CORNERSTONE highlights UK SiPh growth
New research calls for domestic pilot line investment to strengthen sovereign silicon photonics capabilities and accelerate commercial scale-up.
New market research from the CORNERSTONE Photonics Innovation Centre has highlighted significant growth potential for the UK silicon photonics sector, while warning that investment in domestic scale-up infrastructure will be critical to securing long-term competitiveness and sovereign capability.
The study found strong industry support for a UK silicon photonics pilot line, with 74% of respondents saying it would accelerate innovation and 79% agreeing it would significantly enhance the UK’s sovereign technology capabilities.
According to the research, investment in domestic pilot line infrastructure could contribute £2.9bn to the UK economy by 2040 and create approximately 2,850 new jobs.
The findings also showed that 76% of respondents believe improved UK scale-up infrastructure would accelerate company growth.
The survey gathered responses from 100 UK-based decision-makers currently developing, deploying, or planning to develop silicon photonics technologies.
While 77% said they are already developing or planning silicon photonics activity within the UK, many highlighted manufacturing and prototyping challenges linked to overseas dependency.
Almost one-third of respondents identified tariff-related costs as a barrier to silicon photonics prototype development, reinforcing calls for stronger domestic fabrication and commercialisation capability.
CORNERSTONE noted that global demand for silicon photonics is accelerating due to growth in AI infrastructure, data centres, quantum technologies and optical networking, with current market growth projections estimated at approximately 25–30% CAGR.
The organisation said the findings support recent recommendations from the UK Council for Science and Technology calling for a national photonics roadmap and investment in a dedicated silicon photonics pilot line to help transition UK innovation into scalable commercial production.
