NWF plan to drive £100bn investment in infrastructure and clean energy
The UK’s National Wealth Fund (NWF), previously the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), has published a new strategic plan that it says will drive more than £100bn of investment into the UK economy over the next five years, with a focus on infrastructure, clean energy and supply chains. NWF says the plan is designed to create and support more than 200,000 jobs and accelerate the transition to a greener and more resilient economic future.
image: NWF
Activity, says NWF, will be rooted in three strategic ambitions: unlocking growth opportunities on the pathway to clean energy, accelerating place-based investment across all four nations of the UK, and strengthening sovereign and strategic capabilities to underpin national security and economic resilience. The strategy reflects a shift towards prioritising sectors where targeted investment can have catalytic effects on wider infrastructure and industrial growth.
The plan identifies ten key sectors where the Fund expects to have the most catalytic opportunities over the next five years, including transport infrastructure, ports and supply chains, power grid upgrades, carbon capture, energy storage, hydrogen, nuclear, battery manufacturing and the electric vehicle supply chain, steel, and place based regeneration.
The organisation said it expects to commit around £5.8bn collectively across these priority areas, subject to available investable propositions and supporting policy.
In addition to these core areas, the NWF said it will pursue opportunities in a further 15 sectors linked to high growth and innovation, such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced materials, sustainable aviation fuels, water infrastructure and electric vehicle charging. Through such investments, the Fund aims to address market weaknesses and to crowd in private finance to support delivery of major projects.
Transport infrastructure is highlighted alongside energy and industrial investment as a key pillar of the strategy, signalling the Fund’s intention to back projects that improve connectivity, supply chain efficiency and regional economic performance. This includes backing upgrades to the power grid – infrastructure that also supports transport electrification and other decarbonisation priorities – and enhancing supply chains that are essential for sectors such as battery production and electric vehicle deployment.
The National Wealth Fund said that to date it has committed about a third of its capital, mobilised more than £17bn of private investment, and created or supported more than 70,000 jobs. It plans to deploy its remaining capital by around 2030/31 to help support government growth and clean energy missions, while also aiming to deliver a positive return for taxpayers.
Oliver Holbourn, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, described the plan as an opportunity to “unlock the UK’s future” by investing at pace across critical sectors that support economic growth, environmental goals and national resilience.