Login
Start of main content

Invest 2035 (the UK's modern industrial strategy)

Invest 2035 (the UK's modern industrial strategy): IET comments to the Department of Business and Trade on 21 November 2024.

The IET has responded to an open consultation by the Department of Business and Trade. This consultation focuses on the government’s industrial strategy proposals. The industrial strategy aims to deliver a stable environment for businesses to invest in the high-growth sectors and drive long-term economic growth.

The IET highlighted several other topics that should be considered throughout the industrial strategy. This includes emerging digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins and quantum.

Further, the UK risks falling behind due to a shortage of skills in areas such as renewable energy, retrofit, AI and quantum computing, making upskilling and reskilling a priority to fill this gap imperative. Our response also considers regulation, energy, and national infrastructure.

The IET’s recommend the new industrial strategy should be designed in recognition of the following key pillars:

  • Strategic direction: As a first step to delivering a new industrial strategy, we recommend that the Government builds on the current Science and Technology framework. However, in the medium to long term, a three-horizon approach must provide milestones for success.
  • Digitalisation: Harnessing new digital technologies will give a critical edge to sectors such as manufacturing, delivering growth, market share and export potential. New and expanding technologies like AI and quantum must be supported by building sustainability into their regulation. Digitalisation is a facilitator for growth and a fundamental component of future technological development, it should be a priority that underpins the industrial strategy.
  • Systems thinking, resilience and stability: Resilience and stability need to be embedded into the different systems the UK relies on, particularly as the list of complex systems essential to modern life is long and continually growing (including power systems extracting energy from wind, sunshine, tides, biomass and fossil fuels, and making it available 24/7 in sockets around our homes). We recommend that the UK government should consider strategic factors such as contribution to system resilience in these complex systems.
  • Diversification of energy: Government must address demand and supply to meet future needs. The transition to clean energy must be managed through a whole system approach that considers generation and transmission infrastructure, energy demand, regulation, skills, and the future effects of climate change. Nuclear, tidal power, biofuels, hydrogen storage, and demand-side flexibility will be needed to compensate for shortfalls.