Ireland punching above its weight in new mobility innovation

The Republic of Ireland is determined to establish itself as a leading hub for future mobility development. This small country, about the size of the US state of South Carolina and home to just five million residents, is better known for Guinness and shamrocks than it is for automotive production and engineering. However, the usual stereotypes could soon be turned on their head.

With little automotive manufacturing history—DeLorean is one of the more notable exceptions—the move towards electrification and the software-defined car offer an opportunity to lead in new priority areas. Over the past few years, the country has been pouring investment into electric vehicle (EV) batteries, sensor technology, engineering talent and software development. Organisations like Industrial Development Agency Ireland and Enterprise Ireland are actively supporting and facilitating investment opportunities for a wide range of companies in this field. Valeo and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) are just two of the global big names to operate local R&D centres spearheading company-wide developments across pivotal areas like artificial intelligence (AI), sensors, and software.