Yearly Archives: 2017

Innovate’s latest OPEN innovation competition opens

Rapidly following the opening of Innovates’ Future Manufacturing and Materials and Infrastructure competition opened on 28 November the latest Open competition opened on 11 December.  All technologies are in scope for this competition including those covered by Innovate’s priority areas of Infrastructure, Health and Life Sciences,  Manufacturing and Materials and Emerging and Enabling technologies. Competition…

Innovate Manufacturing, Materials and Infrastructure competition opens highly relevant to #photonics

Innovate have opened two new competitions in Future Manufacturing and Materials and Infrastructure. Previous Manufacturing and Materials competitions have attracted a high proportion of top quality proposals utilising and developing photonics.  “Projects should target opportunities for significant changes in productivity and …. increase material efficiency“. This competition scope focuses on:- developing more flexible and efficient…

Nationwide input to the PLG

The UK photonics industry is distributed across the UK with key centres of activity in Northern Ireland, Scotland, the South West, South East, Midlands, Wales, North East and North West.  With global exporters often tucked away in small industry estates thought out the country, many people are unaware of the significant role UK photonics firms…

UK Industry Strategy finalised with plenty of scope for #photonics

  Ideas Innovation People Skills Infrastructure  i.e. full fibre networks Business Environment Starting & growing enterprise Places Prosperity across UK The industrial strategy: building a Britain for the future outlines 5 foundations for UK growth down from the 10 pillars in the original green paper. The strategy further outlines the overall grand challenges / global trends…

Photonics in Defence and Security

The new Ministry of Defence Science and Technology Strategy 2017 is welcomed by the PLG. The concise review identifies the critical role science and technology plays in current and future defence and security. Many of the key enablers identified in sensing, quantum technology, novel materials, autonomy and more are underpinned by photonics innovations. The importance…

Photonics and the Budget

Measures in the budget of high relevance to UK photonics industry include:- An Additional £2.3bn in 2021-2022 for research and development funding.  This is an extension of the national productivity investment fund program to 2021-22 not an increase in earlier years. Announced R&D funding under NPIF (inc industrial challenge fund) now:. 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22…