From plastic made from peas and AI robots, science to watch in 2026
When the global pharmaceutical company Astrazenca pauses £200m investment plans There were fears in Cambridge last year that this could cause ripples in the science sector and affect wider investment and achievement.
However Jane Hutchins, Director of Cambridge Science Park The site, the first of its kind in the UK, says it expects 2026 to be a “really good year” with businesses ready to take the leap.
walking robots
In a dark room in Cambridge Science Park, two humanoid robots wearing trainers wander around. They blink and wave at each other, and when you poke one, it instinctively moves away from you.
Cambridge Consultants is using these robots to develop physical artificial intelligence (AI), which Tim Ensor, who runs the company’s smart services, believes is “on the verge of its own ChatGPT moment.”
“People know that an object persists even if it is moved out of sight. We know that some things are soft and some are hard.
“Physical AI allows robots to understand this and gives them a kind of common sense,” Ensor said.
Robots are already widely used to do these jobs Repeated assignments in the UKFrom collecting items in warehouses to assembling cars.
Physical AI will make them more versatile, performing a range of tasks that may be difficult to attract from human candidates.
Cambridge Consultants were among the first tenants to lease space at Cambridge Science Park in 1979. The company’s achievements include developing the first machine to make round tea bags for Tetley and the technology that launched Bluetooth.
There are now more than 100 companies on the site, many of which have attracted major investment.
protein plastic
Xampla creates plastic alternatives from plants – here a product made from peas is used to line cartons for takeaway boxes [BBC]
For example produces plastic alternatives from plants. They create a solution from the proteins found in peas that is spread on paper or cardboard to prevent water and oil from being absorbed.
The company, which chose Cambridge Science Park as its base five years ago, has just landed A contract to sort takeaway boxes for Just Eat.
“This means our boxes can be recycled and composted,” said co-founder Dr Marc Rodriguez Garcia, “so we are potentially contributing to replacing billions of tonnes of single-use plastic.”
flexible smart glasses
Dr Paul Cain expects to see Flexenable’s lenses used in smart glasses this year [BBC]
FlexEnable plans to enter the smart glasses market this year.
Smart glasses enrich the real world; can provide on-lens captions to translate speech or making referrals to help people with dementia.
“Most smart glasses are still really big,” said Dr Paul Cain. “We have developed a flexible plastic lens, as thin as a human hair, that can dim and focus light.
“It could help make smart glasses look like ordinary glasses.”
Cain said the technology could eventually transform varifocal glasses with a single lens that can focus at any distance.
Breath tests
Owlstone Medical receives up to $49 million in US funding to further develop breath tests that diagnose diseases [BBC]
Owlstone Medical It celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Based in the Cambridge Science Park from its inception, the company has become a world leader in developing breath tests to diagnose diseases.
“When we exhale, our breath contains thousands of chemicals, some of which are markers of serious diseases such as cancer or gastrointestinal problems,” says co-founder Billy Boyle. he said.
“The tests can be done by a GP or even at home and are non-invasive,” Boyle added.
This year the company will begin the next phase of lung cancer research in the UK and has yet to Signed an agreement with ARPA-H The organization has funded up to $49 million in the United States to further advance cancer diagnostics.
More than 7,000 people work at Cambridge Science Park, but the capacity of the 150-acre area is planned to be increased this year [BBC/Steve Hubbard]
Cambridge Science Park Director Jane Hutchins said recent investment in companies made her believe 2026 would be a “good year”.
“The beauty is that for the first time the national government, mayoral authority and local government (three different political parties) are aligned in seeing the importance of growing this remarkable city,” Hutchins said.
A new master plan for the park will be presented this year, making room for many more businesses on the 150-acre site.
The land was gifted to Trinity College, Cambridge, by Henry VIII, but has grown “organically” since opening as a science park in 1970 and now needs redesigning to maximize space.
But Hutchins acknowledges that growth can lead to conflict with local communities, adding: “As an industry, we need to get better at informing people about the benefits and jobs this brings – and not just scientists.
“We need people like accounting, marketing, cleaners, gardeners. And this will be a place that the public can use,” he said.
Plans to move sewer works to build more housing near Cambridge Science Park have recently stalled.
Peter Freeman, Chairman of Cambridge Growth Company (CGC), he told Cambridge City Council in December He thought science parks in the city could help “lift off” this project.
Hutchins said he is waiting for more details from CGC.
Jane Hutchins, director of Cambridge Science Park, says the investment secured by companies on the site makes her “very optimistic” about 2026 [BBC]
The UK government is investing in the science and technology sector to stimulate the economy.
This means small start-ups need to scale up and profit from their ideas, but Report of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee He described scaling up in the UK as an issue that forces talent and revenue to move abroad.
Dame Diane Coyle, an economist and Bennett professor of public policy at the University of Cambridge, agreed but said it was complex for any government to resolve.
“You have to get a lot of things in place at once, it’s like those Christmas cracker games where you have to roll six silver balls into the holes.
“This is about how companies get listed on stock exchanges, how to get investors to fund companies at later stages, and how to ensure we have a skilled workforce ready to move into new jobs as these companies expand.
“A lot of this coordination is easier at the local level than it is at the national level,” he said.
government used November budget to announce plans to support start-upsWhile Coyle is “generally optimistic” that UK science is on a positive path, he believes this requires “a mindset that enables rapid decision-making and agility” in wider policy-making.
“Why is it so hard to keep shops in one place and get public transport working? You can’t have islands of great technology without building amenities and public services around them,” he said.
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