The Minister for Industry and Economic Security has launched the first-of-its-kind Industry Innovation Accelerator, first announced in the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Plan in November.
Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani MP welcomed key players from UK digital and manufacturing companies who make up the Industry Innovation Accelerator to the taskforce’s first meeting in London yesterday, where they looked at both the opportunities and barriers in boosting the use of AI technologies across UK manufacturing, to raise productivity, increase sustainability and boost competitiveness across the sector.
The taskforce includes manufacturing and tech sector powerhouses such as Microsoft, GSK, IBM, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, and builds on the Government’s AI Opportunity Forum, which was announced by the Prime Minister and held its first meeting last month.
Ghani said: “The Advanced Manufacturing Plan sets out our ambition for the UK to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business. As part of that plan, the Industry Innovation Accelerator is bringing together some of the UK’s leading digital and manufacturing companies to explore opportunities to increase the adoption of AI technologies across industry.
“This Accelerator will help drive production and further economic growth, minimising costs for businesses while providing greater efficiency to our already thriving manufacturing industry.”
Data science and AI represent a huge opportunity for manufacturing. AI technologies can minimise costs, optimise supply chains, drive up quality, produce greater outputs, result in greater resource and energy efficiency and also reduce maintenance downtime.
A PwC report for the Global Manufacturing & Industrial Summit (2020) estimated that the adoption of AI applications may increase the manufacturing and construction industries’ contribution to GDP gains by more than 10 percent by 2030.
The full list of taskforce members:
- Siemens Digital Industries (serving as co-chair of the Accelerator)
- Google Cloud
- IBM
- Microsoft
- AWS
- techUK
- GSK
- BAE Systems
- Kellanova
- JLR
- Nissan
- Accenture
- Rolls Royce
- Make UK
- Innovate UK
- High Value Manufacturing Catapult
- National Cyber Security Centre
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