Technology opportunities could net £8bn, claims report

The UK could potentially net around £8bn in business by exploiting new electromagnetic technologies, according to a report published yesterday.

The Foresight project 'Exploiting the electromagnetic spectrum' has identified many money spinning opportunities from developing new cutting edge technologies.

Applications include developing new non-intrusive medical scanning, advanced security imaging to identify drugs and weapons and small-scale manufacturing using lasers.

The Foresight project brought business people and scientists together to look at the spectrum from radio waves to x-rays, to identify areas of commercial opportunity where the UK has scientific expertise.

The report marks the 300th anniversary of Isaac Newton's book 'Opticks' which laid the foundations for today's understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum. Since then, the UK has been a world leader in the field. X-rays, MRI scanners and LCDs have all been British breakthroughs, although often failing to secure the full commercial potential of these discoveries for the UK economy.

Communications and E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms who sponsored the project said: "The UK has an outstanding scientific track record across the electromagnetic spectrum but we need to get better at exploiting this expertise. By bringing the worlds of business and science together, this Foresight project has identified lots of exciting opportunities for the UK to turn 'invented in Britain' into 'made in Britain'.

"Some of the new technologies highlighted in this report could prove revolutionary for areas such as healthcare, security, manufacturing and communications."

Among the host of technologies identified by the project are:

• Smart tags and markers for better quality medical imaging;
• Non-intrusive imaging for security applications;
• Advanced CCTV and airport scanners which can look for drugs, weapons and plastic explosives.

Having identifying these opportunities, a group chaired by Stephen Timms will aim to progress the project's action plan.

(SP)