A new £80 million National Materials Innovation Programme (NMIP) has been launched to accelerate the transition of advanced materials research from laboratory discovery to commercial products. Delivered by Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the programme aims to establish a more coordinated national approach to materials innovation and reduce the time it typically takes for breakthroughs to reach the market.
The announcement was made at the Materials Research Exchange (MRE) 2026 in London, the UK’s flagship event for materials science and innovation. The programme places advanced materials at the centre of translational funding, addressing the long development timelines that can stretch up to 20 years. By streamlining support and strengthening collaboration across sectors, the initiative seeks to ensure promising innovations do not stall before delivering economic and societal benefits.
Speakers at the event highlighted the importance of advanced materials to the UK’s technological and industrial future. Presentations covered defence applications, extreme-environment materials, and the need to develop sovereign supply chains. The Defence Materials Centre of Excellence (DMEx) was showcased as an example of cross-sector collaboration focused on responding to current and future defence challenges while supporting skills development and practical application of early-stage technologies.
The investor community also emphasized the commercial opportunity in advanced materials. Venture capital representatives discussed growing interest in circular economy technologies and materials science start-ups, underlining the potential to combine capital investment with technical expertise to scale innovative businesses in the UK.
Advanced materials underpin nearly every sector of the UK economy, from renewable energy and low-carbon construction to aerospace, healthcare and next-generation electronics. With approximately 2,700 materials companies—most of them SMEs—contributing an estimated £45 billion annually, the new programme represents a strategic effort to strengthen the UK’s industrial base, enhance competitiveness and accelerate innovation across priority sectors.
