Realising long-term economic growth, national security and resilience from the UK’s strengths in science and technology requires focused support in areas where the UK can secure lasting competitive advantage.
Photonics – the science and application of light – already underpins a broad range of technologies we rely on every day, from fibre optic communications and medical lasers to advanced sensing systems.
It is also a major economic asset. In 2024, the UK photonics sector employed 84,000 people across the UK, contributing £8.6 billion to the economy.
Looking ahead, photonics will play a critical role in emerging fields including optical computing, next generation AI, quantum technologies and advanced manufacturing.
CST member Professor Nick McKeown says: “AI runs on chips that exchange mind-boggling amounts of data to train and run models. Photonic links and chips will shatter the energy and speed barriers holding back the next generation of AI – and the UK has what it takes to lead that revolution."
On 19 February 2026, CST wrote to the Prime Minister, highlighting how the UK’s photonics sector offers a distinctive opportunity to build on existing UK strengths, drive growth and reinforce international leadership.
CST’s recommendations
To help the UK realise this opportunity, CST advised government to take a more coordinated and strategic approach, focusing on three key actions:
- Develop a national photonics roadmap to provide a clear long-term vision, align skills and investment and connect regional clusters of excellence.
- Use public procurement to support innovation and resilience, acting as an early customer to grow UK capability in areas such as defence, healthcare and infrastructure.
- Expand international partnerships and exports, helping UK companies access global markets and collaborate with key partners.
As CST member Paul Taylor noted: “Photonics is an underpinning technology, so increasing government support offers an opportunity for growth and global leadership in many important sectors, including defence, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and digital infrastructure.”
Working with the sector to build a roadmap
Since publishing this advice, CST and government have engaged closely with the UK photonics sector to support development of a national photonics roadmap, with the aim of better coordinating activities to build on UK strengths.
As part of this, we convened a sector workshop in May 2026, attended by 71 representatives from academia, industry, government departments and investment communities. The session brought together a wide cross-section of the ecosystem – from start-ups and scale-ups to established large enterprises and research organisations – to help identify priorities for growth and leadership.
Three key themes emerged:
Clear opportunities in high-value sectors
Participants highlighted strong near-term high-value opportunities where the UK has credible strengths, particularly in AI infrastructure (e.g. optical interconnects for data centres), defence applications (e.g. such as sensing and secure communications), and advanced manufacturing.
While global competition across the sector is strong, the UK is well placed to compete in high-value niches like specialist components, embedded AI and sensing technologies, by building on existing expertise.
A need for better coordination and shared infrastructure
There was good consensus that improved coordination across the photonics ecosystem will be essential to unlocking growth.
Participants emphasised the importance of access to shared facilities for prototyping, testing and manufacturing – especially for photonic integrated circuits. Improving access to infrastructure, and strengthening links between research, industry and investment, was seen as a very transformative intervention government could make.
Building a stronger UK narrative
Representatives highlighted the need for a clearer, more coherent national story about UK photonics. While photonics supports priorities such as AI, defence and clean energy, participants noted that this breadth can make the sector harder to champion. They therefore emphasised the need to identify where the UK will prioritise its efforts and focus on areas of competitive advantage. A stronger narrative, backed by consistent policy signals and better engagement with industry, would help attract investment and support business scale-up.
Looking ahead
Photonics is already a UK success story, but its future impact depends on effective collaboration between government, industry, and academia.
The development of a national photonics roadmap offers a chance to take a more coordinated approach, which links research excellence with infrastructure, skills and investment.
By acting now, the UK can ensure photonics continues to support economic growth, national security, resilience and technological leadership in the years ahead.