Sheffield semiconductor start-up raises £2.5m
Smailes Goldie walks the extra mile for Yorkshire Cancer Research
Steel and agriculture secure boost from UK trade deals
Greater Lincolnshire’s manufacturing and farming sectors are set to benefit from recent UK trade agreements with the US, EU, and India, which will deliver a more stable trade environment and improved market access.
Around 39,000 manufacturing jobs in the region and 2,700 in Scunthorpe’s steelworks stand to gain from removing the 25% US tariff on UK steel exports. The UK exported £343 million worth of steel products to the US in 2024, and this new agreement protects a significant portion of the industry’s national workforce.
The revised agreement with the EU is expected to ease customs procedures and reduce checks in agriculture and food production, providing simpler access to the UK’s largest export market. Lower trade friction and greater continuity could benefit approximately 100,000 people in Lincolnshire’s food sector.
The UK-India deal includes provisions for reduced prices and increased availability of imported goods such as clothing and food. It also maintains UK standards in agriculture and protects local producers from being undercut.
The government says the combined impact of these deals is expected to drive inward investment and improve business confidence across the region. The changes align with broader plans to stimulate economic growth across the UK’s regions, emphasizing job retention, trade stability, and supply chain resilience.
Agri-food sector to receive £2.5m in skills infrastructure boost
Greater Lincolnshire is investing £2.5 million to upgrade training infrastructure across six educational institutions to strengthen the region’s agri-food workforce. The funding is part of the area’s wider devolution deal, which enables local control over development priorities through a newly established combined authority. The UK Food Valley programme, now managed by Lincolnshire County Council, is distributing the grants as part of a broader effort to modernise training, attract investment, and support regional growth.
The funding will support a mix of capital projects to expand capacity, modernize teaching facilities, and align training with the latest industry standards. Riseholme College will create a Centre for Plant and Soil Science, equipping it with agricultural machinery and expanded teaching space to support further and higher education qualifications. DN Colleges Group plans to develop advanced laboratories to support a new food science degree and technical training in microbiology and food automation. Boston College is building a modular Agrifood Hub, complete with a hydroponics unit and digital suite, in partnership with Hydrogarden Ltd and the University of Lincoln, to address emerging skills gaps in sustainable food production.
Lincoln College is establishing an AgriLinc Training Hub focused on HGV and forklift driver qualifications, operating in collaboration with Branston Ltd., to address acute logistics shortages in the food supply chain. The Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology is transforming part of its Riseholme campus into a dedicated laboratory for soil, crop, and food analysis to upskill agronomists and growers. Meanwhile, the National Centre for Food Manufacturing at Holbeach will develop a STEM Digital Hub offering digital and engineering skills training to meet evolving workforce demands.
The funding represents a strategic push to build long-term capability in a sector critical to local employment and national food security. Investing in cutting-edge facilities and tailored training, the region aims to reinforce its status as a significant UK agri-food cluster.
New funding to accelerate UK-built cybersecurity chips
SCI Semiconductor has secured £2.5 million in fresh funding to advance development of what it claims will be the world’s first commercially viable “memory safe” computer chip. Mercia Ventures led the investment round through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, and UK and Silicon Valley-based angel investors participated.
The Sheffield-based firm is tackling memory safety, a longstanding vulnerability in legacy codebases such as those used in Microsoft Windows and industrial systems. Around 70% of cyberattacks exploit memory-related flaws. SCI’s technology aims to address this by embedding compartmentalised memory access control into hardware, offering an alternative to constant software patching.
Key early adopters include Google Research. SCI plans to double its engineering headcount to 40 and establish a permanent base in Sheffield. Founded in 2022 by Haydn Povey and Krishna Anne, the company has also received over £1 million in UK government R&D grants and draws on research from the University of Cambridge.
The chip, designed to work with open-source software and dev tools, positions SCI to capitalise on the growing demand for cybersecurity solutions embedded at the silicon level, particularly in defence, critical infrastructure, and industrial IoT.
This round signals growing investor appetite for UK-based deep tech firms addressing global security threats through hardware innovation.
£3.6bn worth of Lincolnshire projects promoted to investors
Greater Lincolnshire is pitching a £3.6 billion portfolio of investable projects to national and international stakeholders, with regional leaders positioning the area as a critical hub for UK infrastructure, technology, and energy. At this year’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds, the newly formed Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority outlined 17 live investment opportunities spanning sectors from AI and advanced logistics to renewable energy and regeneration.
Among the standout developments is a planned AI Growth Zone in North Lincolnshire. The zone proposes over 1,300 hectares of developable land across four sites, offering significant processing capacity and space for data infrastructure. Strategic locations include land around the Scunthorpe steelworks and the Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate.
Port-related development is also gaining traction. The Pioneer Business Park, recently acquired by ABP, is being shaped into a new logistics corridor closely tied to the Port of Immingham activity. Meanwhile, a major regeneration scheme at Grimsby Docks could transform the historic Ice Factory into a mixed-use precinct anchored by a new hotel and venue space. In addition, Humber Freeport continues to be marketed as a strategic asset for offshore wind and heavy industry, with tax incentives covering hundreds of hectares of land and deep-water access.
The Greater Lincolnshire delegation used its platform to reinforce its push for more devolved powers and funding. The new mayoral administration is working to unlock national support to fast-track infrastructure delivery, increase private-sector engagement, and elevate the county’s role in national supply chains. The pitch signals a broader ambition to position Lincolnshire as a recipient of investment and a driver of innovation and productivity for UK plc.