The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has announced exceptionally strong market engagement in the first round of the Industrial Growth Fund (IGF), with 73 applications seeking nearly £300m of support for projects totalling an overall investment value of £2.2bn in the UK supply chain.
Launched in October last year, the IGF is backed by private funding from developer members of the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC). The IGF is designed to accelerate capital investment in domestic manufacturing of key components, systems and services for the offshore wind sector by providing grant funding support to supply chain investments aligned with the Industrial Growth Plan (IGP).
The strength of the response is a clear indicator of the capability and investment appetite already present in the UK market. It shows that the supply chain is not short of ideas or ambition. Businesses are ready to scale, innovate and compete if the right investment reaches the right parts of the supply chain at the right time.
That matters because offshore wind is not only central to the UK’s clean power ambitions, but also a major industrial opportunity. The Industrial Growth Plan identifies a pathway to significantly scale offshore wind manufacturing capacity, create 10,000 additional supply chain jobs and add £25 billion to the UK economy.
Since the fund opened, OWGP has undertaken an intensive assessment process to review and score proposals, down-select projects, conduct interviews and prepare recommendations for Board approval. This has been a substantial effort delivered at pace, reflecting both the volume and quality of submissions received. The winning applicants and total funding amount will be announced in the coming months following final due diligence checks.
To match growing demand from the sector, OWGP is also expanding its delivery, strategy and investment capabilities, with recruitment under way across a number of roles. This will strengthen OWGP’s ability to support the growth of the supply chain through future funding rounds, strategic coordination and support programmes aligned to industry need.
At the same time, OWGP is beginning work on the next iteration of the Industrial Growth Plan, ensuring that it remains relevant, actionable, up to date and measurable in a fast-moving global market.
Working with key industry partners, including The Crown Estate, The Crown Estate Scotland, OWIC and RenewableUK, OWGP is helping to define what success looks like in the next phase of delivery and how progress should be tracked against the Plan’s ambitions.
Alex MacPhie, Executive Director of Industrial Development Strategy at OWGP, said,
“The response to this first Industrial Growth Fund round shows the scale of confidence in the UK offshore wind supply chain and the strength of the opportunity in front of us. With backing from OWIC’s developer members, we are helping direct investment into the projects, capabilities and regions that can deliver the greatest long-term impact for industry and for the UK economy.”
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Adam Morrison, OWIC Co-Chair, added,
“This is about more than funding individual projects. It is about building momentum behind a stronger, more competitive UK supply chain, one that can support deployment at home, win business internationally and deliver high-value jobs, investment and industrial capability in communities across the country. It also demonstrates what CfD allocation rounds such as the recent AR7 can provide in terms of economic and industrial stimulus.”
Together, the scale of demand seen in this first round of the Industrial Growth Fund sends a clear message: the UK has both the capability and the ambition to grow a globally competitive offshore wind supply chain. By backing projects that can unlock long-term industrial value OWGP and OWIC will turn that potential into practical investment, stronger regional economies and a more resilient clean energy future.
