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