A Leading Location for Advanced Electronics and Materials
Specialist space, research expertise and an established technology community supporting advanced electronics and materials businesses from innovation through to commercial manufacture.
Advanced Electronics and Materials at NETPark
At NETPark, you can develop advanced electronics, photonics, semiconductors and advanced materials for applications across communications, defence, space, healthcare and manufacturing. You will also be part of a significant and growing regional cluster represented by North East Advanced Material Electronics (NEAME), which brings together businesses and organisations working across the sector.
You benefit from specialist facilities and research expertise provided by CPI and Durham University, including the National Printable Electronics Centre and the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, alongside connections to the High Value Manufacturing and Satellite Applications Catapults. With new units ranging from 11,500 to 35,700 sq ft, you can move from research and development into commercial manufacturing without leaving the campus.
The technologies you develop at NETPark can also contribute to the UK’s sovereign capability in strategically important areas including defence, security, space and communications. By supporting their development and manufacture in the UK, we help retain specialist skills, knowledge and intellectual property while strengthening domestic supply chains.
Why electronics companies choose NETPark
As your electronics business grows, you can face a practical problem. The laboratory space that supported your early development may no longer suit pilot production. The building that worked for a team of ten may no longer work for a team of fifty. Expanding can mean relocating, disrupting projects and risking the loss of staff and knowledge.
We offer a different route. Our range of accommodation includes offices, laboratories, cleanrooms and space for light manufacturing, helping you find facilities suited to each stage of your development.
You can begin in incubator space within Plexus, move into Discovery or Explorer as you grow, and then take a bespoke facility in our brand-new larger expansion units. Your address stays the same. Your facilities, research partners and business connections remain close by.
That continuity matters for your people as much as it does for your property. Your business depends on specialist scientists, engineers, technicians and manufacturing staff whose skills and experience take years to develop. By growing on the same campus, you can keep experienced teams together and retain the knowledge they have built. As your business and workforce expand, this contributes to a critical mass of expertise and a long-term skills base at NETPark.
You join more than 40 science and technology businesses and over 1,000 people already based on campus. This concentration of companies gives you opportunities to collaborate, recruit and share expertise without needing to look beyond the site.
The Facilities
Developing and manufacturing advanced electronics requires specialist facilities that can take years to establish and demand significant investment. At NETPark, you can access these facilities as your business grows.
CPI operates three national innovation centres at NETPark covering printable electronics, healthcare photonics and formulations. You can access cleanrooms, pilot-scale facilities, characterisation equipment and technical expertise that would be difficult to replicate independently.
The National Printable Electronics Centre is particularly relevant the sector. It supports the development of flexible, hybrid and large-area electronics, helping you move technologies closer to commercial manufacture.
Durham University is part of our campus community and has recognised strengths in photonics, semiconductors, advanced materials and engineering. At NETPark, you can work with researchers, develop collaborative projects and access graduate talent from a university ranked among the world’s top 100.
The Companies
The strongest endorsement of NETPark comes from the businesses already based here.
Filtronic develops and manufactures radio-frequency, microwave and millimetre-wave components and subsystems at NETPark. Its technology supports demanding communications applications across the space, aerospace, defence and telecommunications sectors.
Kromek develops radiation and biological-threat detection technology for the defence, security and healthcare markets. Its work includes cadmium zinc telluride semiconductor components used in medical and industrial imaging, alongside compact radiation-detection systems designed to protect people, infrastructure and public spaces.
Pragmatic Semiconductor designs and manufactures flexible integrated circuits. Its ultra-thin, physically flexible chips can add connectivity, sensing and computing capabilities to everyday objects, with potential applications across consumer products, healthcare, packaging and supply-chain management.
aXenic designs, develops and produces optical modulators for communications and sensing. Its compound-semiconductor technology supports high-speed optical communications in demanding satellite, aerospace and defence applications.
Alongside them are businesses working in photonics, compound semiconductors, sensing technologies and advanced materials.
Being part of our community brings practical advantages. You can access specialist suppliers, recruit from an established talent pool and build relationships with organisations operating in the same markets, particularly defence, security, communications and space.
Part of a Larger Cluster
At NETPark, you are part of one of the UK’s largest concentrations of advanced electronics and materials businesses.
Across North East England, more than 330 companies operate in the sector and the region produces around 19 per cent of the UK's research in advanced materials and electronics.
Organisations including North East Advanced Material Electronics (NEAME), Space North East England and the North East Regional Defence and Security Cluster can connect you with supply chains, collaborative projects and new customers.
Ten minutes from NETPark, the Octric semiconductor foundry in Newton Aycliffe strengthens the region's semiconductor manufacturing capability and supports defence and security supply chains. Together, these regional assets connect research, development, testing and manufacturing, helping to build resilient UK supply chains and reduce reliance on overseas capability for strategically important components and technologies.
If you choose NETPark as your base, these regional assets form part of the wider support available to you around the campus.
The Space
Our £100m expansion adds 285,650 sq. ft. of space across 11 units ranging from 11,500 to 35,700 sq. ft.
Each unit is delivered as shell space, allowing you to create laboratories, cleanrooms, technical facilities and production environments designed around your requirements. You do not need to adapt your operation to fit an existing layout.
If your business is at an earlier stage, you can use incubator and grow-on accommodation within Plexus, Discovery and Explorer on the same campus, giving you a clear route from start-up to large-scale occupation.
A Connected Location
From NETPark, you can access research, technical and manufacturing expertise across Durham, Newcastle and Teesside.
By car, Durham is approximately 20 minutes away, Teesside 25 minutes and Newcastle 40 minutes. Our proximity to the A1(M) also makes travel to the rest of the UK straightforward.
You can reach Teesside International Airport in around 25 minutes and Newcastle International Airport in 45 minutes.
NETPark is around 20 minutes by car from two major railway stations, Darlington and Durham. Both are on the East Coast Main Line, connecting the region to London, Cambridge, Oxford and Scotland. You can reach London in under three hours from either station.
Our campus provides a landscaped working environment with green spaces and walking routes. Combined with County Durham’s housing, schools, countryside and lower cost of living, this can help you attract and retain the people needed for long-term growth.
Business support at NETPark
When you move to NETPark, our support continues. Delivered by Business Durham, our campus team takes the time to understand your plans and connect you with the right people and opportunities.
We can provide guidance on funding, skills and recruitment, future property requirements and growth planning, as well as introductions to universities, Catapults, sector networks, suppliers and potential collaborators.
Regular events and direct introductions also help you get to know your neighbours and become part of the wider NETPark community. As your needs change, you have a local point of contact ready to provide practical help and make the right connections.
Discover what NETPark could offer your business
To find out how your company would benefit from locating to NETPark please contact Sara Williams, on 01740 625 250 or email sara.williams@durham.gov.uk
