Enabling technologies Strategy 2012-2015
Advanced materials
Biosciences
Electronics, sensors and photonics
Information and communication technology 02 ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
Opportunities Important link Business opportunities in enabling Each of the four enabling technology technologies are collectively worth areas can underpin innovation across hundreds of billions of pounds globally many different markets. and are growing at double-digit rates. Developments in advanced materials can National statistics1 indicate that UK address concerns about the sustainability businesses that produce, process, of natural resources and energy supply, fabricate and recycle materials had an and have the capability to sustain high annual turnover of £197bn in 2010 and value manufacturing and construction in contributed £53bn to gross value the UK. Biosciences play an important added (GVA). role in development of a wide variety Businesses in biosciences had turnover of items for everyday needs, from of £134bn and GVA of £41bn, while ICT food to medical care, while ICT and firms had turnover of £137bn with GVA of electronics, sensors and photonics are £66bn. The UK’s electronics, sensors and now fundamental to almost every aspect photonics industry generated over £29bn, of modern life and business, providing contributing £12bn to GVA. the computing and communications EXECUTIVE SUMMARY backbone to the economy. Between them, these industries consist of more than 196,000 companies. These All four enabling technologies provide an The four enabling technologies of advanced materials; figures significantly underestimate the important link between businesses and the biosciences; electronics, sensors and photonics; and information impact of enabling technologies on the research base, where many technologies broader economy. are first developed, sometimes without a and communication technology (ICT) have a key role to play in specific end use in mind. helping business to develop high-value products and services to meet market needs across all economic sectors, and to generate significant growth in the UK. Innovation in each of these four areas can also help to address some of the high-level challenges facing this country in fields such ‘Business opportunities are worth hundreds of billions of as energy, food, healthcare, transport and the built environment. pounds and growing at double-digit rates.’ Nanotechnologies will have a huge underpinning effect across most of these technology areas, particularly in the healthcare and life sciences sectors.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 03
OUR STRATEGY
We aim to stimulate the development • make strategic use of a wider range For more detail on where we expect of enabling technologies, tools and of Technology Strategy Board tools, to invest our funds, please refer to approaches and the exploitation of new such as Launchpad, Smart grants and the individual technology areas high-value products, services and systems Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, in our which follow. based on them. programmes to encourage small and micro businesses to innovate We will: • promote cross-disciplinary links between • invest around £20m a year in higher-risk, relevant technology communities and early-stage innovation across advanced the Catapults network of technology materials; biosciences; electronics, and innovation centres by harnessing sensors and photonics; and ICT the power of the Knowledge Transfer • invest half of our funds in activities Networks and _connect to stimulate innovation that tackles • continue to work with the research technological challenges, resulting in councils, the European Commission capabilities that can be exploited across and other partners to ensure strategic many sectors (or ‘technology-inspired’) alignment of science and innovation • invest the other half in driving early- strategies for best effect for UK stage technology development towards businesses. specific sector challenges (constituting markets of first use) as identified by colleagues working in these areas • continue to run Collaboration Nation events to showcase technological innovation and to create new links between innovators and potential investors and partners
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 04 ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES WHY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES?
We recognise that the enabling technologies of advanced materials; biosciences; electronics, sensors and photonics; and information and communication technology have a key role to play in underpinning innovation across a range of market sectors, in generating wealth for the UK and in meeting societal challenges. The Technology Strategy Board’s overall strategy, Concept to Commercialisation2, identifies a number of ‘challenge- led’ areas as priorities for investment, including energy, healthcare, transport and the built environment. It also recognises high value manufacturing and digital services as two competences which take technologies through to high- value products and/or services which can impact on many markets. Alongside these are the enabling technologies, which are the key to flexibility when addressing market needs. In addition, electronics, sensors and photonics and ICT are often vital in enabling innovation across all markets that rely on the ability to sense, transmit and harness data. A single market or challenge may often require a combination of technologies.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 05
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO INNOVATION?
