Spring Budget aims to stimulate UK's science superpowers
The UK’s ambition to become a science superpower has been supported by the chancellor whose Spring Budget has ploughed billions of pounds into AI/IT and carbon capture.
Delivered in the House of Commons yesterday (March 15, 2023), the chancellor Jeremy Hunt also gave support to nuclear, skills and SMEs in the form of credits on R&D expenditure.
“Growth is one of the prime minister’s five priorities for our country,” he said. “I deliver that today… by harnessing British ingenuity to make us a science and technology superpower.”
Up to £20bn is being made available to support the early development of Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS), starting with projects on the East Coast, Merseyside and North Wales. According to the chancellor, this will pave the way for CCUS facilities across the UK by 2050.
“This will support up to 50,000 jobs, attract private sector investment and help capture 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030,” he said.
He added that an artificial intelligence sandbox will be launched to commercialise AI products more quickly, adding that the government will work with the Intellectual Property Office ‘to provide clarity on IP rules so Generative AI companies can access the material they need’.
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