Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan
The Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan sets out how government and industry will work together to strengthen the UK’s manufacturing base and drive long‑term growth. The plan highlights priorities around advanced technologies, automation, digitalisation, skills and supply‑chain resilience, alongside the transition to net zero. It outlines the policy direction intended to support investment, improve productivity and ensure the UK remains a globally competitive location for vehicle manufacturing, components and emerging automotive technologies.
The invention and ingenuity of our Advanced Manufacturing sector has been the backbone of the UK’s industrial strengths for the last three centuries. Just as the sector once pioneered the world’s solutions to transportation and mass production and showcased its ability to adapt in times of war and pandemic, so it now sits at the forefront of the great challenges of this century.
How societies decarbonise, digitise, and build more resilient economies will create unprecedented commercial opportunities for manufacturers to innovate – and the UK has deep pools of expertise. To maximise growth in the next decade and capitalise on Industry 4.0, we need to be the fastest to commercialise Advanced Manufacturing’s frontiers – from innovative battery technologies, electric and self-driving vehicles and low-carbon aircraft fuels to tools for in-orbit satellite assembly and Internet of Things enabled farming sensors. And then we must be ready as competitors try to do it cheaper and better in an era of escalating security threats, unpredictable tariff changes, and intensifying technological rivalry. We must act fast to insulate the sector from global headwinds, help it build resilience, and enable it to capture new opportunities, as supply chains re-align and businesses look again at where they invest.
As a leader in key Advanced Manufacturing industries and technologies, the UK is well placed to meet this moment, backed by our world-leading manufacturers, small and medium sized innovators, and global commercial partnerships. The UK manufacturing sector accounts for around half of all business expenditure on research and development, driving investment in innovation. We have a vibrant research ecosystem, with the world’s best universities and researchers and a strong tradition of collaboration between academia and industry that drives the new ideas and companies of tomorrow. And we have global leaders today – from Rolls-Royce in aerospace engines and nuclear technologies and BAE Systems in defence technologies, to Renishaw pioneering precision engineering and 3D printing and GKN Aerospace and McLaren Automotive pushing the boundaries in lightweight materials and automotive innovation.
By 2035 the UK will be recognised as the best place in the world to start, grow, and invest in Advanced Manufacturing. Our ambition is to near double the annual business investment in the sector from £21 billion to £39 billion in 2035, driving growth across the economy. The UK is one of the most attractive destinations in the world for Advanced Manufacturing, but this vision necessitates a step change.
