ULAS to design Ireland’s first 3D printed liquid rocket engine
University of Limerick Aeronautical Society high-powered rocketry team partners with Irish Manufacturing Research to build the Lúin of Celtchar engine ahead of international propulsion competition
ULAS HiPR, the University of Limerick’s (UL) student-led high-powered rocketry team, is designing and producing what it claims is the first additive manufactured liquid rocket engine in the Republic of Ireland, in partnership with UL and Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR).
The engine, named Lúin of Celtchar, is a 2 kilonewton, water-cooled, isopropyl alcohol (IPA)/nitrous oxide bi-propellant system designed entirely by the ULAS HiPR student team. It will be manufactured at IMR’s Advanced Manufacturing Lab in Mullingar using metal additive manufacturing, before returning to UL for precision machining and assembly.
The approach allows the engine to incorporate complex internal cooling channels, rapid design iteration, and enhanced efficiency that would be difficult to achieve with traditional manufacturing techniques.
Founded in 2022, ULAS HiPR draws students from aeronautical, mechanical, software, and design engineering disciplines. The 2025/2026 team has grown to over 100 students and previously competed internationally at Mach-24 and EuRoC (European Rocketry Challenge) with three rockets named Morrígu, Airmedh, and Macha.
The team has also entered the UK-based Race2Space 2026 International Propulsion Competition.
“The acceptance of our project to Race2Space marks a defining moment not only for ULAS HiPR, but for Ireland’s student space community,” stated Jay Looney, Co-Head of ULAS HiPR. “The selection of the first additively manufactured liquid rocket engine in the Republic of Ireland into the competition validates the technical ambition of our student team, and the strength of collaboration between Irish university students with industry.
“It demonstrates that world-class propulsion innovation can now be designed, manufactured, and tested entirely here in Ireland.”
Mark Hartnett, Design for Manufacturing Senior Technologist at IMR, added: “At IMR, supporting ambitious student teams like ULAS HiPR reflects our commitment to strengthening Ireland’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem and enabling the next generation of aerospace innovators.
“These are vital platforms for advancing cutting-edge technologies and building Ireland’s future engineering capability, and this ULAS HiPR propulsion project demonstrates how emerging technologies can move rapidly from concept to high-performance hardware.”
