The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy

The Government published ‘The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy’ on the 23rd of June.^[1] The Modern Industrial Strategy highlights the role that our world-leading universities have to play in the creation and support of thriving, globally competitive industry sectors. The UK Metamaterials Network (UKMMN)^[2] welcomes that the strategy has highlighted the role of metamaterials in the UK’s future development.

Dr Claire Dancer (University of Birmingham), joint lead of the UKMMN said, ‘Advanced materials can do lots of fantastic things, but metamaterials add a new functionality on top. It is really exciting to see this governmental recognition of the immense potential of metamaterials and the world-leading innovation taking place within the UK’s academic research base.’

Metamaterials have a significant role to play supporting the UK’s industrial goals as they offer a design freedom beyond that of conventional materials. They are an enabling technology platform which can provide generation-after-next functionality and performance.

The recognition of metamaterials in the 2025 Industrial Strategy’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, and the MetaHub (3D Nanoscale Metamaterials Hub for a Sustainable Future), represents a significant step forward for the metamaterials community and towards the utilisation of metamaterials throughout space & aviation, health, sustainability and manufacturing technologies.

[1] The UK Modern Industrial Strategy, (June 2025), https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy

[2] The UK Metamaterials Network (UKMMN) (an EPSRC Funded NetworkPlus) is the home of the UK metamaterials community, providing leadership to drive the national metamaterials agenda. A thriving and active community, the UKMMN consists of over 1000 members from institutions across the UK and abroad, bringing metamaterials stakeholders together from all domains and sectors. It connects academia, industry, governmental agencies and other professional bodies to enable the full utilisation of the UK’s metamaterials research and exploitation capabilities, from fundamental science to market-leading technology.