Competition will pick who will run the UK’s £52m robotics hubs
16 January 2026 
Image: Alecsandra Dragoi / DSIT
The UK government is launching a competition to decide who will run around five Robotics Adoption Hubs across the nation. The hubs, expected to cost around £52m over four years, were first announced in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan that the government published in June 2025 as part of its Modern Industrial Strategy.
The government has also announced plans to cut “outdated” regulations that it says are blocking innovation in the robotics and defence sectors.
Research suggests that wider adoption of robotics in just seven sectors of UK industry could add £150bn to the economy. But many businesses – particularly smaller firms – don’t know where to start with adopting these technologies. They can see the potential of robotics but need support to take the first step – whether they are a small manufacturer looking to automate part of their production line, a farm wanting to explore new ways to monitor crops, or a hospital considering how robots could free up staff time.
The new hubs will be run by universities, businesses, or public sector organisations to be chosen in a competition run by Innovate UK. The hubs will give companies of all sizes access to expert advice, live demonstrations and networking opportunities, to help them take the first steps towards adopting robots.
Each Hub will receive at least £2m per year for four years, with extra funding available for ambitious bids. The hubs are expected to be operational from the second half of 2026.
“From manufacturing to healthcare, robotics can help British businesses work smarter and grow faster,” says science minister, Lord Vallance. “These hubs will make sure companies of all sizes can access the support they need to embrace automation, wherever they are in the country.”
Innovate UK will launch the competition to identify the organisations to run the robotics hubs “in the coming weeks”.
In another announcement, the Government says it is aiming to cut back the regulations that, it suggests, are holding back innovations such as robots for inspecting wind turbines in stormy seas, and autonomous vessels for patrolling British waters.
The Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), launched in October 2024, has announced robotics and defence as new priorities aimed at making Britain safer and more productive. This builds on its mission to remove outdated rules that are holding back the technologies that drive growth, to lift living standards and improve public services – a central mission of the Modern Industrial Strategy.
The RIO has already engaged with more than 150 businesses and is working to unlock the potential of sectors worth over £100bn across its initial priority sectors.
The government says that robotics and defence are two areas where British companies are world-leaders, but where outdated and complex regulations can hold back innovation and slow the path to market.
Currently, businesses developing robotic technologies must navigate different regulatory frameworks across multiple bodies. The RIO is aiming to streamline overlapping requirements to bring products to market safely, but more quickly.
“British innovators shouldn’t be held back by needless red tape,” says the minister for the digital economy, Liz Lloyd. “We have world-leading robotics and defence tech firms, but regulations haven’t kept pace with their innovations.
“We’re updating the rules so they work for modern technologies, cutting the barriers that stop these firms from growing and competing globally.”
Businesses in the robotics and defence sectors will also be able to raise regulatory barriers directly with the RIO via a new portal, helping the Office to target the rules causing the most problems, and to unlock growth in these technologies.
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