The UK Government has unveiled its new Modern Industrial Strategy, a 10-year plan to boost business investment, productivity, and long-term economic growth.
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The policy paper prioritizes eight high-potential sectors dubbed the IS-8. These span Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technology businesses (including AI and quantum computing), Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional and Business Services. Collectively, they account for roughly a third of Britain’s GDP.
The document details sweeping government funding pledges. This includes £86bn for R&D, £4.3bn for advanced manufacturing over the next five years, and £600 million for a new Health Data Research Service.
Business investment in advanced manufacturing, including 3D printing, is projected to nearly double, reaching £39bn annually by 2035, up from £20bn today. This new capital is expected to strengthen domestic supply chain resilience and reduce reliance on foreign imports.
“This Industrial Strategy marks a turning point for Britain’s economy and a clear break from the short-termism and sticking plasters of the past,” commented UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “In an era of global economic instability, it delivers the long-term certainty and direction British businesses need to invest, innovate and create good jobs that put more money in people’s pockets as part of the plan for change.”
Starmer added, “Our message is clear – Britain is back and open for business.” The plan is overseen by the newly established Industrial Strategy Advisory Council (ISAC) and builds on the Invest 2035 Green Paper published last October.
New funding for advanced manufacturing in the UK
As part of its new Modern Industrial Strategy, the Government has unveiled tailored plans for five of the priority sectors. In the roadmap for Advanced Manufacturing, Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State for Industry, called the sector the “backbone” of the British economy. She noted that advanced manufacturing supports 760,000 jobs and contributes more than £82bn in gross value added annually.
“By 2035, the United Kingdom will be recognized as the best place in the world to start, grow, and invest in Advanced Manufacturing,” Jones added. “To deliver this, we will make changes to the business environment.”
The Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan identifies six “frontier industries” as shaping the future of UK manufacturing. These include automotive, batteries, aerospace, space, advanced materials, and agricultural technology. Significantly, ministers view metal powders, critical minerals, alloys, and digital fabrication techniques as essential to reducing reliance on external supply chains.
Public investment will be used to stimulate private capital and place advanced manufacturing at the heart of Britain’s industrial revival. The new plan has committed £4.3bn in government funding to the sector, including up to £2.8bn for R&D over the next five years. These aim to crowd in backing from private and public finance institutions, including £4bn from the British Business Bank’s Industrial Strategy Growth Capital and £27.8bn from the National Wealth Fund to secure future priorities.
The funding aims to accelerate innovation, automation, digitalisation, and the commercial adoption of emerging technologies, including additive manufacturing. The document commends Gloucestershire-based OEM Renishaw for advancing metal 3D printing and highlights the Made Smarter Innovation (MSI) initiative for its contributions to AM research.
Since its launch in 2020, MSI has attracted £202m in private investment and supported the development of over 350 industrial digital technology solutions for manufacturers. Britain’s Government has pledged to invest £29m annually in the programme through to 2030.
The document also stresses the need to tackle STEM skills shortages to support innovation in advanced materials. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Government’s main funder of advanced materials expertise, has committed approximately £395m to the Henry Royce Institute, Britain’s national centre for advanced materials research and innovation, through to 2027.
Elsewhere, academic partners, including QinetiQ and Leonardo, are investing a combined £19.6m in a 3D Nanoscale Metamaterials Hub, led by the University of Exeter. This is expected to open its doors in 2030.
Industry responds to the new Modern Industrial Strategy
South Yorkshire-based materials company Metalysis called the Modern Industrial Strategy an “important moment for UK-based midstream processors.”
Metalysis employs a solid-state electrolysis process to produce high-purity metal and alloy powders for 3D printing. It can handle up to 49 elements, drawing feedstocks from both mined ores and recycled materials. The government’s new strategy, the company claims, could help lessen dependence on China, which controls 90% of the world’s midstream material processing capacity.
Elsewhere, Ben Morgan, Interim CEO of the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), also welcomed the announcement. He believes it “puts the advanced manufacturing sector rightly centre stage for driving growth across the UK.”
Founded in 2001, the AMRC conducts research into additive manufacturing, advanced materials, and precision machining. It works closely with British firms to accelerate the adoption and refinement of advanced manufacturing techniques.
“We have a lot more to offer for the future and this Industrial Strategy is an important contribution to a better tomorrow,” Morgan added. “The focus on innovation and the importance of R&D are welcome messages from the Government. Whether for defence, clean energy, aerospace, automotive or food and drink, innovation sits at the heart of competitive firms building brilliant products with agile, high quality processes across the UK.”
UK Government backs additive manufacturing
The British Government’s new policy paper follows a series of announcements backing additive manufacturing in the UK. In April 2025, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) published its first Defence Advanced Manufacturing Strategy.
This positions additive manufacturing as a key pillar of the British military’s long-term planning. The MOD underscored 3D printing’s role in bolstering supply chain resilience and pledged to integrate the technology into future designs to combat obsolescence and sharpen the military’s battlefield advantage. Notably, a Defence Innovation Unit (DIU)-commissioned report revealed that 3D printing 15% of the UK’s defense inventory could save £110m over the next 15 years. After that, the annual net benefit could reach up to £35.5m.
More recently, on the first day of the 2025 Paris Air Show, the UK Government announced a £250 million investment to support sustainable aerospace initiatives. Of this, £48.5m has been earmarked for aerospace 3D printing projects headed by Airbus and GKN Aerospace.
The Government will channel £38m into the Airbus-led Digitally Enabled Competitive and Sustainable Additive Manufacturing (DecSAM) project. This seeks to scale up laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology, making it both greener and more economical. At the same time, £10.5m will support GKN’s Integrated System Level Aerostructures Assembly (ISLAA) programme, aimed at advancing aerospace manufacturing through broad-application Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) techniques.
The Government is also backing Alloyed and Brunel University’s PACE-AM collaboration with fresh funding, alongside support for Qdot Technology and Atomik AM’s efforts to develop 3D-printed heat exchangers.
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Featured image shows the front door of 10 Downing Street. Photo via the UK Government.
