MICROELECTRONICS UK


Britain’s microelectronics ecosystem convenes at Excel London this September


With semiconductors, photonics and embedded systems now central to UK industrial policy, Microelectronics UK 2026 brings the engineers, manufacturers and researchers building that future together for two days at Excel London.


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icroelectronics underpins almost every system engineers are now asked to design against: tighter power budgets, higher reliability targets and faster development cycles. On 29-30 September, Microelectronics UK 2026 returns to Excel London to bring the people working on those problems into one room. Now in its second UK edition, the show is expected to draw more than 4,000 attendees, 175+ exhibitors and 120+ speakers across five stages.


The event is structured around engineering disciplines rather than generic technology themes. Semiconductors UK covers chip design, advanced packaging and manufacturing scale-up, including sessions on designing power semiconductors for data centre applications and scaling production with new materials and processes. Photonics UK looks at silicon photonics, free space optical communications and photonic systems for space, airborne and maritime platforms, with speakers including Alison McLeod, director of Photonics Scotland at Technology Scotland, and Andrew Lord, senior manager for Optics and Quantum Research at BT. Embedded Systems UK addresses the engineering questions that sit underneath AI adoption: secure-by-design architectures, RISC-V and open architectures, and the verification challenges of safety-critical devices, with speakers from Rolls-Royce, Eurostar, Johnson Controls and York University’s SYSTRON Lab.


A fourth stage, Discovery, and a fifth, Startup Launchpad, widen the programme beyond established industry. Discovery Stage is aimed at cross-sector innovation and applied research, while Startup Launchpad gives earlier-stage companies floor space and a platform alongside the scale-up businesses and multinationals exhibiting elsewhere on the show floor. A dedicated Talent Foundry element runs on day two,


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connecting the show’s engineering content to the skills pipeline behind it, with input from organisations including UKESF. For exhibitors, the case for attending is straightforward. UK semiconductor and photonics manufacturing capacity is expanding, and government investment in AI hardware and sovereign compute infrastructure is accelerating demand for the components, materials and testing capability that sit underneath it. That expansion depends on supply chain resilience as much as on the underlying technology, and it is bringing new pressure on manufacturers to demonstrate reliability, traceability and domestic capability to customers who increasingly need to see it. Microelectronics UK 2026 puts those conversations in front of an audience with the authority to act on them: engineers, R&D specialists, product designers and senior technical decision-makers, drawn from a 2025 visitor base where technology, manufacturing and R&D accounted for the largest single share of attendees.


The panel programme reflects where those pressures are sharpest. On the Embedded Systems stage, a panel on AI and IoT in embedded cybersecurity examines


JULY/AUGUST 2026 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS


identifying attack surfaces and the case for secure-by-design as a baseline rather than an add-on, with speakers including Poonam Yadav, director of the SYSTRON Lab at York University, and Aamir Tufail, electrical systems engineer at Eurostar. A separate session addresses verification for increasingly complex safety-critical devices, led by Iain Thomas, head of electrical and electronics at Rolls-Royce. On the Semiconductors stage, a panel on supply chain strategies looks directly at diversification, geopolitical exposure and the technologies that can improve resilience without adding cost.


The show runs in association with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with backing this year from Platinum sponsors UK Semiconductor Centre, Edge Impulse, Linaro and Wireless Logic, alongside Gold sponsors Synopsys, Siemens EDA, Welsh Government and CSA Catapult. Registration for Microelectronics UK 2026 is free for conference and exhibition access, with an optional paid Access All Areas pass covering the networking reception and 1-2-1 app networking. Full details, including the agenda and exhibitor list, are available at microelectronicsuk.com.


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