Private investors are finding it difficult In ICT, those who can realise the value of to invest in higher-risk, early-stage data and software are often not involved in innovation across all four enabling the development process and so are not technology areas in the current economic best served by current tools. There are also climate, making it hard for innovators concerns about the ‘cloud’, particularly to take their initial ideas to a level of around security and data preservation. maturity that will attract later rounds Whether the barriers to market entry and of investment or the engagement of innovation are high (as is generally the potential users. case in advanced materials, biosciences Some challenges to innovation are more and much of electronics, sensors and prominent in some technology areas than photonics) or low (generally the case for in others. ICT and some of electronics, sensors and photonics), collaboration between In advanced materials, there are elements of the supply chain is essential uncertainties in the availability of energy to ensure UK competitiveness. and raw materials and competition from low-cost manufacturing overseas. In addition, cross-disciplinary working across the enabling technologies Development of a novel product or and disciplines (for example, design, process in biosciences often demands engineering, mathematics) needs to long lead times and expensive capital be promoted. equipment. In addition, the regulatory field is complex. The cost of developing and manufacturing products and a fragmented supply chain dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises is a challenge in the field of electronics, sensors and photonics. Most businesses cannot afford the high- value capital equipment needed to develop and test their designs and materials.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 06 ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS?
The opportunities for business in ICT presents opportunities for new Our choices are based on our day-to- enabling technologies are very large devices, the processing of huge amounts day interactions with businesses and Specific investments in enabling as they exist across all markets (see of data, secure cloud systems and new researchers, and on an assessment of technologies are detailed in the opposite). approaches to software engineering. key areas against the four Technology Technology Strategy Board annual Strategy Board investment criteria. delivery plan published at As an enabling set of capabilities, It is estimated that key enabling www.innovateuk.org nanoscale technologies could provide We will support the Catapults – technologies as defined by the European new offerings in areas such as drug a programme of technology and Commission (not including software delivery and formulation, photovoltaics innovation centres – in their enabling technologies) will have a global market of and plastic electronics. technology requirements. €1 trillion by 20153. Advanced materials present particular opportunities in the fields of energy and Making choices sustainability. Materials technology also We will focus our investment and support has great potential to provide lightweight activities where we believe UK businesses structures in the transport sector and stand to gain most success and where there materials for more efficient energy storage. is some risk in getting new breakthroughs to There are opportunities in biosciences the demonstrable level of maturity required for characterisation and discovery tools, for business to invest alone. production and processing, We will therefore focus our innovation and bioinformatics. support on the pre-competitive In photonics, the UK can exploit lasers, stages, between proof-of-concept and sensors and imaging in markets ranging commercial demonstrators, at which from healthcare to security. There is collaboration and the cross-fertilisation significant demand for advancedsensor of ideas can happen within and systems in aerospace, transport, energy between sectors. and health; and power electronics In doing this, we will employ a wide range is fundamental to transport, energy of our tools to stimulate innovation and generation, consumer electronics and knowledge exchange, including and not industrial drives. limited to feasibility studies, collaborative R&D, Launchpad, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Smart grants.
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OPPORTUNITIES IN ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
Challenge-Led Programmes
Competencies
Power electronics
Sustainability and Materials for energy Photonics Plastic electronics materials security
Electronics, sensors Advanced materials and photonics
High value products Sensor systems Electronic systems Confidence in Production and processing Big data exploration deploying cloud systems
Biosciences ICT
Characterisation Advanced, modern and discovery Bioinformatics Simpler user software engineering experiences
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 08 ADVANCED MATERIALS WHY ARE ADVANCED MATERIALS A PRIORITY FOR US?
Businesses in the UK that produce, process, fabricate and recycle materials form a critical element in the high value manufacturing (HVM) supply chain. They have an annual turnover of around £197bn and contribute GVA of £53bn1.
Advanced materials underpin many key business sectors including general manufacturing, construction in the built environment, clean tech and transport. The interdependency between advanced materials and high value manufacturing, in particular, offers a huge opportunity for innovation and growth in the UK. Innovation in advanced materials’ development and application will strengthen the UK’s world-leading position as a provider of high-value-added products, processes and services which have strong potential to bring sustainable growth and high economic value to the UK.
‘Grand Challenge gave us exposure to a range of companies and gave us the opportunity to demonstrate our innovation, knowledge and capabilities. The whole project and management was focused so you had to achieve.’ Chris McHugh, Technical Manager, Sigmatex
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WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR ADVANCED MATERIALS INNOVATION?
Sustainability in its broadest context This threatens the sustainability of a whole The Technology Strategy Board has a (economic, environmental and social)3 range of industries underpinned by the role to play in stimulating and helping UK is the most important challenge for availability of materials and may reduce businesses to take up these opportunities, advanced materials. the investment that companies can put playing to UK strengths. into materials innovation. Uncertainty in the future availability of Competition from low-cost manufacturing energy and raw materials puts at risk the overseas presents a major threat to development of high-value products and UK industry. drives up the cost of materials for a wide range of businesses. However, the UK can use its strong research and development base to Around 75% of European entrepreneurs enhance existing materials through design have seen the material costs of their and to bring new products to market business rise over the last fi ve years and faster than the competition. 87% expect prices to continue rising over the next decade5.
