NEWS 14 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS April/May 2026 www.hpmag.co.uk said: “We welcome the UK Government’s investment as we build a battery manufacturing facility that will play a vital role in delivering net zero and strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in battery manufacturing. “This funding will support the development of our Somerset facility, enabling us to produce battery cells for our anchor customer, JLR (Jaguar Land Rover). Over the next year we will have over 2,200 people working on the site, and that growth will continue over the coming years.” The latest Quarterly Update reveals that since the launch of the Modern Industrial Strategy over £360 billion of private investment has been secured across its key sectors, supporting up to 120,000 jobs. Alongside this, the government is cutting electricity costs for energy-intensive manufacturers, reducing unnecessary planning delays and overhauling regulation that holds back our most ambitious businesses. Government is injecting £47 million worth of support for key R&D battery projects through the Battery Innovation Programme, helping to create skilled jobs, a stronger supply chain and position the UK as a globally competitive destination for battery manufacturing. Auto businesses will also benefit from a £190 million boost to ensure the automotive industry remains ahead of the competition on the global stage. Startups and well-established firms including Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover have been awarded £90 million in DRIVE35 funding to ramp up innovative prototype and cutting-edge projects – strengthening firms’ technological capabilities and improving the affordability of EVs for customers. Meanwhile, suppliers in the North East and West Midlands can also capitalise on £100 million worth of DRIVE35 grant funding to help transition towards EV manufacturing, which will strengthen supply chain resilience and put Britain on track to become a clean energy superpower. Over the last two years, UK Export Finance has backed over £6.6?billion of advanced manufacturing investment and in the summer will announce plans to help UK companies tap into the power of international markets further. More widely, the British Business Bank is deploying £4 billion from the Industrial Strategy Growth Capital into firms across the eight growth sectors, showcasing a step-change in how government backs UK industry – with stronger public finance institutions supporting businesses looking to grow. Ther announced investment sets the stage to crowd in future private investment into key growth sectors like advanced manufacturing – building on the £360 billion already secured and 120,000 jobs supported across the country. Julian Hetherington, Automotive Transformation Director at the APC, commented: “This globally significant investment by Agratas reinforces the UK’s accelerating position in pursuit of road transport decarbonisation through the production of vital high-performance batteries for electrified vehicles. “I’m delighted that the ATF has been able to support Agratas in their investment in new facilities, creating secure and highly skilled jobs in this area and across the supply chain.” Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive said: “Recent global events have highlighted the need for resilient supply chains, making this new investment in the sector both timely and important. The UK has a highly skilled and innovative automotive industry, but longterm competitiveness depends on a policy framework that encourages investment. “The modern Industrial Strategy provides that forwardlooking support, and today’s announcement demonstrates strong government backing for one of the UK’s most vital industries.” Energy (ORE) Catapult and Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind, is unlocking deep tech innovation in offshore wind through collaboration with two UK innovators. AIM Group and Entopy were selected through the Digital Innovation Challenge to adapt and enhance existing digital and AI solutions, with the aim of strengthening offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) and equipping the UK industry to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving energy landscape. Offshore wind farms generate significant amounts of data which could be leveraged to inform and advance decision-making, strengthening O&M capabilities and unlocking benefits such as enhanced safety, cost-savings and improved operational efficiency. The Digital Innovation Challenge will enable the maturation of AI-led solutions to determine how data can drive progress by reducing the operational costs and safety risks associated with operating and maintaining offshore windfarms acros s the UK. For the challenge, AIM Group will look at how AI can be used to transform structural risk management across manmade assets, detecting tiny changes as early-stage defects and forecasting how they will evolve over time, with 99% accuracy. The second innovator, Entopy, is pioneering ‘Unified Operational Intelligence’ for complex infrastructure systems, helping decisionmakers to understand how events propagate across operations, and enabling better oversight of where small disruptions can create large cascading impacts. As part of the programme, Digital Catapult will support both innovators by providing innovation and technological consultancy, ethical and responsible AI guidance, and consideratio ns for the successful implementation of their AI innovations in offshore windfarm operations. ORE Catapult will strengthen the innovators’ understanding of the sector, ensuring that the adapted solutions have strong product-market fit, while outlining the interdependencies, complexities and data structure of offshore wind asset management. As the offshore wind industry continues to grow in the UK, the number of assets entering the O&M phase of the life cycle is set to grow significantly, increasing the demand for efficient, cost-effective, and scalable solutions that can accelerate the broader digitalisation of offshore wind O&M. As part of the programme, the innovators will receive support from Ørsted and both Catapults over six months, with opportunities to partner with Ørsted to further develop the solutions, and potentially pilot them within Ørsted’s global portfolio, including its 12 operational UK offshore wind farms. Ørsted and Catapults advance AI in offshore wind operations
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