British Finance Minister George Osborne announces a £15 million investment to develop a national 3D printing hub.
In a statement earlier this week, the UK’s Finance Minister has announced that the British government will set aside £15M to create a national 3D Printing Hub.
With this massive investment the government plans to open the 3D Printing Hub by 2015, focusing on the development of technologies suited for aerospace engineering.
According to Osborne, “Our long term economic plan is working and the economy is growing. But there is still work to do which is why we are working with industry to drive innovation and lead the global race in technology, engineering and manufacturing.”
The Finance Minister continues, “We are already the best in Europe for aerospace and I want to do even better. Up to 27,000 new planes are needed between now and 2030, worth billions of pounds to the UK economy in contracts. That is why I am announcing today that, together with industry, we will invest around £60 million in a dedicated facility for aerospace manufacturing as part of £2 billion of support for this growing sector.”
Given that the Coventry-based center is set to open within the next two years, British aerospace firms stand to gain considerably from the rapidly maturing field of metal 3D printing. Moreover, with a total of £60M pledged as an investment in UK-borne additive manufacturing technology, the British 3D printing industry seems poised to take off.
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