Case study Composites Grand Challenge
We devised the ‘grand challenge’ process to bring industry Fostering collaboration among businesses and researchers players together to stimulate the uptake of fi bre-reinforced working in enabling technologies and with businesses polymer matrix composites across a range of markets. working in challenge-led areas is a key part of our strategy. The total investment of £10m by the 22 companies in the ‘Grand Challenge gave us exposure to a range of companies i-Composites consortium and the Department for Business, and gave us the opportunity to demonstrate our innovation, Innovation and Skills is expected to provide a return of £200m knowledge and capabilities. The whole project and longer term. management was focused so you had to achieve.’ One member of the consortium, Sigmatex, a world leader Chris McHugh, Technical Manager, Sigmatex in converting carbon fi bre and producing advanced textiles, has been able to immediately exploit its new material for the manufacture of cross-country skis, with sales expected to reach £7m in the fi rst year.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 10 ADVANCED MATERIALS WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS?
Materials innovation offers significant Materials for energy High value markets opportunities for UK businesses in the areas of sustainability and materials There are continuing societal concerns We need constant innovation to develop security; materials for energy; and high- about the environment, natural resources, novel materials, surfaces and coatings value markets. security of energy supply and fuel poverty. with improved intrinsic properties (for example anti-microbial) as part of high- Materials technology could address value products and services for a range of challenges facing the energy industry Sustainability applications across various sectors, in energy generation, conservation, for example healthcare, creative industries and materials security transmission and storage. and security. The advanced materials community has We expect that 30-35GW of new electricity a huge part to play in the security of generation will be needed over the next materials and other world resources such two decades (around two thirds of which as water and food. by 2020)6. There is a major market opportunity to Significant advanced materials develop products and services that make opportunities can be found in generating, better use of the material resources storing and distributing energy to meet available. these targets. The development of a circular economy There is also a demand for materials in which material resources remain in and related processes that use less the value chain for as long as possible energy and/or exhibit greater conversion demands innovation in both advanced efficiencies, incorporating a greater use of materials and business modelling. other renewable resources. The materials sector, with a strong industry and science base, is well placed to address these sustainability challenges and to help high value manufacturing and construction to grow in the UK through the development of a range of innovative, sustainable and competitive high-performance materials, products and processes.
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MAKING CHOICES IN ADVANCED MATERIALS
We will invest in advanced materials Sustainability • materials for sustainability of other world High value markets innovation through technology-inspired and materials security resources, for example bio-based and competitions as well as through sector- natural materials and composites; we will invest in: specific challenge programmes where we will invest in: water purification. • integration of new materials, coatings there are particular materials-related • lightweight materials (including metals, and electronics, for example for needs. These sectors will include composites, hybrid structures and other sensing applications transport and energy, where strong Materials for energy structural materials and their associated • materials to survive in aggressive materials impact has already been we will invest in: joining and assembly technologies) environments with extremes of identified, and potentially new areas applied to vehicles, structures and such as the creative industries, where • materials for cheaper and more temperature, corrosion, erosion or stress devices to reduce energy consumption efficient energy storage and new opportunities for strong growth and emissions, and increase efficiency • bio-based materials. may be realised. management (chemical, biological, • materials with reduced environmental electrochemical, electrical, mechanical impact through-life (including materials and thermal) – from mobile electronic for packaging applications) and portable devices to grid-scale, for example batteries, supercapacitors, • nanotechnology-enabled materials flywheels, hydrogen storage and functionality • materials for energy transmission/ • substitution approaches to reduce the distribution that minimise energy, use of less sustainable materials or power and thermal loss during the those that may become restricted or transmission and distribution process, banned under EU REACH regulation including both electrical and liquid (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation fuel-based systems, for example and Restriction of Chemicals) superconductors • development of new materials • materials for high-durability energy technologies and processes to support generation at small scale (for example a circular economy, for example energy harvesting, micro generation) tracking and through-life management and large scale (for example ‘clean’ of polymeric and composite materials, technologies, carbon abatement renewable raw materials, materials with technologies, catalysts/fuel cells, self-healing or self-repairing properties photovoltaics, solid-state, • materials for infrastructure and asset magnetic materials). protection and traceability, for example as a deterrent to theft
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 12 BIOSCIENCES WHY ARE BIOSCIENCES A PRIORITY FOR US?
