wave of industrial transformation by accelerating the adoption of digital twin technologies across critical UK sectors, potentially delivering 230 new jobs in UK manufacturing and £62m in GVA for the Northern Ireland economy over the coming decade.
The Centre will help businesses across the UK to demonstrate and deploy digital twins. It brings together capabilities in six areas – intelligence, data services, immersive end-user experiences, cyberphysical systems, integration and security – to make the emerging technology more accessible and interoperable across sectors and suppliers.
The Centre is funded by Innovate UK and the Belfast Region City Deal , and delivered by the Digital Catapult. There are three co-investing industrial partners: Artemis Technologies, Spirit AeroSystems and Thales UK. Since funding for the project was announced last year, the Digital Catapult has brought industry and other interested parties together to identify barriers to adopting digital twins and possible strategic interventions.
At the Centre’s official opening, the industrial partners used its facilities – including a 360-degree immersive space and advanced technology lab – to demonstrate how digital twins can solve complex challenges. The early-stage use cases emphasise how cross-sector collaboration can help to create scalable, practical systems, while building expertise that can be shared across industries, ultimately improving product design, building supply chain resilience, and decarbonising industrial operations.
The Centre’s first six-month accelerator programme – now open for expressions of interest – will support partnerships between technology SMEs and industry to fast-track digital twin adoption in the maritime, aerospace and defence sectors. As well as funding from Innovate UK, participants will also receive mentorship, workshops and support to develop proofs-of-concept for technologies such as IoT, data integration, and simulation tools, bringing their systems closer to real-world deployment. SMEs and industrial leaders interested in taking part in the accelerator programme can apply online.
“The UK Digital Twin Centre brings together our technical expertise, facilities and networks to unlock the power of deep technologies,” says Digital Catapult CEO, Susan Bowen. “By connecting industries with cutting-edge technology through our programmes, we are enabling businesses to harness the full potential of digital twins-driving operational efficiencies, advancing sustainability, and sharpening the competitive edge of UK businesses.”
“Seeing real-world use cases coming to life at the UK Digital Twin Centre is a powerful demonstration of how digital twins can deliver tangible advances for UK industry,” adds Dean Cook, executive director for place and global at Innovate UK. “These cutting-edge tools will solve complex business challenges in aerospace, maritime, and defence.
“It’s a testament to how we are leveraging the strengths of local innovation clusters across the UK, with Belfast bringing together it’s wealth of business and research expertise in digital technologies and advanced manufacturing. In turn this will have a positive impact on economic growth in Northern Ireland and across the UK.”
For the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray, the new Centre “marks a major step for Belfast, driving innovation in high-growth sectors like advanced manufacturing. Through the Belfast Region City Deal and with Digital Catapult’s UK-wide reach, we’re connecting our SMEs to a powerful network, unlocking access to new markets, collaboration opportunities, and cutting-edge technologies. This will boost local businesses, create high-skilled jobs, and drive real economic impact for the region.”
Digital twins are dynamic virtual representations of a physical assets, processes or systems, that bridge the physical and digital worlds. They turn data into real-time insights that can be used to optimise performance, cut costs, and predict outcomes before they happen.
