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	Nottingham & DerbyEast Midlands	Bristol & BathSouth West
Sectors	Clean Energy, Mobility & Transport Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Supporting: Life Sciences, Digital Technologies, Robotics & Autonomous Systems	Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Mobility & Transport Technology Supporting: Advanced Materials, Digital Technologies, AgriTech & FoodTech	Semiconductors, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, Quantum Technologies, Defence & Security Supporting: Creative Industries, Advanced Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Clean Energy
Research	Newcastle University Durham University	University of Nottingham	University of Bristol University of the West of England Bristol Robotics Laboratory
Companies	Not recorded on the map.	Not recorded on the map.	Bristol semiconductor and processor design cluster
Infrastructure	Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Offshore renewable test facilities, battery production investment and university research centres.	Not recorded on the map. Propulsion and nuclear engineering facilities, rail test capability and chemistry research centres.	National Composites Centre Quantum and robotics laboratories, national composites facilities and aerospace test capability.
Capital	Infrastructure and development finance, with limited venture capital relative to industrial scale.	Corporate and supply chain finance; limited venture activity.	An established angel and seed base with strong deep tech interest; growth rounds usually come from London or the US.
Government programmes	North East Investment Zone, Investment Zones	East Midlands Investment Zone, Investment Zones East Midlands Freeport, Freeports	No place-based designation recorded.
What exists	Offshore renewable energy testing at national scale, battery and electrification investment, ageing and life sciences research and a strong engineering base.	Aerospace propulsion and small modular reactor engineering, rail technology, sustainable chemistry research and one of Europe's busiest air freight hubs.	Semiconductor and processor design, quantum engineering, robotics and autonomous systems, aerospace and composites, and a creative and screen economy of national significance.
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.	Diversification of the supply chain beyond a small number of large primes, and company formation from a strong engineering research base.	Fabrication and volume production capacity to match the design strength, and hardware-friendly capital. Companies scale by moving production abroad.
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.	Propulsion and nuclear engineering connected to Sheffield manufacturing research and Midlands electrification. One Midlands industrial mission rather than three sectors.	Bristol design capability connected to South Wales compound semiconductor fabrication and to composites and aerospace manufacturing, a western technology corridor with a complete chain.
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.	Propulsion and nuclear capability sit alongside the Midlands mobility mission. The proposed Midlands zone connects them.	Bristol's design and robotics capability has historically been acquired rather than scaled. The relevant missions concentrate on the capital and customer connections that let companies stay independent.
Last verified	15 August 2026	15 August 2026	15 August 2026

Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation

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