09.10.19
Up to £204bn in government funding to boost innovation, business, energy and science
Plans have been laid out by government to drive the UK forward with business, growth, opportunity and skills, including a boost for innovation and science.
Last week, Business and Energy secretary Andrea Leadsom, launched a number of new measures to promote and support UK researchers and businesses able to innovate and revolutionise the technological industry in its mission to go green.
This will enable leading UK industries to become the driving force behind changing the way people live, work and travel. All the while supporting the government’s ambition to be a world-leader in tackling climate change and ensure the UK isn’t contributing to climate change by 2050.
The promotion of a clean growth sector will see a rise in jobs, export opportunities and skills across the country.
The first measure is a £222m investment in a visionary fusion reactor design programme, known as STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), in a bid to adopt fusion energy.
The programme will aim to design, develop and build a fusion power plant able to provide clean energy to the grid by 2040.
An additional £184m pot will be provided over the next five years to fund new facilities and further ensure that the UK is a global hub for fusion innovation.
£1bn more in funding will be spent on the development and integration of cutting-edge electric vehicles for the next generation.
This will include a focus on research and mass production of batteries, electric motors, hydrogen fuel cells and all other material supply chains.
The final measure is a boost to health technologies and life-sciences. Despite this sector contributing almost £74bn a year and providing jobs to a quarter of a million people across the country, it needs the correct financing to grow.
The government has earmarked £600m to push this industry to its full potential and allow UK patients to benefit from ground-breaking treatments.