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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	Nottingham & DerbyEast Midlands	Southampton & PortsmouthSouth East
Sectors	Space, Clean Energy, Robotics & Autonomous Systems Supporting: Advanced Materials, AgriTech & FoodTech, Digital Technologies	Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Mobility & Transport Technology Supporting: Advanced Materials, Digital Technologies, AgriTech & FoodTech	Defence & Security, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, Advanced Manufacturing Supporting: Clean Energy, Digital Technologies, Advanced Materials
Research	University of Plymouth Plymouth Marine Laboratory	University of Nottingham	University of Southampton National Oceanography Centre
Companies	Not recorded on the map.	Not recorded on the map.	Not recorded on the map.
Infrastructure	Space and Earth observation capability, Cornwall Aerodrome and space capability, marine research and test facilities and naval infrastructure.	Not recorded on the map. Propulsion and nuclear engineering facilities, rail test capability and chemistry research centres.	Not recorded on the map. Naval and maritime engineering facilities, photonics research centres and port infrastructure.
Capital	Public programmes and a small local investor base; almost all growth capital is external.	Corporate and supply chain finance; limited venture activity.	Prime contractor supply chain finance and public programmes rather than venture capital.
Government programmes	No place-based designation recorded.	East Midlands Investment Zone — Investment Zones East Midlands Freeport — Freeports	Solent Freeport — Freeports
What exists	Space launch and Earth observation capability, marine autonomy and ocean research, and a distinctive combination of coastline, test space and specialist facilities.	Aerospace propulsion and small modular reactor engineering, rail technology, sustainable chemistry research and one of Europe's busiest air freight hubs.	Maritime, naval and defence engineering, marine autonomy, photonics research and a major port and logistics complex.
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.	Diversification of the supply chain beyond a small number of large primes, and company formation from a strong engineering research base.	Routes for smaller innovators into defence and maritime procurement, and a civil market for capability developed for defence customers.
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.	Propulsion and nuclear engineering connected to Sheffield manufacturing research and Midlands electrification — one Midlands industrial mission rather than three sectors.	Marine autonomy and photonics connected to Plymouth marine capability, Bristol robotics and offshore energy operations — the same technologies serving defence, energy and shipping.
UKIZ relevance	The proposed Cornwall & Devon mission treats the sea and the satellite economy as one system rather than two separate sectors.	Propulsion and nuclear capability sit alongside the Midlands mobility mission. The proposed Midlands zone connects them.	Marine autonomy is where defence, robotics and clean energy meet. The proposed Cornwall & Devon marine mission connects to this capability directly.
Last verified	15 August 2026	15 August 2026	15 August 2026

Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation

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