Biosciences technologies play an Between them, the UK biosciences important role in the development of a industries of pharmaceuticals and wide variety of products and processes industrial biotechnology represent more that are an integral part of our everyday than 13,000 companies1 and generate lives, from the food we eat to our a turnover of over £134bn and a medical care. contribution to GVA of £41bn. The food and drink industries, which The biosciences could form the basis of a rely heavily on biosciences, generate a new technological revolution, akin to the turnover of over £91bn and a contribution industrial or information revolutions, and to GVA of £25bn. the UK is well placed to be a major player in this substantial opportunity. Primary agriculture represents an additional £7.4bn GVA. The innovative nature of the industry has positioned biosciences as a growing The development and use by business sector of the economy, with the UK life of technologies inspired by biosciences sciences sector showing strength and provides opportunities for replacing Case study resilience in 2011 against the background unsustainable production methods, of a global recession. reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, Ingenza: Genomes UK improving public health, and the development of products in areas as We ran a £5m collaborative research and development competition in 2010, diverse as healthcare and medicine, called Genomes UK, to stimulate exploitation of high-throughput sequencing. agriculture and energy. Ingenza, a Scottish SME collaborating with Ark Genomics and the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, is now using state-of-the-art high-throughput The creation of a sustainable bioeconomy sequencing to generate around 300Gb of DNA sequence data to aid is at the heart of the European understanding of how ruminant animals (such as cattle, sheep and reindeer) Commission’s agenda. are uniquely able to digest certain plant material through specifi c enzyme action. Improving the effi ciency of energy release from plants is a major focus for biofuel research and development as it could lead to sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. The project could generate multi-million pound revenues for Ingenza and have applications in other areas such as drug development. The ability to harness large amounts of data is key to all sectors, tapping into expertise in the UK ICT community. We will invest in programmes to bring biosciences innovators together with ICT, design and engineering to improve the way in which data gets exploited.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 13
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR BIOSCIENCES INNOVATION?
Businesses developing innovative • biosciences technologies have, and biosciences technologies face will continue to, provide solutions challenges common to other sectors, to societal challenges, however the including access to competitive debt transformative potential of technology and equity funding and expertise. advancement in this area, particularly that of genetic technologies, also The nature of the sector means these brings with it moral and ethical businesses often face additional considerations. There is still a lack of challenges in commercialising a novel acceptance among consumers and product including: politicians for this technology in many • long and expensive development parts of Europe, especially in food. pathways and a requirement for Although the European landscape expensive capital equipment concerning genetic technologies is not entirely favourable, we recognise that • regulation – observed most recently in the UK is home to a number of world- the food industry where the trend for class universities and businesses with the development of functional foods expertise in these areas and the global marketed with a health claim has market opportunities are large. meant the move to a more clinical- evidence-based development pathway In some instances, the technological akin to a pharma-based approach advances in this area are occurring so rapidly, as observed in high-throughput • collaboration with universities, and sequencing and synthetic biology, that translating and licensing university the challenge for industry becomes technologies are viewed by some one of capitalising on the opportunities businesses as a challenging, lengthy provided by these technological advances and expensive process, with varying rather than developing new underpinning practices from institution to institution technology itself. For this reason, we will compounding these issues. This is work closely with our Technology Strategy despite a strong historical connection Board colleagues in challenge-led areas with the academic base to provide opportunities to exploit the most recent technological innovations.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 14 BIOSCIENCES WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS?
