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The Great British Energy (GBE) Supply Chain Fund: Offshore Wind and Networks is a major capital funding programme designed to expand the UK's manufacturing capacity for components that are critical to the growth of offshore wind and electricity networks.
The Fund will provide up to £300 million in capital grants for companies constructing new manufacturing facilities or expanding existing facilities in the UK.
Demand for offshore wind and electricity network infrastructure is growing rapidly. However, manufacturing capacity for several essential components has not kept pace, creating supply chain bottlenecks, longer lead times, higher costs and potential delays to major energy projects.
The Fund aims to address these constraints by encouraging new manufacturing investment in the UK while strengthening domestic supply chain security.
Key Dates and Funding
Opens: 11 December 2025
Round 1 deadline: 31 March 2026
Round 2 deadline: 30 June 2026
Round 3 deadline: 30 September 2026
Round 4 and final deadline: 10 December 2026
Rounds remain subject to the Fund's budget not having been fully allocated during an earlier round. This means businesses considering applying should not necessarily wait until the final deadline.
Funding: Up to £300 million in capital grant funding is available across the Fund.
Grant drawdown: Successful applicants can draw down grant funding between April 2026 and 31 March 2030, subject to their Grant Funding Agreement.
What Does the Fund Aim to Achieve?
The Fund has a clear focus on increasing the UK's ability to manufacture strategically important components required for offshore wind deployment and electricity network expansion.
Its primary objective is to increase UK manufacturing capacity for key constrained offshore wind and electricity network components.
The secondary objective is to create and support new and existing UK jobs, including employment within industrial clusters.
The Fund also has a wider objective of encouraging more resilient and sustainable production by supporting investment in shorter and greener supply chains.
What Projects Can Be Funded?
Funding must be used to either:
When completed, the project must primarily manufacture at least one of the Fund's designated Critical Components.
These include:
The programme is therefore particularly relevant to manufacturers and investors planning significant capital projects associated with the UK's offshore wind and electricity network supply chains.
What Costs Are Eligible?
Funding is focused on capital expenditure directly associated with the manufacturing project.
Eligible expenditure can include:
Where R&D costs are included, the grant must also support construction of the relevant manufacturing facilities.
What Costs Are Not Eligible?
The Fund does not support several categories of expenditure.
These include:
Applicants will therefore need to clearly distinguish eligible capital investment from wider operational and financing costs when developing their project budgets.
Who Can Apply?
The applicant must be a company registered under the Companies Act 2006 by the point at which the full application is submitted.
Projects can be located across the UK, subject to considerations relating to the Windsor Framework.
The funded investment itself must be used to construct a new manufacturing facility or extend an existing manufacturing facility within the UK.
Applicants must also confirm that the eligible expenditure will not facilitate the relocation of existing production activities within the UK.
Demonstrating the Need for Funding
An important eligibility requirement is that the grant must be necessary for the project to proceed.
Applicants therefore need to establish a genuine case for assistance. It will not be enough simply to demonstrate that the proposed manufacturing investment is strategically relevant or technically feasible.
The application needs to demonstrate why public funding is required and how the proposed investment would be affected without grant support.
For companies considering major manufacturing investments, this makes the commercial and financial justification for funding particularly important.
How Inventya Can Help
Applications to the GBE Supply Chain Fund require businesses to demonstrate not only that their manufacturing investment meets the technical eligibility requirements, but also that it addresses an important UK supply chain constraint and that public funding is genuinely necessary for the project to proceed.
Inventya can support businesses throughout the development of this case, including:
For large capital projects of this nature, the case for assistance can be particularly important. Inventya can help businesses establish a clear evidence base showing why the investment requires public support, while demonstrating the strategic and economic value the project could deliver for the UK's offshore wind and electricity network supply chains.
