UK manufacturing’s digital potential in AI, digital twins and data sharing has been stagnated by systems that can’t communicate. Now, a leading digital expert from the University of Sheffield AMRC wants to build the key that will drive industrial change after winning £2.3 million through UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowship fund. 

Jonathan Eyre, a AMRC senior technical fellow, will use his fellowship award to grow a team to solve the critical challenge of enabling interoperability, which is the ability for systems to exchange resources to work together seamlessly.

His research will focus on data sharing across the global supply chain, unlocking the potential for driving innovation, increasing productivity and reducing carbon emissions.

Jonathan said interoperability is fundamental for unlocking the future potential of things like artificial intelligence, digital twins and data sharing in manufacturing and its connected sectors, and is delighted to be awarded the Future Leaders Fellowship to drive the industrial change needed. 

He added: “These fellowships support vital research in complex areas where comprehensive funding is difficult to secure, so it’s an honour to have been selected. 

“With this award I can accelerate the applied research in this field with a team for the next four years, tackling the industrial issues faced to make the changes we need for how we work with information -  alongside making the methodologies understandable and accessible.” 

His award is timely. Public and private sectors are investing enormous amounts of digital resources; the UK Government spends over £26 billion annually on digital technology (State of digital government review, 2025). Despite this, the EU Data Act 2022 estimated 80 per cent of industrial data is never used and the existing data landscape is estimated to be 70 per cent not interoperable, failing to offer a single source of truth of information for users. Jonathan wants to change that.

His research area builds on his expertise and applauded research on digital twins, where he helped drive the national approach and adoption of an international standard within manufacturing at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. 

Now he is transitioning to focus on a foundational enabler, interoperability, as a UK leader to scale innovations. He is looking at three challenges in this field:

• To understand industry’s true need bringing together insights from across disciplinary fields; 
• To create a core interoperability approach, with real-world applicability by both combining (and adding to) existing approaches;  
• To support rapid industrial adoption by demonstrating the effectiveness of the innovation. 

Ben Morgan, interim chief executive officer at the AMRC, said that Jonathan’s Future Leaders Fellowship is richly deserved recognition for his outstanding contribution to digital innovation in UK manufacturing.

He added: “His work is not only advancing the AMRC’s thinking, but is also delivering real value to industry, helping to shape the future of UK manufacturing through world-class research and collaboration.”

Jonathan joins 76 other talented early-career researchers who have been awarded a share of £120m funding from UKRI to lead on vital innovations and become the leaders of the future in their respective fields. 

Professor Sir Ian Chapman, UKRI chief executive, said: “UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships offer long-term support to outstanding researchers, helping them turn bold ideas into innovations that improve lives and livelihoods in the UK and beyond.

“These fellowships continue to drive excellence and accelerate the journey from discovery to public benefit.”