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INVESTMENT


for R&D, first announced inNovember 2016, to help industries including robotics, artificial intelligence,


5Gmobile technology and smart energy. Announced during the autumn statement, R&Dinvestment will grow by an additional £2bn over and above existing spending by 2020. An increase in investment year- on-year will give an overall boost of £4.7bn by 2020- 21. This is the biggest increase in R&Din any parliament since 1979. It’s an approach that’s proven a success in nations such asGermany and China. For all the big promises, the government’s latest


announcement lacks one key ingredient: newmoney. Aside fromthe already-announced £4.7bn earmarked for R&Dinvestment, the strategy is short on details when it comes to investment in other areas. TheUniversity and CollegeUnion said the industrial strategy was littlemore than a “relaunched skills strategy” and lacked new ideas and “proper funding”.


RESEARCH HUBS Backing up the industrial strategy is the £60million boost to strengthen theUK’smanufacturing base through six new research hubs announced in earlyDecember. Six universities across England,Wales and Scotland will share government funding to improve theUK’s manufacturing processes across fields such as targeted biologicalmedicines, 3Dprinting and compositematerials. The hubs will be led by Cardiff


University, the universities of Huddersfield,Nottingham, Sheffield, Strathclyde andUniversity College London. The new £30million Research Hub at theUniversity ofHuddersfield for FutureMetrology Research will be based in the university’s Centre for Precision Technologies, home to a teamof world-renowned researchers in precision engineering andmetrology.


MOTOR INDUSTRYWANTS SINGLE MARKET Meanwhile, SMMT president Gareth Jones has urged government to “make the right decisions” and stay in the singlemarket. Jones is urging government to develop its industrial strategy with successful sectors, and to put an immediate focus on automotive priorities post-Brexit. New SMMT analysis suggests that


EUtariffs on cars alone could add at least an annual £2.7bn to imports and £1.8bn to exports. Import tariffs alone could push up the list price of cars imported to theUK fromthe continent by an average of £1,500 if brands and their retail networks were unable to absorb these additional costs. Also pushing for a singlemarket arrangement,


Terry Scuoler, CEOof EEF, themanufacturers’ organisation, says: “The governmentmust now work tirelessly to deliver a comprehensive new trade and customs agreement with the EU. As part of that process,ministersmust listen to businesses and support themin building viable bridges to carry the


50 /// Environmental Engineering /// February 2017 ‘ Government


has put industrial strategy at the heart of business


economy through a carefullymanaged and orderly transition.” The SMMT president was speaking after it





published production figures showingUK carmakers are on track to set a new record for exports and beat the production volumes achieved last year.He warns, however, that this success was the result ofmulti- billion pound investment decisionsmade years before the EUreferendumwas even a prospect. Commenting on the strength of the relationship


between government and industry, not least through the Automotive Council,Gareth Jones says: “The government has – commendably – put industrial strategy at the heart of business and theDepartment for Business. It does so as it faces its toughest challenge – leaving the EU.Wemustmake the right decisions: on trade, on regulations and on business competitiveness.” All of this is set to add £6.9bn a year to industry


turnover, including a £2.6bn supply chain boost, while also delivering £74bn to the widerUK economy over the next two decades. Realising this potential will require significant investment – and that will depend uponmaintaining theUK’s international competitiveness and being part of future regulatory and standards development.


INTERNET OF THINGS Themanufacturing sectormust become a priority area for innovations that will helpUK businesses to compete globally, says systems integratorWorld Wide Technology (WWT). New research suggests that the global


manufacturing sector will invest $20.59bn into


Internet of Things (IoT) solutions by 2021, and that the Asia-Pacific region will see exponential growth in this area. The capacity of sensor-based technology to boost productivity and profitabilitymust not be ignored in Britain. Ben Boswell, Europe,Middle East and Africa


director atWWT says: “It’s great to see this return to optimisminUKmanufacturing, but the level of uncertainty in themarketmeans that every effort must be taken now tomake the sector sustainable. “But applying IoT – and achieving these


considerable savings – is a complex undertaking.Many IoT initiatives rush to deploy technology and fail to pay attention to the critical underlying IoT infrastructure. This can lead to a fragmented solution thatmay not be secure, sustainable or scalable. At worst, an IoT solution is barelymore than a


gimmick and becomes an added cost burden which fails to unlock business outcomes. “At their best though, these solutions offer a


competitive edge simply through the smart analysis of routine processes.With optimismhigh but potential bumps around the corner, the time has never been better for government and industry alike to prioritise the innovations that will deliver sharply focused and sustainable business outcomes for years to come.” EE


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