Supply Chain Accelerator

Our £50m Supply Chain Accelerator fund was established to catalyse the capacity and capability of the UK supply chain in order to support a thriving offshore wind industry.  

The Accelerator provides early-stage development funding for offshore wind supply chain projects, supporting them to be investment-ready. Two successful rounds ran consecutively in 2024 and 2025 and we launched a third round in May 2026. Future rounds will be subject to an annual review of sector needs. 

Initial round

In December 2024, we announced nearly £5m in funding to 13 organisations following the conclusion of the Accelerator’s initial funding round, which focused on developing a new UK supply chain capability for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. 

Projects receiving funding include those enabling floating wind platforms, anchoring and mooring systems, operations and maintenance facilities, test facilities, and those supporting the skills transition. 

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. 

Click through to read case studies about successful projects including NPTC Group of Colleges and Marine Power Systems. 

Second round

Following the passing of The Crown Estate Act 2025, we launched an expanded second round of the Accelerator in April 2025. 

Each successful applicant was able to access up to £1.5 million of match funding, and we increased the scope to include projects facilitating the deployment of both fixed and floating offshore wind.    

Ports which can support offshore wind (including through wet storage and the fabrication of operations & maintenance vessels) were also included within the scope, given the role that ports can play as important hubs for the construction, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms.  

In December 2025, we announced that sixteen projects across England, Wales and Scotland were set to share over £13m through the Accelerator, including those focusing on low-carbon reef scour protection, automated mooring system solutions, wet storage, manufacture of fixed and floating offshore wind foundations and anchoring strategies 

Third round

We launched a third funding round of our Supply Chain Accelerator on Tuesday 12 May with an additional £15m available to support UK offshore wind supply chain projects and related port infrastructure. 

This round is open to projects UK-wide that support the deployment of fixed and floating offshore wind, including relevant port and port-related infrastructure.

Projects must align with opportunities identified in the Industrial Growth Plan (IGP) and/or the ports and port-related infrastructure required to support these priorities.

Examples of eligible project types include:

• New or expanded manufacturing facilities for fixed, floating, or deep-water offshore wind components

• Ports and wet storage infrastructure supporting construction, assembly, operations & maintenance (O&M), and supply chain support 

• Vessel fabrication and maintenance facilities 

• Testing and demonstration capability for offshore wind components 

• Portside logistics equipment where linked to developing or expanding a physical facility and supporting clear UK offshore wind deployment needs 

• Manufacturing equipment where it creates new/expanded capacity linked directly to a physical facility 

• Repurposing, upgrading or expansion of existing facilities where this adds offshore wind supply chain capacity and demonstrates a clear UK use case

Key dates

Applications: Open now and due to close on 3rd July 2026 (application portal closes at 18:00). Register here.

Applicant support: A series of webinars will take place in May and June to present key information and answer questions. 

• 14 May 11am-12pm: Webinar on eligibility criteria and application process 

• 21 May 2pm-3pm: Repeat webinar of 14 May 

• 3 June 11am-12pm: Webinar providing an opportunity to outline the Funding and Commitment Agreements and to answer questions about the application process 

• 17 June 11am-12pm: Repeat webinar of 3 June 

• 29 June 10am-11am: Final webinar providing a further opportunity to ask questions 

Outcome: Successful projects will be chosen following an assessment process and announced by the end of the year.

For any questions, please email accelerator@thecrownestate.co.uk and a member of the team will be in touch.