Government figures accompanying the plan say the programme will create or support more than 200,000 jobs and accelerate the clean energy transition saving an estimated 500Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) by 2050.

Set up to act as the government’s “principal investor and policy bank”, NWF has £27.8bn of core capital. It has already deployed about £8.4bn, close to a third of that total, and provided a further £36.6bn in commitments to Sizewell C. Under the new strategy the Fund intends to commit the remaining £19.4bn of core capital over the next five years, alongside mobilising private finance to reach its headline £100bn figure.

The strategy outlines three principal aims.

First, the NWF will prioritise investments that accelerate decarbonisation and support technologies and projects that it says can help reduce household and business energy bills. Second, it will step up “place‑based” investment across all four nations of the UK, providing financing and advisory support for regionally significant projects through a newly formed Regional Project Accelerator. Third, it proposes to strengthen the UK’s sovereign and strategic industrial capabilities by backing domestic supply chains and industries deemed important for national security, such as critical minerals, defence, green steel and artificial intelligence.

To channel activity, the NWF has identified 25 sectors where it will be active, and within those 10 “priority” sectors where it expects the most catalytic opportunities over the strategy period. The 10 include ports and supply chains, carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), hydrogen, battery manufacturing and the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, steel, the power grid, energy storage, nuclear, transport infrastructure and place‑based regeneration.

Within the priority subset, the NWF says it will aim to commit £5.8bn collectively to ports and supply chains, CCUS, hydrogen, battery manufacturing and steel during the strategy period, subject to investable propositions and supportive policy.

A further 15 sectors will be pursued as growth or strategic opportunities. These range from artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum technologies to life sciences, aerospace supply chains, offshore wind, retrofit, electric vehicle charging and heat networks.

The group plans to use a mix of debt, guarantees and equity to address perceived market failures and to crowd in private investment. It says it has increased its risk appetite following changes from HM Treasury, allowing it to make higher debt and guarantee commitments and to increase the pace of originations. Officials say the Fund has committed £4.5bn across more than 30 new investments since being re‑launched in its current form, tripling its pace of deployment.

Examples cited in the strategy include co‑investment in the Pentland floating offshore wind farm alongside GB Energy and the Scottish National Investment Bank, and a £28.6M investment in the Peak carbon capture cluster. NWF is already supporting the construction of Sizewell C through a separate commitment.

Its approach is explicitly conditional on policy developments and wider public sector programmes. Many of the opportunities it lists, for example long‑duration energy storage (LDES), hydrogen and CCUS clusters, depend on the roll‑out of government allocation rounds, the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, regulatory changes from Ofgem and other policy instruments. NWF said it will work closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Ofgem, GB Energy and other public bodies to coordinate activity.

A notable element of the plan is the stronger regional focus. The NWF has announced a Regional Project Accelerator intended to provide bespoke project development support and financing to local government and Mayoral Combined Authorities for regionally significant projects. The Fund points to a Strategic Partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, where it is working on a pipeline of ten heat network projects intended to decarbonise a substantial share of the city region’s heat demand by 2038.

The NWF frames this work as closing a gap in commercial and financing expertise available to local authorities and devolved administrations, and says it will operate on a “no wrong door” basis with other public financial institutions such as the British Business Bank, Great British Energy (GB Energy) and UK Export Finance.

By 2050 the Fund expects the investments it has helped mobilise to create or support over 200,000 jobs and to save 500Mt of CO2e across its portfolio. It also reiterates its dual objective to support government growth and net‑zero targets while delivering a positive financial return for the taxpayer over time.

The launch comes amid wider government efforts to stimulate regional growth and to position the UK as a “clean energy superpower”. Ministers have repeatedly stressed the potential for the energy transition to create high‑value jobs and export opportunities. The fund’s document references that the clean energy economy is growing faster than the rest of the UK economy and that the UK’s clean energy workforce is forecast to nearly double by the end of the decade.

Sectoral detail regarding NWF’s planned strategic investments:

• Power grid: NWF flags the need for significant investment in onshore and offshore networks – an estimated £58bn by 2035 – and expects to use debt or guarantees to help crowd in capital where market capacity is insufficient. The scale of involvement will depend on regulatory decisions by Ofgem and policy direction from DESNZ.
• Energy storage: NWF will target battery energy storage systems and long‑duration storage, using debt and guarantees to fill financing gaps and considering equity only for exceptional projects. Its engagement is linked to DESNZ’s “Cap and Floor” framework for LDES.
• Offshore wind: NWF says it will support the sector primarily through debt and guarantees, and notes it is unlikely to make further equity investments in floating or deep‑water offshore wind given GB Energy’s focus. The Fund will nevertheless coordinate alongside public schemes such as Contracts for Difference.
• CCUS and hydrogen: The strategy prioritises support for the HyNet cluster in the North West and North Wales and the East Coast Cluster on Teesside and Humber. For hydrogen, NWF expects to back projects supported by government allocation rounds and to explore supply chain and transport projects.
• Nuclear and advanced nuclear: NWF is already a financier of Sizewell C and says it will consider equity for advanced nuclear projects (including small modular reactors) that align with the forthcoming UK Advanced Nuclear Framework. It will also monitor opportunities around fusion supply chains.
• Solar and heat networks: NWF will consider debt or guarantees for large‑scale solar and support local authorities to develop heat networks via its Regional Project Accelerator, though it expects direct financing of heat networks to be limited in the near term.

The plan is intended as both a roadmap and a call to action for project sponsors, private investors, regional authorities and policymakers. The Fund has emphasised partnership working, noting its effectiveness will depend on the interaction with other public programmes, regulatory frameworks and private capital.

NWF chief executive Oliver Holbourn said: “This is an exciting new chapter for the National Wealth Fund as we look to unlock the UK’s future.

“We will be going further and faster to drive more than £100bn into the economy, fully deploying our capital over the next five years to help drive economic growth, accelerate the transition to clean energy, transform communities with place-based investments and strengthen our self-sufficiency, security and resilience.”

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “Clean energy is not just about energy sovereignty, it is about bringing back the good industrial jobs that have been denied to our country for too long. Thanks to the certainty of the government’s clean energy superpower mission and public investment like this – the industry is responding with record investment- meaning better jobs for people across our country.”

Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “When I became chancellor, I created the NWF to drive growth, and since then it has invested billions of pounds in our industries and infrastructure, helping to create tens of thousands of jobs across Britain.

“This new plan will go even further with £100bn for our communities—delivering much-needed investment as we push to deliver our modern Industrial Strategy and build a Britain that works for all.”

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