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Innovation incentivised to lead to uk manufacture

The UK chemical industry invests nearly 拢6 billion each聽year on R&D, one of the largest of any industrial sector.聽Through continued investment in R&D and ensuring this聽investment is commercialised in the UK, the sector can聽play a leading role in solving many of today鈥檚 issues, for聽example helping other sectors achieve net zero, such as聽through modern battery technology, cost effective green聽hydrogen production and insulation for homes, providing聽medicines to keep people healthy and helping prevent聽pollution, e.g. through chemical recycling of plastics.聽

Although the industry and related academic institutions聽have a proud record of successful R&D, the UK has been聽less good at commercialising these inventions in the聽UK, in what is a truly global industry. For this, we need an聽even playing field and the Government to ensure that聽regulatory and innovation investment is comparable聽with our major competitors in the US, Europe, China and聽the Middle East.

We welcome a number of recent announcements by聽the Government, including the Advanced Manufacturing聽Plan. We particularly welcome re-joining Horizon Europe;聽making the full expensing of capital allowances scheme聽permanent; reforms to the R&D tax reliefs to simplify聽and improve the system and increased funding for UKRI,聽particularly Innovate UK and the EPSRC.

We also welcome聽the focus on key areas where the chemical industry聽can play a vital role as a solution provider including聽battery technology, hydrogen and carbon capture聽and utilisation. However, it is still hard for companies to聽compete globally with recently announced packages聽such as the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the聽more recent EU response, the Green Deal Industrial Plan.

  • At least match OECD levels of R&D funding, to聽maintain quality and attract the best scientists聽and engineers.
  • Look to simplify bureaucratic application and聽monitoring procedures when applying for聽Government funded R&D investment.
  • Strengthen innovation ecosystems such as聽Catapult Networks and centres of excellence聽such as the Centre for Process Innovation聽(CPI).
  • Improve incentives for inventions made in the聽UK to be commercialised in the UK.
  • Continue to invest in AI and digital technology聽at world-leading levels and encourage聽uptake by industry, through de-risking聽implementation.
  • Deliver long-term certainty for existing and聽prospective investors on the business taxation聽and incentives environment.
  • Guarantee long-term support for the Patent聽Box.
  • Provide greater recognition of the chemical聽industry as a leading solution provider, with聽similar direct support to other key sectors聽such as automotive and aerospace. As a vital聽supplier to key industries we need to be able聽to access funding allocated to the growth of聽other customer sectors.