Clean energy industries

The UK government aims to be a global leader in the deployment of clean energy by doubling investment to over £30 billion per year by 2035, focusing on industries like wind, nuclear, fusion, hydrogen, carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS), greenhouse gas removal and heat pumps. It aims to unlock £200 billion in investment by 2030, offering a compelling opportunity for forward-looking investors to capitalise on this momentum. In addition, the government has also announced a comprehensive package of support from public finance institutions. This includes a new £1 billion Great British Energy supply chain fund which will support clean energy industries.

Opportunity highlights

Clean energy opportunities are lighting up across the UK, from wind and nuclear to hydrogen and CCUS.

Offshore wind

Commercial opportunities in offshore wind are abundant, from the North Sea to the East Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and the English Channel. Businesses can capitalise on the Clean Power Action Plan, which sets out a pathway to deploy 43 gigawatts (GW) to 50 GW of fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind, central to decarbonising the energy system by 2030.

The Modern Industrial Strategy announced that the government, Great British Energy, industry and The Crown Estate will invest £1 billion in offshore wind supply chains. This includes £300 million announced by Great British Energy in April 2025, £400 million from The Crown Estate, and £300 million from the offshore wind industry.

Floating offshore wind

The UK has the world’s largest pipeline of floating offshore wind projects, with nearly 30 GW already agreed based on seabed exclusivity. Floating offshore wind has been identified as a key driver of future growth in the Modern Industrial Strategy. It can leverage existing expertise from the oil and gas sector to gain first mover advantage in this emerging sector, a global market worth up to £1 trillion by 2050.

The UK intends to secure multiple test and demonstration projects in Allocation Round 7 of the Contracts for Difference scheme, the UK government’s main mechanism for supporting low carbon electricity generation scheme across different geographical regions. This will help facilitate early investment in the development of the infrastructure and manufacturing capacity required to support the scale up of the sector across the UK.

Onshore wind

The UK has been building onshore wind farms since 1991. To decarbonise the power sector by 2030, it needs to deploy a total of 27 GW to 29 GW. With repowering this is at least an extra 11.5 GW. With the reintroduction of large onshore projects in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime, the 2024 removal of a de-facto ban on onshore wind in England, and progressing the 42 actions identified in the Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy, businesses can take advantage of project certainty and enhanced planning rules.

Nuclear fission

The UK is a global leader in nuclear fission, home to top companies like URENCO, EDF, and Rolls-Royce, and supported by a skilled workforce of over 96,000. With expertise across the full nuclear lifecycle and a flexible supply chain, the UK is primed for nuclear innovation. Government backing through the Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) initiative is accelerating major projects like Sizewell C and the SMR programme, while innovative funding models like the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) are creating long-term investment opportunities.

Nuclear fusion

The government has announced a record £2.5 billion investment in fusion energy. The UK offers world-leading facilities that support the entire innovation journey, from cutting-edge R&D and testing to fusion technology commercialisation and energy delivery. At the heart of this ecosystem is the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy which is associated with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). Companies collaborate on breakthrough fusion research. UK Industrial Fusion Solutions is leading the charge with the development of the world’s first commercial fusion power plant, the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) in Nottinghamshire. Meanwhile, the Culham Fusion Campus enables co-location of data centres and AI research, powered by sustainable energy.

Hydrogen

The UK hydrogen sector is rapidly expanding, and the UK government has committed over £1 billion to the Clean Energy Supply Chain Fund and £27.8 billion from the National Wealth Fund for production, technology scale-up, and infrastructure. Clear government auction schedules, integration of hydrogen into power, industry, and transport, and headline investments like the recent £500 million hydrogen infrastructure package ensure the UK is a leading hub for hydrogen projects, supply chain growth, and export opportunities.

