The UK’s materials sector is generating £49bn GVA to the UK’s economy annually and employs 635,000 nationwide, new analysis from the Henry Royce Institute reveals.
The economic analysis uncovered hotspots of innovation across every UK constituency, highlighting the scale and importance of this growing sector nationwide, which represents 2% of the UK’s total GVA.
Materials are fundamental to the UK’s manufacturing economy, which contributes £220 billion to GVA while supporting 2.6 million jobs nationwide. This activity spans sectors critical to economic growth and resilience including clean energy, defence, nuclear and life sciences. From the emergence of a new hydrogen economy, fusion power and low energy digital devices to breakthroughs in bioelectronics, the transformative potential of materials science touches every aspect of our lives.
These insights are revealed in the Henry Royce Institute’s Materials Map, a new resource showcasing the UK’s materials strengths across key UK regions, uncovering sector-specific clusters, and mapping key companies and organisations making an impact. The Map provides a starting point to understand how materials innovation underpins regional economic resilience, industrial capability and future growth across the UK.
While the South East of England generates the highest regional GVA with £8.7bn, driven by strengths in aerospace, defence, engineering, the North West leads the UK in the number of advanced materials innovation businesses. The findings reinforce the distributed nature of the UK materials sector, with 85% of productive capability and 70% of businesses located outside London and the South East. Insights revealed in key regional clusters include:
- North West: Leading every other English region, the North West is home to 951 materials innovation businesses employing 74,500 people and contributing an estimated £7.2bn in GVA annually. This is not a coincidence; it is the product of centuries of industrial leadership, from the cotton mills of Manchester to the chemical heartlands of Cheshire, and now the cutting-edge research ecosystem hub of the Henry Royce Institute. The City of Manchester leads with 73 businesses and 4,914 people employed, and an estimated £445m GVA; with the borough of Trafford closely following with 47 businesses, 3,296 people employed, and £328m GVA.
- Yorkshire and The Humber: At its peak, Sheffield’s foundries and workshops produced nearly half of Europe’s entire steel output. Today, industrial heritage in Yorkshire supports 806 materials innovation businesses, employing more than 49,000 people and contributing £4.3bn annually to the UK economy; with Sheffield making up 128 of the total materials innovation businesses, 10,143 people employed and £813m contributed to the region’s economy. Leeds demonstrates an equally significant economic contribution, with 120 businesses employing more than 9,000 people across the region.
- Scotland: Scotland is applying its engineering heritage to emerging sectors including satellites, space technologies and advanced manufacturing. With 478 materials innovation businesses employing 49,400 people and contributing an estimated £4bn in GVA, Scotland’s materials sector spans engineering and construction, aerospace and defence, and life sciences and medical technology. Aberdeen’s £884m GVA contributes most to the region’s economy with 26 businesses and 13,002 people employed. Glasgow’s 60 businesses contribute £602m GVA while employing 7,603 people, and Edinburgh hosts 57 businesses, 4,010 people employed and £360m GVA.
The Materials Map builds on the successful launch of the National Materials Innovation Strategy, and the establishment of the Materials Innovation Leadership group, both contributing to The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT) flagship National Materials Innovation Programme, which is investing £80 million to accelerate commercialisation, strengthen supply chains and grow UK industrial capability through materials innovation. This programme builds on both wider UKRI and private investment already supporting the UK’s materials ecosystem, spanning research infrastructure, university-led innovation, regional clusters and industrial R&D initiatives across the country.
“Materials innovation is not a supporting capability, it is foundational to the UK’s industrial future.” said David Knowles, CEO of the Henry Royce Institute. “From clean energy and defence to healthcare and infrastructure, new and improved materials are the underpinning solution to the most pressing challenges we face. Through the Materials Map, the Henry Royce Institute is highlighting existing regional strengths across the materials sector, providing a starting point to assist in capability development and help inform discussions around materials investments.”
This initial snapshot of the UK materials sector will continue to be iterated in the coming years, with this preliminary report painting a picture of the importance of materials to regional economies across the UK. “The UK’s materials strength lies in its clusters, where SMEs and mid-sized companies co-locate around sector-specific specialisms like aerospace, defence, automotive and life sciences, turning regional industrial strengths and identities into national competitive advantage.” said Allan Cook CBE, Chairman of The Materials Innovation Leadership Group. “The Materials Map demonstrates how regional ecosystems — built around city regions, innovation infrastructure and university networks — contribute to national competitiveness. This Map will inform the work of the Materials Innovation Leadership Group and the programmes it supports to grow investment for the sector and accelerate the journey from discovery to deployment of materials in the UK.”
The Materials Map does more than identify where innovation is taking place — it highlights where collaboration, existing infrastructure and investment can be strengthened to accelerate UK industrial growth. By mapping the country’s materials expertise and capability, it provides government, industry, and researchers with a shared evidence base to support smarter investment and faster commercial progress across areas of existing UK industrial strength.
Click here for more information: https://www.royce.ac.uk/
