The focus of the second round of The Crown Estate’s £15m Supply Chain Accelerator will be funding for the development of manufacturing facilities and port infrastructure to enable swifter deployment of offshore wind around the UK.
The Crown Estate established the £50m Supply Chain Accelerator last year to accelerate and de-risk the early-stage development of UK supply chain projects servicing the offshore wind sector.
It aims to support existing early-stage projects to scale up into attractive capital investment opportunities, helping to drive demand for new jobs and skills.
This second round has been expanded to include UK ports and port-related infrastructure to support the construction, assembly, manufacturing, operations & maintenance, and wet storage of fixed and floating offshore wind, as well as supply chain opportunities that support deployment.
Ports are set to play a major role in the UK’s clean energy transition as hubs for the construction, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
The UK government has set a target of up to 50GW of offshore wind deployed by 2030 and, with 14.7GW of offshore wind currently deployed off the UK’s coasts, greater funding for port infrastructure and facilities will be vital to deliver this ambition.
The Government’s target includes 5GW of floating wind, with The Crown Estate’s current Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 expected to deliver up to 4.5GW in the Celtic Sea.
The expanded scope of the Supply Chain Accelerator’s second round to include ports and port-related infrastructure as well as wet storage could support in the delivery of these targets.
In the second funding round businesses can apply for up to £1.5m per eligible project, with The Crown Estate providing 50% matched funding for early-stage development expenditure together with an option to participate in the capital investment phase.
The application process is now open and is due to close at the end of June. Successful projects will be chosen following an application assessment process and announced by the end of the year.
The Crown Estate is being supported by professional services firm Grant Thornton.
The Supply Chain Accelerator aims to support UK projects that meet the opportunities identified by the Industrial Growth Plan (IGP), launched by RenewableUK and industry partners, including The Crown Estate, in 2024.
It sets out the actions required to triple offshore wind manufacturing capacity over the next ten years.
This funding round will align with the priority sub-sectors identified within the IGP as well as the identified need for ports and port-related infrastructure.
In December last year The Crown Estate awarded nearly £5m in funding to 13 businesses following the conclusion of the Supply Chain Accelerator’s initial funding round, which focused on developing a new UK supply chain capability for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.
When coupled with match funding this will contribute to a combined development investment of over £9m which, if the opportunities successfully conclude their respective development stages, could lead to more than £400m of capital investment.
Established through an Act of Parliament, The Crown Estate recently announced a modernising of its legislation (The Crown Estate Act 2025) which grants borrowing and new investment powers to future proof the organisation.
These new powers will enable The Crown Estate to have a greater flexibility for investment which will create long-term impact on decarbonisation and energy security, nature recovery, creating inclusive communities and economic growth.
Developing the offshore wind industry’s domestic supply chain through collaboration with industry and government partners forms a vital component of these ambitions.
Ben Brinded, head of investment at The Crown Estate, said: “The ambition behind our Supply Chain Accelerator is to accelerate and de-risk the offshore wind supply chain in support of the UK’s clean energy transition, boosting economic growth through new jobs and skills opportunity around the country.
“Following the success of the initial funding round and the recent modernising of our investment powers through The Crown Estate Act 2025, we’ve expanded the ambition and scope for the second round of the Accelerator to include fixed and floating supply chain opportunities, together with ports and their associated facilities.
“The application window is open until the end of June, and we are looking forward to hearing from applicants with UK projects we could support to get investment ready.”