The UK hydrogen sector offers high-growth investment opportunities across a rapidly scaling value chain. Backed by strong government support, investors can capitalise on early entry into production, infrastructure, and technology, positioning themselves in a market set for rapid expansion

Sustainable aviation fuel

UK sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) presents a growth opportunity, through a critical role in decarbonising aviation. The SAF Mandate, launched in January 2025, is building demand for new investments and further support is in development through a Revenue Certainty Mechanism that is currently being developed as in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill 2024-25. The mechanism is expected to reduce the cost for investment into SAF production infrastructure through guaranteeing the price producers receive, once selected. Over the last few years the UK’s Department for Transport has provided the new sector with significant start-up grants through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF). Overall, £198 million of grant funding was made available between 2022 and 2026.

CCUS and greenhouse gas removal

The UK CCUS sector is a prime opportunity for investors, with over £9 billion in government funding and at least £8 billion in private capital targeting rapid growth in carbon capture, transport, and storage projects. Strategic industrial hubs like HyNet, East Coast, Acorn, Viking, and Peak Clusters are unlocking markets across plant equipment, CO₂ transport solutions, engineering, packaged carbon capture and storage (CCS), and negative emissions. The UK’s world-leading 78 billion tonnes of CO₂ storage capacity and mature supply chain, combined with a pipeline of 90-plus projects and robust R&D backing, offer business growth, technology deployment, and export leadership in the global CCUS market.

Heat pumps

The Warm Homes Plan will accelerate low carbon heat rollout, providing certainty for investors with £13.2 billion allocated to heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), launched in 2022, has funded over 49,000 heat pump and biomass boiler installations and for 2025 to 2026, its budget will rise to £295 million. A reformed Clean Heat Market Mechanism commenced in April 2025 to further encourage heat pump adoption and market growth. Furthermore, the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines the critical role of heat pumps in achieving carbon budgets, outlining the need for 3.8 million heat pump installations in domestic properties by 2030 and 31.1 million installations by 2050 to meet net zero goals. These ambitions will position the UK as one of the largest markets in Europe for heat pumps over the next decade.

Electrical networks

Electricity networks and their supply chains underpin and enable every element of our clean energy mission to maintain, expand and modernise. An investment programme of up to £80 billion in electricity transmission is anticipated over the regulatory period 2025 to 2030. Opportunities for investment include transmission and distribution level components manufacturing, deploying energy storage solutions to meet an estimated capacity increase of 23 to 27 GW by 2030, as well as developing and deploying new technologies for smart and secure electricity systems .

Commercial maturity

The UK government is driving major reforms to make clean energy investment faster and easier—streamlining grid connections, accelerating planning for priority infrastructure, and enhancing the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. Investors also benefit from strong long-term support through CfDs, hydrogen production incentives, the regulated asset base model, and tailored business models for CCUS, all designed to reduce risk and boost returns

Key UK assets

The UK has several key clusters supporting clean energy innovation and driving technological progress:

Wind Clusters

Humber region

Home to Siemens Energy’s blade factory and key installation ports, the Humber Cluster is central to expanding UK blade capacity and wind installation. Grimsby and Immingham support a wide range of wind farms, with future growth driven by North Sea developments.

North East England

The offshore wind cluster known as Energi Coast features a dense offshore wind supply chain across four rivers, including major players like JDR Cables and SeAH Wind. It is also home to the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, the UK’s leading technology innovation and research centre for offshore renewable energy. The region supports UK goals in industrialised foundations, future electrical systems, and next-gen installation, operations and maintenance (O&M), and environmental services.

Scotland

Scotland’s Clean Energy Cluster includes high-value offshore wind companies with major growth plans, supported by a robust fixed and floating wind pipeline. Two new freeport zones (Inverness and Cromarty Firth, and Forth Green) have been established in Scotland with offshore wind related manufacturing as a key element of their plans. Initiatives like the Strategic Investment Model aim to fast-track investment in ports and supply chains. Alongside this Scotland leads the UK in onshore wind generation, contributing more than 60% of the nation’s total onshore wind capacity, with over 8.6 GW installed across key clusters in the Highlands, Moray, and South Lanarkshire.