Biosciences innovation offers significant Characterisation and Production and processing Bioinformatics opportunities for UK businesses in the discovery tools areas of characterisation and discovery There are opportunities for applying There are great opportunities for UK tools, production and processing, The ability to access genomic technological advances to enable greater businesses to develop novel approaches and bioinformatics. information quickly and cheaply provides production efficiencies for the food and to data interpretation, with the global opportunities for advances in many drink, and pharmaceutical industries, both bioinformatics market estimated to be areas including: improving livestock of high importance to the UK economy. worth $2.4bn in 2011, reaching $7.6bn by 201710. and crop species by selective breeding; In addition, novel therapies will developing novel therapeutics, vaccines require the development of bespoke Bringing functionality to the user, whether and antimicrobials; and refining new or production mechanisms. clinician or breeder, will revolutionise existing enzymatic processes. decision-making and truly realise the There is a strong academic community potential of ‘omics’ technologies. The global market for next-generation focusing on industry-driven research in sequencing technology is estimated to this area. reach $3bn by 20177. The global market for environmental This is an opportunity for the UK to goods and services can also be served by develop commercial applications based biosciences innovation. on early achievements in sequencing chemistry and technologies and core The bioplastics market alone is expected expertise in the Genome Analysis Centre to grow by 32.4% a year from 2011 to and the European Bioinformatics Institute. 2015, reaching an estimated value of $11.14bn in 20159. The UK is third globally with regards to the number of healthcare-focused nanotechnology companies8. By 2016, the demand for nano-enabled products is estimated to amount to $55.7bn (around 7% of the total demand for healthcare products). The key areas in the healthcare sector are drug delivery and formulation, diagnostics, and analytical tools and instruments.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 15
MAKING CHOICES IN BIOSCIENCES
We will invest in biosciences Characterisation and Production and processing innovation through technology-inspired discovery tools competitions as well as through sector- we will invest in: specific challenge programmes where we will invest in: • metabolic engineering there are specific biosciences-related • commercial application of sequencing • novel manufacturing processes for needs. These sectors will include food, technologies focusing on genomics agriculture and health. producing biological products and • phenotyping technologies novel biological production systems • integration of ‘omics technologies • formulation and delivery approaches for biological products including • development of biological imaging biopharmaceuticals and systems, biosensors, probes/markers, functional foods. diagnostic platforms. Bioinformatics we will invest in: • approaches to organise, filter and interpret biological data, including biological system modelling, data visualisation, and user centred design.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 16 ELECTRONICS, SENSORS AND PHOTONICS WHY IS ELECTRONICS, SENSORS AND PHOTONICS A PRIORITY FOR US?
There are more than 8,000 companies in science base and a long tradition of In 2005, the total number of transistors the UK’s electronics industry involved in inventiveness and innovation in the uses in the world was fi ve quintillion. The designing and manufacturing products. of electricity and light. explosion in the number and complexity These companies generate around We see opportunities in fi ve technology of connected devices pushed it to 80 £29bn a year in revenues and contribute streams, all forecast for huge growth: quintillion by the end of 2010 and it is over £12bn to GVA. In 2009-10, the UK’s forecast to reach 1,200 quintillion by electronics sector was the fi fth largest in • photonics 201512. That is more than 150 billion the world11. • sensor systems transistors for every man, woman and Electronics, sensors and photonics child on earth. • power electronics underpin activity in healthcare, energy, transport, environmental sustainability, • plastic electronics built environment and across the • electronic systems. consumer market. Whether through sensor systems, embedded systems, power electronics, plastic electronics or photonics, the UK benefi ts from a strong
Case study Organic lighting – at increasing scale
Lighting accounts for around 10% of the electricity bill in most was developed by Cambridge Display Technology and is homes and for as much as 50% of the electricity bill in offi ces. applicable to lighting and electronic display applications. The ubiquitous fl uorescent lamp is rapidly being replaced by Subsequently, Thorn Lighting won further funding in our solid state lighting, light emitting diode (LED) and eventually plastic electronics competition, Building the supply chain, organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies, as the drive to demonstrate the manufacturability of a larger area towards more effi cient and cheaper lighting is of paramount polymer OLED luminaire by 2013. Advances in materials importance, though not at the expense of white-light quality. and processing techniques, such as printing and roll-to- We co-funded a collaborative R&D project led by Thorn roll processing, could make large area printed lighting a Lighting which developed and demonstrated a small area reality, completely changing the value chains and business OLED lamp which is set to revolutionise lighting in buildings. models in the lighting industry and creating growth in the UK The lamp is made by applying an ultra-thin polymer coating electronics industry. onto glass. The world leading polymer material technology
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 17 ELECTRONICS, SENSORS AND PHOTONICS WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR ELECTRONICS, SENSORS AND PHOTONICS INNOVATION?
