Local time on Sunday (November 26), the UK released the “Advanced manufacturing plan”, which refers to the development of strategic manufacturing industries such as automobiles, hydrogen energy and aerospace by increasing investment and promoting international cooperation, and thereby stimulating domestic employment.

The plan’s investment scale will reach 4.5 billion pounds (about 40.536 billion yuan), involving automotive, aerospace, life sciences, hydrogen energy, wind energy and other fields. Of this, the UK will invest about £3 billion in the automotive manufacturing (including battery manufacturing) and aerospace industries.

UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch said: “These areas are developing cutting-edge technologies that will drive our transition to net zero emissions. It will ensure that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to do cutting-edge research and bring new products to market.”

Britain will invest heavily in strategic manufacturing

According to the Advanced Manufacturing Plan document released by the UK, the plan is generally divided into three parts: (1) Investing in the long-term future of manufacturing; International cooperation and building supply chain resilience; Reduce costs and remove barriers to improve competitiveness.

First, in terms of manufacturing investment, the UK has proposed that from 2025 to 2030, the government will provide 4.5 billion pounds of funding to support strategic manufacturing, including more than 2 billion pounds of funding for the automotive sector (including battery manufacturing), 975 million pounds for the aerospace sector, and 520 million pounds for the life sciences manufacturing industry. And £960 million to develop green industrial manufacturing (i.e. carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), hydrogen, electricity networks and offshore wind).

According to the paper, for every £1 invested in future manufacturing in the UK, £5 of additional private sector investment is generated.

Second, in terms of international cooperation and supply chains, the UK is working internationally to provide opportunities for manufacturing by increasing free and open trade, and by seeking and concluding partnerships with key Allies such as the US and Japan. In addition to this, the UK will publish the UK Battery Strategy in December, as well as key import and supply chain strategies.

Finally, in terms of cost reduction, the UK is improving its competitiveness by continuing to improve the UK’s business environment.

Previously, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced measures to support business and remove barriers to investment, including a permanent full fee, an effective permanent tax cut of £11 billion a year for companies investing in IT equipment, plant and machinery, thereby helping businesses to invest and explore advanced manufacturing at less cost. The UK claims the move will boost business investment by £14bn and help economic growth.

Set ambitious development goals

The UK scheme aims to stimulate the employment of highly skilled people through the development of strategic industries. The document states that the battery industry alone could create 100,000 well-paid, skilled jobs in the UK.

In addition, the UK has also proposed a hydrogen development strategy, setting a target of 10GW of hydrogen capacity in the UK by 2030, at least half of which will come from electrolytic or “green” hydrogen.

The UK’s package builds on recently won investment. Nissan Motor Company recently announced a £2 billion investment to expand its electric vehicle hub in the UK. Tata Motors has also announced a £4 billion investment in a gigafactory in Somerset, UK.