Innovate UK has opened a competition worth up to £4m to establish a manufacturing digitalisation innovation and scale-up hub intended to improve the commercial impact of publicly funded technology projects.
The opportunity is open to UK-registered research and technology organisations and academic institutions, either working alone or leading collaborations. Applications close on 18 November.
The proposed hub will focus on how manufacturing digitalisation projects are selected, developed and scaled. The programme is intended to address the gap between demonstrating that a technology works and establishing a commercial case strong enough for manufacturers to adopt it.
Digital manufacturing covers technologies including automation, connected machinery, simulation, data analytics and artificial intelligence. Adoption usually requires more than purchasing software because production systems have to work reliably with existing equipment, operating processes and quality controls.
Manufacturers may also need to stop or alter production while new systems are installed and tested. Those costs raise the threshold for investment, particularly among smaller companies without dedicated engineering teams or pilot facilities.
A shared innovation and scale-up hub can provide facilities and expertise before a manufacturer commits capital to full deployment. The competition places particular emphasis on increasing the quality and commercial effect of grant-funded activity rather than simply financing a larger number of early-stage experiments.
The structure reflects a persistent challenge in UK research and innovation policy. Universities and research organisations produce significant technical expertise, but commercialising that work requires customers, manufacturing capability and finance as well as successful research.
Physical production creates additional barriers because an industrial technology may perform well in a controlled demonstration without integrating successfully into an operating factory. Reliability, compatibility, maintenance and workforce requirements all influence whether a manufacturer ultimately adopts it.
Innovate UK is concentrating up to £4m on a hub rather than dividing the money between a large number of individual businesses. The successful organisation or consortium will therefore be expected to support a wider pipeline of manufacturing projects and build capability that extends beyond one recipient.
The competition opened on 2 October and was published by UK Research and Innovation on 6 October. Applicants need to show how their proposed hub will improve the targeting, development and commercialisation of manufacturing digitalisation projects.
Its performance will ultimately be measured by what happens after the funded development work. Technologies that progress into factories, improve production or create viable suppliers will demonstrate greater value than prototypes that remain dependent on further grant support.
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