UK Progress Atlas
UK project milestones, investment, science, healthcare and nature restoration.
Nissan will invest £170 million to manufacture the Kicks e-POWER hybrid SUV at its Sunderland plant for the European market. The model will join the Qashqai, Juke and electric Leaf on the site's production lines.
Isembard opened a 160,000 square foot factory and headquarters producing precision components for aerospace, defence, space, energy and robotics. The company currently employs 35 people and says it expects the workforce to reach 200 by the end of 2027.
The Government decided to work towards public acquisition of Speciality Steel UK after rejecting the preferred private bid. The four sites support more than 1,300 jobs and strategic steelmaking capability, but the acquisition remains subject to due diligence and detailed terms.
More developments
Oxfordshire battery-materials company Nexeon has completed a £100 million investment round, including £52.6 million from the National Wealth Fund. The Korea Development Bank and Honda Xcelerator Ventures are among its other new backers. The company develops silicon-based materials for lithium-ion battery anodes, intended to increase the amount of energy batteries can store. The funding will support its UK research and manufacturing technology operations and the development of a UK pilot production facility. The location and construction timetable for that facility have not been announced. Nexeon has separately begun volume production of silicon-carbon materials at a plant in Gunsan, South Korea.
Cladding installation has begun on the utilities building at the Somerset factory, alongside work on the main manufacturing building.
Fluor was appointed in May 2026 to undertake feasibility study services for the project.
Construction Enquirer reported outline planning approval from Thurrock Council on 26 February 2026.
The government announced the opening of the Suffolk factory on 26 February 2026.