Research funding aims to cover post-Brexit shortfall

Up to £484 million in research funding to support the R&D sector has been announced by Business Secretary Grant Shapps. The Government says this is in response to the EU’s 'refusal' to finalise UK access to EU programmes Horizon Europe, Euratom and Fusion for Energy following Brexit.

The funding aims to provide targeted support for staff retention and local talent strategies at eligible universities and research organisations, as well as making sure the UK labs remain world class and at the cutting edge of R&D.

The funds also aim to stimulate growth in the UK’s fusion industry. The package includes:

£30 million Talent and Research Stabilisation Fund. This will provide targeted support to eligible universities and research organisations who have a track record in attracting direct talent-based funding from the EU, to help them retain talent and address vulnerabilities at a local level

£100 million Quality-Related (QR) funding for English universities with additional funding for the Devolved Administrations.

£200 million for UK Research Infrastructures including additional funding for the Devolved Administrations. This includes the UKRI World Class Labs fund, enabling institutes and universities across the United Kingdom to invest in essential research equipment as well as making funding available to the UK’s Public Sector Research Establishments (such as the National Physical Laboratory and the Met Office.

£42.1 million for the Fusion Industry Programme through a challenge fund, designed to engage and support UK businesses in important technical challenges of fusion.

£84 million for JET Operations. This will support JET (Joint European Torus), as the world’s largest and most powerful fusion experimentation, to continue operations which will provide valuable new insights and support other UK fusion programmes such as STEP (Spherical Tokomak for Energy Production).

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said:

"This immediate investment will help our excellent research sector to shore up their talent pools, invest confidently in infrastructure and protect the UK’s reputation as a science superpower."