The main challenges for the electronics Some of the SMEs in the sector have Power electronics Electronic systems sector in the UK include: difficulty supplying to large companies, retailers and consumer groups, which often The lack of cohesion and representation, Technology intensive markets such as • the prohibitive cost of product prefer to deal with other large companies insufficient collaboration across industry transport, energy and healthcare need development and manufacturing to avoid the risks of a poorly understood sectors and supply chain barriers, and the system-level design for applications that (particularly for early-stage companies) single source of knowledge or material and gaps between universities, SMEs and transcend traditional areas of specialism, • a fragmented supply chain a low level of financial security. start-ups and industry are well recognised. and require cooperative development of hardware and software. The domination • a general lack of vertically integrated Each of the five technology streams faces of the sector by SMEs in the UK demands companies that can realise products its own challenges. Plastic electronics better collaborative working. with an internal supply This is an emerging technology with • a fiercely competitive global market. Photonics immature supply chains. Innovative companies, often SMEs, are not engaging In the past 25 years, many of the large, With the demise of the large corporate sufficiently with end-user manufacturers vertically integrated companies that and public sector research labs, the UK who should be users of the technology. existed in the electronics sector in the struggles to exploit photonics technology In part, this is because the plastic UK have disappeared. Those companies to its full potential. The UK has around electronics community has not reached were able to develop internal supply 1500 companies active in the photonics out beyond its borders to interact with chains for innovative technologies and field, but most are SMEs without the potential users of the technology. provide a market outlet for the products. resources to fund the expensive capital With their demise, the UK is dominated equipment and facilities necessary to by a large number of small and medium- develop and test their designs and sized businesses (SMEs), sometimes materials. pre-revenue, developing innovative technologies to systems integrators and end equipment manufacturers who Sensor systems are largely risk averse. The adoption Integration and demonstration gaps of innovative technologies can be exist and are blocking the value chain slowed by SMEs lacking integration and through academia, SMEs, systems demonstration facilities and resources. integrators and instrumentation companies to end-users. The UK has significant presence at each stage of the value chain but has not been able to overcome the skills shortages and risk aversion that is preventing the component and sub-system level technology becoming sensor system solutions.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 18 ELECTRONICS, SENSORS AND PHOTONICS WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS?
The electronics, sensors and photonics Sensor systems Plastic electronics Electronic systems sector has strong opportunities for growth, ranging from steady The global sensors market is forecast to Plastic electronics, also known as printed Design of both electronics and software 14 (for example, electronic systems) reach $69bn by 2013 . electronics or organic and large area are particular UK strengths, and their electronics, is set to revolutionise the cooperative evolution is critical to the to dramatic (for example, plastic This figure is primarily for sensor electronics world over the next 10 years. competitiveness of UK industry in areas electronics). Within each technology components, and the market for sensor such as robotics, embedded systems and stream, we can identify technologies systems is up to seven times higher. It is still an emerging market, estimated digital communications. and markets with real promise which to be worth around $1.2bn today globally, UK businesses have a 7% global the UK has the capacity to exploit. growing rapidly to over $5bn by 2016 as The UK has Europe’s largest independent market share of the sensor and sensor the technology becomes more capable semiconductor design industry, with about systems market. 16 Photonics and reliable . half the market in application-specific There are significant industrial needs in integrated circuit design. There is an opportunity to establish a The global market for photonic applications areas with considerable UK whole value chain in the UK, and the lower It is also home to Europe’s largest components and systems is already presence, such as aerospace, transport, cost of capital equipment to establish concentration of electronics systems in excess of £250bn and is forecast to energy and health. production facilities could attract new design houses, and many UK companies exceed £400bn by 201713. players into the field. are leaders in their fields. The photonics sector is still in its early Power electronics High-throughput roll-to-roll processing The global embedded systems market phases of evolution and is expected to with an additive manufacturing process alone is estimated to be worth in excess continue to grow very strongly (about The global power electronics market is can reduce material usage and of $100bn17. 8-10% annually) as new markets emerge. estimated at £135bn, growing at a rate of 10% a year15. device costs. The growth of electric propulsion in the automotive sector and of renewable energy in the industry and energy sectors is particularly strong. UK strength and opportunity is apparent in four sectors where power electronics is fundamental to enabling rapid growth and innovation – transport; energy generation, transmission and distribution; consumer electronics and lighting; and industrial drives.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 19 ELECTRONICS, SENSORS AND PHOTONICS MAKING CHOICES IN ELECTRONICS, SENSORS AND PHOTONICS
We will invest in electronics, sensors Power electronics and photonics innovation through technology-inspired competitions we will invest in: as well as through sector-specific • key sectors such as energy, challenge programmes where there where power electronics and are specific electronics, sensors and associated control/ICT are key photonics-related needs. These sectors enablers of a robust, resilient future will include energy and health. electricity system.
Photonics Plastic electronics we will invest in: we will invest in: • biophotonics – applying lasers, • demonstrator programmes to sensors and imaging etc to medical prove the capabilities of plastic diagnostics, surgery and therapeutic electronics to potential users in approaches, etc. different market sectors. • smart imaging and sensing systems for safety and security markets Electronic systems • lasers for industrial processes we will invest in: • innovative solid state lighting • the engineering of embedded • photovoltaics for low carbon electronic systems tailored to electricity generation. applications in healthcare, transport, the built environment, and in industrial and consumer fields mainly through Sensor systems the ARTEMIS programme. we will invest in: • the design and integration of technologies to develop sensor systems with intelligence and optimised control.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 20 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY WHY IS ICT A PRIORITY FOR US?
