ADS welcomes Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund announcements
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK have today announced more details of areas and projects to be supported under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
Adding to the areas announced in the Government's Spring Budget, the Challenge Fund will provide £26m support for manufacturing and future materials in civil aerospace, and £99m for a satellite test facility, supporting new launch technologies and the manufacturing and testing capabilities that will allow the UK to construct future satellites and deliver payloads into orbit.
Responding to the announcements, ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said:
“These are welcome announcements, which build on what has already been achieved through Government working in partnership with business on industrial strategy. The aerospace sector is one of the UK’s biggest manufacturing success stories and plays a vital part in our continued prosperity. The £26m investment announced today will help aerospace companies in the UK remain at the forefront of the development of the most advanced materials and technology, delivering jobs, exports and spreading the benefits of growth.
“The space sector is already worth £11bn to the UK economy and employs 34,000 people in this country. The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s £99m investment in a satellite test facility signals the growing role the sector plays in the economy and will make a sizeable contribution to keeping the UK as a world leader in satellite design and manufacturing in the years ahead.”