With a focus of meeting targets of net-zero by 2050 the Government has announced a £4.5bn investment package of grants and loans for UK manufacturing, with more than £2bn allocated to automotive manufacturing, and around £1m dedicated to clean energy component manufacturing.

The funding will be allocated from 2025 and is to be used to help manufacturing companies make the necessary changes needed to offer products and components required to lower carbon emissions to reach net-zero.

£2bn automotive manufacturing boost

£2bn is allocated for the automotive industry, to be spent on making improvements to ease the transition to electric vehicle manufacturing to meet the 2035 ban on the producing new petrol or diesel vehicles.

£960m for the manufacturing solutions for alternative fuels

£960m has been assigned for businesses manufacturing solutions for hydrogen, nuclear, offshore wind and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). This package will also be open to businesses that manufacture components for electricity networks.

Aerospace and life sciences manufacturing

Remaining funding is to be made available to aerospace (£975m) and life science (£520m) manufacturing businesses.

Made Smarter Programme

The Government is also expanding its ‘Made Smarter’ programme across all regions of England in 2025. The scheme helps SME manufacturers to access digital technologies to improve efficiencies.

The impact on the jobs market

The investment brings with it a huge confidence boost to manufacturing overall, and with financial investment comes innovation and the creation of new job and apprenticeship opportunities throughout the UK.