Information and communication Innovation in ICT is necessary to address technology (ICT) is fundamental to major societal challenges, such as practically every part of modern life and the development and support for new business. models of care for the elderly, transport congestion and resource efficiency. The UK ICT sector includes more than ICT also enables process, product and 116,000 companies with revenues of more service innovation across all sectors, than £137bn in 2010 and contributing leading to increased competitiveness £66m GVA. and sustainability. It is estimated that the internet, underpinned by ICT and electronics, sensors and photonics, contributes £100bn to the UK economy18.
ICT enables process, product and service innovation across all sectors, leading to increased competitiveness and sustainability.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 21 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR ICT INNOVATION?
The people who can realise the value There may be many concerns about the of data and software (for example, use of distributed, or cloud, systems, domain experts) are often not involved relating to data protection in non-UK, in the ICT development process and non-EU jurisdictions and control over are therefore not served well by current preservation and deletion, hindering their tools which may be over-engineered adoption in some sectors and innovation and/or unsympathetic to the needs, around new services based on them. preferences and values of the user. Lack of skills in the UK in programming in general and specifi cally in multi-core New approaches to software design, and low-powered environments will make data visualisation and human-computer it more diffi cult for UK companies to interaction are needed, involving adapt to new hardware and potentially complementary disciplines (such as make their software run slower on new design), to ensure that software is machines than on old ones. fi t-for-purpose. Case study Unlike many industries, the barriers to entry for software development are Technology-inspired Collaboration Nation relatively low. We have invested in more than 200 feasibility studies as part of our This in itself presents an issue in ‘technology-inspired’ programme of competitions to give companies the time maintaining a standard of quality for the and space to assess the feasibility of new technologies and to potentially engineering process, given the variety of expand their product/service portfolio. Each feasibility study was awarded potential developers that can participate, £25k towards a three-to-four month project. We have been amazed at the high and the complexity and performance of quality of the results from such short and focused projects. the software applications that may result from this. As a result of one of our feasibility study competitions, Audio Analytic, a technology company specialising in automatically recognising sounds by In addition, advances in computer computer analysis, was able to successfully apply its recognition hardware, such as multi-core processing, technology to a system which can classify sounds from security cameras. are not being matched suffi ciently by The system monitors hundreds of video feeds and alerts security guards advances in software. to crimes and incidents in real time. The technology will also be sold to a New approaches to software engineering range of security system suppliers, including CCTV, video recording and are needed to reduce the time lag. intercoms manufacturers. Audio Analytic’s project showcased at a Collaboration Nation event we held in 2011. We will be investing half of our funds in technology-inspired activities during 2012-2015.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 22 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS?
We see business opportunities in Confidence in cloud systems Advanced, modern The UK would also benefit from an uplift big data exploration, simpler user software engineering in skills, including an emphasis on the experiences, increased confidence It is predicted that the global market for engineering of modern ICT (large data in cloud systems, and advanced cloud computing – including the public The way software systems are being sets, multi-core processors) rather than software engineering. cloud, the private cloud and the virtual developed is changing. Professional simply the use of computers. The creation private cloud – will leap from $40.7bn in teams are engineering software, but of better software that takes advantage of 21 2011 to more than $241bn in 2020 . individual ‘hobbyists’ are also developing multi-core systems will mean lower running Big data exploration In the past, the challenge has been to applications that people rely on for costs and better efficiency of devices. Huge amounts of data are being implement cloud and similar systems. important tasks. This implies changes generated from all sorts of devices and Now it is about giving people confidence to requirements on quality assurance. made available in close to real time. to use them and trust them. There are There are also more software systems Examples of the ‘big data deluge’ can enormous opportunities for companies that include intelligent, autonomous or be seen across all sectors (for example, that create services to improve the way machine-learning behaviours. Thus we smart metering and transport). It is clouds function. need engineering methods that consider estimated, for example, that the potential systems where the machine drives annual value of big data is $300bn to US decision-making processes rather than healthcare and €250bn to Europe’s public the user. administration19. This unprecedented flow of data creates new opportunities for both humans and machines to derive maximum value from data exploration.
