Announced today (23 June), the Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to promote business investment and growth, and make it quicker, easier and cheaper to do business in the UK.
The plan focuses on eight sectors where the UK is already strong and there’s potential for faster growth: advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services. Each growth sector has a bespoke 10-year plan that will help attract investment, enable growth and create high-quality, well-paid jobs.
Here are the highlights...
Energy bills
More than 7,000 British businesses are set to see their electricity bills slashed by up to 25 percent from 2027.
The modern Industrial Strategy aims to tackle two of the biggest barriers facing UK industry: high electricity prices and lengthy wait times for grid connections.
British manufacturers currently pay some of the highest electricity prices in the developed world while businesses looking to expand or modernise have faced delays when it comes to connecting to the grid.
These challenges have held back growth and made it harder for British firms to compete.
From 2027, the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 7,000 electricity-intensive businesses in manufacturing sectors like automotive, aerospace and chemicals. Hundreds of Scottish businesses could be in line to benefit.
These firms, which support over 300,000 skilled jobs, will be exempt from paying levies such as the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market – a move which the Government claims will help make them more internationally competitive. Eligibility and further details on the exemptions will be determined following consultation, which will be launched shortly.
The Government is also increasing support
for the most energy-intensive firms, like steel, chemicals, and glass, by covering more of the electricity network charges they normally have to pay through the British Industry Supercharger.
From 2026, the discount that these businesses receive will rise from the current 60 percent to 90 percent. This means electricity bills will go down, helping them stay competitive, protect jobs, and invest in the future.
This will help around 500 eligible businesses, in sectors such as steel, ceramics and glass, reduce their costs and protect jobs.
“With over a quarter of manufacturers saying that electricity costs alone make up 11-25 percent of their total business costs, it’s clear that the manufacturers need to be in scope,” commented Ben Fletcher, Chief Operating Officer of Make UK.
“We will be pushing hard on ensuring that all of the manufacturing sector receives this support and [the] Government moves at pace on the consultation and, importantly, the implementation.”
To ensure businesses can grow and hire without delay, the Government will also deliver a new Connections Accelerator Service to streamline grid access for major investment projects, including prioritising those that create high-quality jobs and deliver significant economic benefits.
It will work closely with the energy sector, local authorities, Scottish and Welsh Governments, trade unions, and industry to design this service, which we expect to begin operating at the end of 2025.
The Government has additionally set out an intention to link emissions trading systems, as part of its new agreement with the European Union to support British businesses. Without an agreement to do this, British industry would have to pay the EU’s carbon tax.
Clean energy future to be "built in Britain"
Communities across Britain will benefit from good jobs and investment in the clean energy
economy, as part of the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan to “build it in Britain”.
The Government is targeting at least a doubling of current investment levels across the UK’s frontier Clean Energy Industries to over £30 billion per year by 2035.
As part of this plan, Great British Energy will have an additional £700 million to help build manufacturing facilities locally for key components like floating offshore platforms, electric cables, and cutting-edge hydrogen infrastructure.
This builds on Great British Energy’s initial £300 million for offshore wind supply chains, which the Energy Secretary confirmed last week has already catalysed a further £700 million from industry and The Crown Estate.
It comes after the Spending Review confirmed the biggest programme of investment in homegrown energy in UK history.
This included launching a “golden age of nuclear” with funding to build the Sizewell C nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast, developing small modular reactors, and a £9.4bn investment in carbon capture industries.
With today’s additional funding, this brings total public and private funding in clean energy supply chains to £1.7 billion.
The aim is to unlock thousands of jobs in coastal communities and industrial towns, and to secure a cleaner, more independent energy future for Britain.
The Government has suggested that the Clean Industry Bonus – the financial reward scheme for offshore wind developers to invest in homegrown, cleaner supply chains – could also be expanded to more sectors, such as hydrogen and onshore wind.
Mel Evans, Head of the Climate Team at Greenpeace UK, said: “Electricity produced by renewables like wind and solar power is three times cheaper than power produced by gas, so why do we allow gas to set the price we pay?
"The Government must take
action to stop gas companies from ripping us off, which will in turn enable renewable energy to bring down our bills for good.”
Fusion energy
The Industrial Strategy puts fusion energy at the heart of driving innovation, economic growth and energy security.
The UK is investing £2.5 billion over five years in a bid to lead the global race for fusion energy, with the STEP programme at its core. STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is the UK’s flagship fusion programme, aiming to deliver a prototype fusion power plant by 2040 at West Burton, Nottinghamshire.
Built on the site of a former coal-fired power station, STEP is delivering a ‘fossil to fusion’ mission and will create thousands of jobs, as well as act as an anchor for a new industrial ecosystem in the region as part of the East Midlands Combined Authority’s Clean Energy Supercluster along the River Trent.
Other recent UK fusion milestones include a UKAEA–ENI fusion energy fuels partnership announced in March, working to build the world’s largest tritium fuel cycle facility in the UK, and a £100 million investment boost via the Starmaker One fund from the central Government.
The latest project offers innovation opportunities and a chance to shape the future of clean energy. STEP is currently in dialogue with potential construction and engineering partners, with announcements expected this coming winter 2025/26.
Finance and SME support
Plans have also been announced to unlock billions in finance for innovative businesses, especially for SMEs, by increasing the British Business Bank's financial capacity to £25.6 billion.
This includes an additional £4bn for sectors identified as having high-growth potential.
It will also support 5,500 more SMEs to adopt new technology through the Made Smarter programme, while centralising government support in one
place through the Business Growth Service.
Seamus Nevin, Chief Economist, Make UK, said: “Access to external finance is one of the biggest barriers to growth for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs make up 99 percent of the UK economy, so this longstanding challenge has significantly held back the UK economy.
“This announcement of new incentives marks a major step forward […] unlocking the full potential of innovative manufacturing companies to transform and grow.”
“The new £99 million commitment, highlighted in the Industrial Strategy, gives us optimism for the future, added Donna Edwards, Programme Director for Made Smarter North West.
"While we await further detail on the proposals, this announcement is a huge vote of confidence in SME manufacturing and the impact of Made Smarter. It gives businesses the confidence to invest in technology, people and long-term transformation.”
Regional support
Through the new £600m Strategic Sites Accelerator, six locations across the UK will receive enhanced support from the Office for Investment, National Wealth Fund, British Business Bank, and more.
Existing “Industrial Strategy Zones” will be awarded an enhanced offer of streamlined planning, better-targeted investment promotion, support for accessing concessionary finance and coordinated support on skills.
AI Growth Zones will also be implemented with the aim of attracting investment in AI infrastructure in strategic locations across the UK, with support for planning, access to energy, and partnerships with the private sector.
“Today is one of the most important days for British industry in a generation," said Stephen Phipson, CEO, Make UK.
"The modern Industrial Strategy white paper […] has demonstrated the Government’s commitment to tackle the major structural problems that have blighted UK manufacturing for so long […] a skills crisis, crippling energy costs and, an inability to access capital for new British innovators.
“The strategy announced today sets out comprehensive and well funded plans to address all three of these structural failings. Clearly, there is much to do as we move towards implementation but, this will send a message across the country and around the world that Britain is back in business.”