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Two or three clusters, read side by side across sectors, research, companies, capital, infrastructure, government designations and UKIZ relevance. There is no score and no ranking: British clusters are different from one another, not better or worse than one another.

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Side by side

Dimension	Cornwall & PlymouthSouth West	Bristol & BathSouth West	Cardiff & South WalesWales
Sectors	Space, Clean Energy, Robotics & Autonomous Systems Supporting: Advanced Materials, AgriTech & FoodTech, Digital Technologies	Semiconductors, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, Quantum Technologies, Defence & Security Supporting: Creative Industries, Advanced Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Clean Energy	Semiconductors, Advanced Materials, Creative Industries Supporting: Clean Energy, Advanced Manufacturing, Digital Technologies
Research	University of Plymouth Plymouth Marine Laboratory	University of Bristol University of the West of England Bristol Robotics Laboratory	Cardiff University Swansea University
Companies	Not recorded on the map.	Bristol semiconductor and processor design cluster	South Wales compound semiconductor cluster
Infrastructure	Space and Earth observation capability, Cornwall Aerodrome and space capability, marine research and test facilities and naval infrastructure.	National Composites Centre Quantum and robotics laboratories, national composites facilities and aerospace test capability.	Not recorded on the map. Compound semiconductor fabrication and research facilities, materials and coatings research, production studios.
Capital	Public programmes and a small local investor base; almost all growth capital is external.	An established angel and seed base with strong deep tech interest; growth rounds usually come from London or the US.	Public and corporate capital dominate; venture funding is limited by capital intensity.
Government programmes	No place-based designation recorded.	No place-based designation recorded.	Wales Investment Zone designations — Investment Zones
What exists	Space launch and Earth observation capability, marine autonomy and ocean research, and a distinctive combination of coastline, test space and specialist facilities.	Semiconductor and processor design, quantum engineering, robotics and autonomous systems, aerospace and composites, and a creative and screen economy of national significance.	The UK's compound semiconductor cluster, combining research, fabrication and supply chain, alongside steel and coatings materials research, and a significant screen production economy.
What's missing · UKIZ interpretation	Company density and connectivity. Excellent facilities sit a long way from capital, customers and complementary suppliers, and skilled people are hard to retain.	Fabrication and volume production capacity to match the design strength, and hardware-friendly capital. Companies scale by moving production abroad.	Design demand. Fabrication capability needs a pipeline of UK customers designing products that use it, and capital patient enough for semiconductor timelines.
What could connect · UKIZ interpretation	Launch and Earth observation connected to Glasgow satellite manufacture and Harwell applications, and marine autonomy connected to Solent defence and offshore energy demand.	Bristol design capability connected to South Wales compound semiconductor fabrication and to composites and aerospace manufacturing — a western technology corridor with a complete chain.	South Wales fabrication connected to Bristol and Cambridge chip design and to defence, automotive and energy customers who currently source overseas.
UKIZ relevance	The proposed Cornwall & Devon mission treats the sea and the satellite economy as one system rather than two separate sectors.	Bristol's design and robotics capability has historically been acquired rather than scaled. The proposed zone concentrates on the capital and customer connections that let companies stay independent.	Compound semiconductors are a genuine national specialism with a fragile ownership base. The proposed Wales mission focuses on keeping the value chain here.
Last verified	15 August 2026	15 August 2026	15 August 2026

Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation

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