Crown Estate Marine Supply Chain Accelerator Fund

A £50 million fund to help catalyse UK supply chain capacity and capability for offshore wind.

The Crown Estate has established a £50 million Supply Chain Accelerator fund to help catalyse the United Kingdom supply chain capacity and capability for offshore wind.

The application window is now open for an initial £10 million first round of funding that will be specifically aimed at UK projects that could support floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.

Successful projects will be announced from October 2024 following assessment of applications, negotiation of funding and commitment agreements and necessary approvals. 

The Accelerator will provide matched funding of up to £1 million per project to UK supply chain projects to help them undertake the early-stage development works necessary to get them 'investment-ready'.

A further £40 million has been earmarked that could potentially be deployed to support UK projects that meet opportunities identified by the Industrial Growth Plan, which sets out how to triple offshore wind manufacturing capacity over the next 10 years.

Funding for the development phase is for new facilities that will support the deployment of floating offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea. This includes:

• anchoring and mooring systems
• floating platforms’ dynamic cables and connectors
• operations and maintenance
• logistics and skills transition

The eligible activities within the development phase that can be included in applications are:

• market research
• market assessment
• business planning
• concept design
• site selection
• site investigations
• surveys
• submissions of planning applications
• technical studies
• environmental studies
• design feasibility
• feasibility studies
• modelling studies
• investment case development

The Crown Estate will fund up to 50 per cent of eligible costs. 

Find out more about the Supply Chain Accelerator Fund and how to apply.

First published 5 July 2024