Simpler user experiences New types of devices are allowing people to interact with machines in new ways, shifting from traditional desktop and notebook experiences to more immersive, intuitive and productive experiences. New devices are allowing users to manipulate content more easily but tablet formats are only the embryonic stage of this change. This will rely on growth of new forms of human machine interfaces, a strong and growing market with a predicted global value of around $3.2bn in 201620.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 23 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY MAKING CHOICES IN ICT
We will invest in information and Simpler user experiences Advanced, modern communications technology innovation software engineering through technology-inspired we will invest in: competitions as well as through sector- • ‘beyond the screen’ – moving from we will invest in: specific challenge programmes where traditional keyboard, mouse, and • better tools and languages to support there are specific ICT-related needs. screen to more immersive interaction new approaches such as inherent Our ICT programme seeks to stimulate with machines (for example haptics, parallelism and design of novel user innovation in software-intensive speech, gesture, emotion-sensing) interface paradigms technologies, processes and systems. • improving the user experience of • holistic design methods that focus It has close connections with the imminent pervasive computing on autonomous/intelligent/machine- electronics, sensors and photonics learning systems where machines programme, which focuses on the • changing the software paradigm for existing applications rather than people are making complex hardware aspects of computing, and and less deterministic decisions underpins the digital programme, which • fulfilling the changing expectations focuses on the business challenges of ICT of users • ways of supporting organisations that application in specific sectors. can better prepare the UK’s talent base • how multiple co-operating devices can for the future ICT industry. present a joined-up, quality experience Big data exploration for the user. we will invest in: • designing data exploration systems Confidence in deploying for non-ICT specialists across different cloud systems sectors, perhaps exploiting simpler we will invest in technologies user interfaces (below) that improve: • automated and intelligent data • interoperability cleansing and semantic annotation • data resilience, tracking and storage • exploring various types of data across application areas or sectors • identity assurance. • reducing the cost of high-fidelity visualisation.
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015 24
For specific details of our work and 3A European strategy for Key Enabling 13Photonics 21, May 2011, opportunities to participate in our Technologies (KETs) – A bridge to growth www.photonics21.org programmes see our Delivery Plan, and jobs. European Commission. Jun 14Global Sensors Outlook, Frost & published annually on our website, 2012. Sullivan, 2009 and sign up for alerts, newsletters and 4Sustainable Economy Framework. Forum information at www.innovateuk.org 15Power Electronics: A Strategy for for the Future. www.forumforthefuture. Success, October 2011, Department for Find partners and join our Knowledge org Business, Innovation & Skills Transfer networks on _connect at 5Attitudes of European entrepreneurs https://connect.innovateuk.org 16World Printed Electronics Market, Frost towards eco-innovation. Eurobarometer. & Sullivan, 2010 March 2011. ec.europa.eu/public_ References and sources opinion/flash/fl_315_en.pdf 17Embedded Systems: Technologies and Markets, January 2012, bcc Research 1Annual Business Survey, 2010, Revised 6Energy White Paper 2007 Results, Released on 14 June 2012, Office 18Technology Insights 2011, e-skills UK. 7Frost and Sullivan. www.frost. of National Statistics. com/prod/servlet/press-release. 19McKinsey, May 2011. Big Data: The Next SIC codes used: pag?docid=222668073 Frontier for Innovation, Competition and Productivity. • Advanced Materials – 13, 15-17, 19-20, 8Nanotechnology in Medicine, New 22-25, 38. Perspectives for the Life Sciences 20Frost & Sullivan, World Human Machine Industries. Ernst & Young (2008) Interface Market, June 2010 • Biosciences – 1.6, 3.2, 10-11, 15.11, 20.14-15, 20.2, 20.4, 20.53, 20.59, 21, 9EL Insights, Critical Insights into 21Forrester, Apr 2011. Sizing the Cloud 72.11. Energy and Environmental Technology - Bioplastics, Issue # 17, 2011 Images: • Electronics, Sensors and Photonics – Econolyst, Thorn Lighting, OC Robotics and the 26, 27.1, 27.3, 27.4. 10Bioinformatics - A Global Market Technology Strategy Board Overview. Industry Experts. March 21, Centre for Process Innovation. • ICT – 58.2, 61-62, 63.11. 2011. www.marketresearch.com/ North Star House 2Concept to Commercialisation – Industry-Experts-v3766/Bioinformatics- North Star Avenue a strategy for business innovation 2011- Global-Overview-6197809 Swindon 15. Technology Strategy Board 2012, SN2 1UE 11“In good shape” report, July 2010, www.innovateuk.org under Our www.newelectronics.co.uk Tel: 01793 442700 strategy. Email: [email protected] 12Intel Corporation, September 2011, www.techradar.com www.innovateuk.org
The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the Government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). T: 01793 442700 www.innovateuk.org T12/115 November 2012
Enabling Technologies Strategy | 2012-2015