Shorter development cycles
Prototype and refine before committing to manufacture.
About GNN
A regional facility for prototyping and development
GNN will draw on the expertise of the region’s universities and provide a focus for nanotechnology research in the North East.
What GNN is
An ultra-clean environment for making things very small
Great Northeast Nanofab (GNN) is a new micro- and nano-fabrication facility being established by Newcastle University. It will provide an ultra-clean environment where devices and components less than a millionth of a metre wide can be designed, fabricated and tested.
It will support teaching, training and research, and provide services to local high-tech companies developing products from quantum sensors to medical devices. It is intended to be open to universities, start-ups, SMEs and industry.
The technologies made at this scale sit inside much of modern life: mobile phones, medical devices, sensors, clean energy, communications, electric vehicles, computing and quantum technologies.
Why it matters
What GNN is intended to bring to the region
Expertise on the doorstep
Academic groups across five universities in the North East.
Skills for the region
Hands-on training for students and early-career researchers.
Collaboration
Closer working between companies and researchers across the region.
…the infrastructure which will allow local industry to prototype advanced products…
Skills and talent
Building the workforce for the technologies of the future
Students and early-career researchers will gain hands-on experience in an advanced manufacturing environment, helping to build the technical workforce industry needs, regionally and nationally.
By building this capability in the North East, the universities aim to support innovation, attract investment and strengthen local supply chains.
Meet the five universitiesWhere things stand
GNN is being established. Access arrangements and processes are being confirmed by Newcastle University. We are talking to companies now about what would be most useful to them, and we would like to hear from you.
Facts on this site come from the Newcastle University announcement of 15 July 2026.
See what the facility could do for you
Browse the toolset and the outcomes it is being set up to support, or book a short call with the team.