UK Innovation Map

Compare placesDifferent, not ranked.

Two or three clusters, read side by side across sectors, research, companies, capital, infrastructure, government designations and UKIZ relevance. There is no score and no ranking: British clusters are different from one another, not better or worse than one another.

Choose up to three clusters

Side by side

Dimension	Newcastle & the North EastNorth East	Norwich & the EastEast of England	Southampton & PortsmouthSouth East
Sectors	Clean Energy, Mobility & Transport Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Supporting: Life Sciences, Digital Technologies, Robotics & Autonomous Systems	AgriTech & FoodTech, Engineering Biology, Clean Energy Supporting: Life Sciences, Digital Technologies	Defence & Security, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, Advanced Manufacturing Supporting: Clean Energy, Digital Technologies, Advanced Materials
Research	Newcastle University Durham University	University of East Anglia John Innes Centre Quadram Institute	University of Southampton National Oceanography Centre
Companies	Not recorded on the map.	Not recorded on the map.	Not recorded on the map.
Infrastructure	Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Offshore renewable test facilities, battery production investment and university research centres.	Not recorded on the map. Plant and food research institutes, genomics facilities and offshore energy operations bases.	Not recorded on the map. Naval and maritime engineering facilities, photonics research centres and port infrastructure.
Capital	Infrastructure and development finance, with limited venture capital relative to industrial scale.	Research council and charitable funding dominate; venture capital is scarce.	Prime contractor supply chain finance and public programmes rather than venture capital.
Government programmes	North East Investment Zone, Investment Zones	Freeport East, Freeports	Solent Freeport, Freeports
What exists	Offshore renewable energy testing at national scale, battery and electrification investment, ageing and life sciences research and a strong engineering base.	Plant, food and genomics research of international standing, offshore energy operations and maintenance, and a significant agricultural production base on the doorstep.	Maritime, naval and defence engineering, marine autonomy, photonics research and a major port and logistics complex.
What's missing · UKIZ interpretation	Supply chain retention. Britain builds offshore capacity while importing much of the equipment; local firms often serve as installers rather than manufacturers.	Commercial translation of agri-food science, and connection between offshore energy operations and the research base inland.	Routes for smaller innovators into defence and maritime procurement, and a civil market for capability developed for defence customers.
What could connect · UKIZ interpretation	Offshore testing capability connected to Teesside and Humber industrial land, Sheffield manufacturing research and domestic energy buyers. That is an energy supply chain rather than an energy market.	Agri-food and genomics research connected to national food manufacturing and to engineering biology capacity, and offshore operations connected to the Humber and North East energy supply chain.	Marine autonomy and photonics connected to Plymouth marine capability, Bristol robotics and offshore energy operations: the same technologies serving defence, energy and shipping.
UKIZ relevance	The region has the industrial land, the ports and the skills base. The proposed North East mission focuses on retaining the supply chain, not only the assembly.	Food security and biotechnology intersect here more clearly than anywhere else in Britain, and connect to the proposed Oxford-Cambridge mission.	Marine autonomy is where defence, robotics and clean energy meet. The proposed Cornwall & Devon marine mission connects to this capability directly.
Last verified	15 August 2026	15 August 2026	15 August 2026

Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation

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