Innovate UK is offering grants of up to £1.05 million for UK businesses working on innovative offshore wind technologies.
Closing on 3 June at 11 am, the Future Offshore Wind Technologies competition has two strands, one for early-stage feasibility studies and one for mid-stage industrial research projects. They have a combined pot of up to £10 million.
Both strands are aligned with the Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan and aim to build a pipeline of high-growth UK businesses and technologies, preparing them for scale-up and commercial deployment.
Below, I have explained the key things you need to know about this competition before you apply: who is eligible, how much funding is on the table, and what the application process looks like.
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Feasibility Studies: Who is Eligible?
This strand supports feasibility studies, which are projects that look to evaluate and analyse the potential of a project to support decision-making.
Your work must relate to one of five priority areas:
- Advanced turbine technology
- Future electrical systems and cables
- Industrialised foundations and substructures
- Next generation installations, operations and maintenance
- Smart environmental services
Your Organisation
You must be a UK-registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) to apply as a sole applicant.
Collaborative projects must be led by a business of any size and include at least one SME.
Academic institutions can’t lead or work alone in this strand. To collaborate as a partner, you must be one of the following UK-registered:
- Academic institution
- Business of any size
- Research and technology organisation (RTO)
Your Project
Your project must:
- Have total eligible costs of £50,000 to £250,000
- Last 6 to 18 months
- Start by 1 October 2026 and end by 31 March 2028
All funded work must be carried out in the UK, and you must intend to exploit the project results from or within the UK.
Your project must also:
- Align with the Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan and focus on floating or hybrid offshore wind
- Cover a feasibility study in one of the five priority areas listed above
Industrial Research: Who is Eligible?
This strand supports industrial research projects. This refers to planned research aimed at acquiring new knowledge for developing new products, processes, or services.
To qualify for this strand, your project must relate to one of three priority areas:
- Advanced turbine technology (blades and towers)
- Future electrical systems and cables (reducing cable failure rates)
- Industrialised foundations and substructures for deepwater solutions greater than 50m
Your Organisation
To lead a collaborative project, you must be a UK-registered business of any size.
Your consortium must include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding.
Academic institutions can’t lead applications in this strand. To collaborate as a partner, you must be one of the following UK-registered:
- Academic institution
- Business of any size
- Research and technology organisation (RTO)
Your Project
Your project must:
- Have total eligible costs of between £150,000 and £1.5 million
- Last between 12 and 18 months
- Start by 1 October 2026
All funded work must be carried out in the UK, and you must intend to exploit the project results from or within the UK.
Your project must also:
- Align with the Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan and focus on fixed, floating or hybrid offshore wind
- Be at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 or above — Innovate UK won’t fund projects at TRL 4 and below
- Focus on industrial research in one of the three priority areas listed above, following the specific themes set out in the competition brief
How Much Funding Can I Apply For?
The amount you can claim depends on your organisation’s type and size and the sort of research your project involves.
Applying as a Company
The amount you can claim depends on your organisation’s type and size and the sort of research your project involves.
| Company Size | Micro and Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding Percentage | 70% | 60% | 50% |
Funding Example
If a micro or small company has total eligible project costs of £250,000 and receives a grant at 70%, it would receive £175,000. You will need to fund the remaining £75,000 from other sources, like R&D Tax Relief, investment or loans.
Applying as a Non-Commercial Organisation
In both strands, research organisations undertaking non-economic activity can account for up to 30% of total eligible project costs.
- RTOs and other research organisations can claim up to 100% of their eligible costs
- Je-S registered institutions can claim up to 80% of their full economic costs (FEC)
How Do I Apply?
You can apply through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). The competition opens on 7 April 2026 and closes at 11 am on 3 June 2026.
The application is split into four sections:
- Project details
- Application questions
- Finances
- Project impact
Application Questions
You will need to spend the bulk of your time answering the questions in the application. There are 16 in total:
- 6 unscored administrative questions covering applicant location, animal testing, export licences, international collaboration, permits and licences, and Trusted Research and Innovation
- 10 scored questions covering essential topics such as your business need, technical approach, team, route to market, wider impacts and the case for public funding
You can (and we recommend you do) include appendices (PDFs of up to two A4 pages) for the approach, team, project management, and risks questions. The project management question requires a Gantt chart, and the risks question requires a risk register.
If You Succeed
If you’re successful, you’ll be notified by 8 July 2026.
Like with most competitions, Innovate UK takes a ‘portfolio approach’ by funding projects across different technologies, markets and technological maturities. This means that a strong score won’t necessarily guarantee that your application will be successful.
Apply for Offshore Wind Funding with GrantTree
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We offer a range of services tailored to where you are in the process, including Full Service Write, Grant Review, Grant Matching, and bespoke ‘Elevate’ packages, designed around your individual needs and budget.
To find out how we can help, just get in touch.