North Wales and North West England

The Irish Sea has been a hub for offshore wind. Companies in the Offshore Energy Alliance have secured key Island Green Power (IGP) contracts, supported by a strong local supply chain in installation, O&M, and environmental services, with port infrastructure across Cumbria, Merseyside, and North Wales. Likewise Scout Moor Two planned in Lancashire is set to become England’s largest offshore wind farm with 17 turbines and a 100 megawatt (MW) capacity boosting the UK’s onshore wind supply chain after the end of the de factor ban on onshore wind was lifted in 2024.

South Wales and South West England

The Celtic Sea Cluster, initially focused on enabling floating offshore wind, has grown in scope and ambition, with a strong pipeline of commercial and demonstration developments. The region, including the Celtic Freeport, offers established marine services aligned with national priorities in smart environmental services and next-gen installation. The region also hopes to identify a pipeline of suitable sites for development of new onshore wind farms working closely with businesses and local communities for future growth.

East of England

The East Wind Cluster hosts a diverse industrial base across offshore wind, oil and gas, and nuclear. With mature wind farms and a strong project pipeline, the region is well-positioned to expand its expertise in O&M and large-scale installation.

Fusion cluster

UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is driving efforts to fully harness fusion power. Fusion Cluster, a booming community of 200+ public organisations collaborating at Culham Fusion Campus in Oxfordshire, has cutting-edge facilities, start-up expertise and strong government support.

Nuclear fission clusters

The Northern Powerhouse area in the North of England is home to the global-leading centre for decommissioning at Sellafield in Cumbria. It is also a key area of operation for all the UK’s major nuclear companies, such as Rolls-Royce, Westinghouse, Cavendish Nuclear and Urenco, as well as universities and research institutions like the National Nuclear Laboratory. The South West of England is home to the South West Nuclear Hub, a major research and innovation centre, as well as the National College for Nuclear and multiple training centres that develop a skilled workforce for the entire nuclear lifecycle.

CCUS and UK industrial clusters

Seven major UK industrial clusters generate 50% of the country’s industrial emissions, offering key investment opportunities in decarbonization. The government has committed to support the first two CCUS transport and storage systems in HyNet (North West England) and East Coast Cluster (North East England) as a core component of decarbonisation, supported by the rollout of hydrogen and renewable energy for electrification. In August 2025, the government approved an expansion of the first two clusters, selecting six additional projects within HyNet to enter negotiations, supplementing the initial projects. Recent government funding increases have boosted the sector, with the East Coast Cluster targeting operational start-up in 2028 and the expanded HyNet cluster supporting up to 1GW of low-carbon hydrogen production and substantial regional economic growth.

Research and development (R&D) capability

From 2022 to 2025, a combined public sector research and innovation investment of approximately £4.2 billion has been delivered in the UK for net zero. The government has announced a transformative £86 billion for net zero research and innovation over the next four years. Some of this will focus on the government’s clean energy mission, including funding through Innovate UK, UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) research council R&D programmes, and the £500 million R&D Missions Accelerator Programme.

The UK is committed to achieving 95% clean power by 2030 and net zero by 2050, providing long-term certainty through DESNZ's (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) £61.9 billion capital investment programme, including establishment of Great British Energy.

Alongside this investment, the Cleantech Innovation Challenges initiative aims to galvanise action and investment for net zero innovation across public and private sectors, unlocking faster development and deployment of low-carbon technologies. Innovation challenges are being co-developed with industry to target priority opportunities and reduce deployment barriers.

Business and government support

The £1 billion Clean Energy Supply Chain Fund under Great British Energy, the £27.8 billion National Wealth Fund, and the British Business Bank’s £25.6 billion in financial capacity, are all aimed at boosting growth and accelerating the commercialisation of critical technologies.

Talent

The UK clean energy industries employ over 450,000 people and are undergoing a major skills transformation. To meet this, the government has launched initiatives to train thousands of new workers, guaranteeing a ready supply of crucial labour through the Energy Skills Passport for oil and gas, Regional Skills Pilots and the National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills.

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