AgriScale pilot accelerates UK agri-tech manufacturing scale-up

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Innovate UK’s AgriScale pilot supports agri-tech businesses in scaling up manufacturing, bridging the gap between prototype and market-ready solutions to enhance the UK’s advanced manufacturing capabilities

Innovate UK’s AgriScale pilot supports agri-tech companies in scaling up manufacturing, helping promising technologies move from prototypes to market-ready products. The programme aims to strengthen the UK’s advanced manufacturing capabilities and accelerate growth in the agri-tech sector.

AgriScale: Accelerating product manufacturing in agriculture

Defra Minister Dame Angela Eagle unveiled Agri-Scale at September’s World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit.

AgriScale can enable agri-tech businesses to scale within the UK, advancing the country’s manufacturing capabilities and driving growth in the agri-tech sector. AgriScale aims to fill a critical gap in the innovation pipeline by accelerating product manufacturing.

Through the High Value Manufacturing Catapult scheme, five businesses will receive tailored support from the Manufacturing Technology Centre and Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick. This will address the specific manufacturing challenges highlighted by UK companies.

This approach aims to improve the development and commercialisation of new technologies, helping to grow a globally competitive and sustainable agri-tech manufacturing base in the UK.

The challenges faced by the companies range from automation scale-up and system reliability to sustainable design and flexible manufacturing, challenges widely shared across the agri-tech sector.

Five companies will receive guided support from leading experts

The five UK-based companies selected for AgriScale support are as follows.

S&A Produce

Background: S&A Produce has developed its own autonomous husbandry modular robot platform to meet the needs of its own farms and partner growers.

Challenge: Scaling up production and securing CE certification.

UPP

Background: UPP is building opportunities for novel broccoli products, and an essential part of this is a field harvester.

Challenge: Scale up automation to meet growing UK and international demand. Support will focus on manufacturing, component optimisation, sustainability, and system design.

Dogtooth Technologies

Background: Since 2016, Dogtooth has been developing commercial robotic harvesting solutions. Their fifth-generation robots are now available.

Challenge: To unlock scale-up potential, support is needed to improve usability and reliability, develop viable maintenance strategies, and reduce failure rates.

OxDrive

Background: OxDrive designs and manufactures electric propulsion systems, callede-hubs’, for off-highway applications, addressing a growing need for autonomous solutions in UK agriculture.

Challenge: Support autonomous system development aligned with test fleet adoption criteria, enabling rapid algorithm and hardware iteration in simulated environments tailored to early adopters.

Earth Rover

Background: Earth Rover develops autonomous robots for chemical-free, zero-emission, tillage-free weeding.

Challenge: Preparing for pilot build and scaling production. Support will include facility layout planning, supply chain readiness assessment, and volume ramp strategies.

Drawing on the success of the automotive sector

AgriScale is backed by the Modern Industrial Strategy and aligned with the Manufacturing Sector Plan, drawing upon the successful scale-up models in the automotive sector.

Farming Minister Angela Eagle said:Getting the latest technology from proof of concept to product manufacturing is vital if we’re to unlock the full potential of automation in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.

The AgriScale pilot builds on the success of the government’s Farming Innovation Programme and harnesses the UK’s world-class creativity to equip farmers with productivity boosting tech for the future.

This is about turning bold ambition into real-world impact and helping British farming to thrive.”

Andy Cureton, Director of AgriFood Systems, said:AgriScale plays a pivotal role in advancing the UK’s leadership in frontier agri-tech industries, directly aligning with national goals around innovation, sustainability, and economic growth.

It’s a key step in delivering on the UK’s ambition to lead in sustainable food production and advanced manufacturing, driving productivity, resilience, and green growth across the sector.”

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