Surface Power Hone has identified Ireland as a potential location for its new manufacturing facility, which could lead to the creation of 700 new Irish jobs. It is currently assessing a selection of European locations to manufacture and assemble the panels and instrumentation it requires. The company, a nano technology company founded by Castlebar native John Quinn, uses photons of light to create free heating and cooling from daylight. Surface Power Hone’s product is based on a daylight-fuelled heating technology which removes the requirement for a boiler. The company announced this week it had secured a €10 million contract with its Belgian partner, Mopac Systems, to build zero energy homes in Germany. In an interview with Newstalk’s Vincent Wall on Friday 17 April, Surface Power Hone CEO John Quinn confirmed that the company is considering Ireland as a potential location. Quinn said the company would create 700 new Irish jobs due to the plant specifications. “The technology uses a lot of people to make it. We have designed it as a sustainable manufacturing enterprise as well. We don’t just look at the technology we’re doing in terms of sustainability, we look at all of it; the way we make it, the materials, recycling, everything else is all part of that picture,” said Quinn.