Manufacturing Business Grants
UK manufacturing has access to significant grant funding for modernisation and growth. Made Smarter, regional growth programmes, and capital investment schemes support manufacturers to increase productivity and adopt new technologies.
Made Smarter Programme
Made Smarter provides grants for manufacturers to adopt digital technologies including robotics, AI, additive manufacturing, and Industrial IoT. Regional hubs offer support alongside grant funding.
Capital Equipment Grants
Various regional programmes offer capital grants for manufacturing equipment. These typically fund 20-50% of machinery costs and require job creation or productivity targets.
Energy Efficiency Support
Manufacturing businesses can access grants for energy efficiency improvements, decarbonisation projects, and renewable energy adoption. These reduce costs while meeting sustainability targets.
UK Manufacturing Grants
43 grants found
Advanced manufacturing: measurement and sensing pilot
To support high potential businesses developing a technology, product or service in measurement, instrumentation or sensing for UK manufacturing.
National Materials Innovation Programme: CR&D Rd1
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £12 million for collaborative industrial research to speed the translation of advanced materials innovations in three prioritised high growth themes and one strategic opportunity theme.
MDI programme innovation and scale-up hub
UK registered eligible organisations can apply for a share of up to £4 million for a manufacturing digitalisation innovation (MDI) and scale-up hub to improve the targeting, quality and commercial impact of grant funded activity.
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
A scheme that aims to reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for eligible manufacturers in the growth sectors (the ‘IS-8’) and foundational manufacturing industries. It exempts eligible businesses from paying indirect costs of the renewables obligation, capacity market, and feed-in tariff.
Manufacturing Scale-up Network Plus
A funding opportunity to build a Network Plus to accelerate the scale-up of manufacturing innovation, driving growth across aerospace, automotive and wider UK advanced manufacturing frontier industries. Projects can run for up to 60 months, including a 12-month scoping phase followed by a 48-month network phase.
Funding opportunity: Manufacturing Scale-up Research and Innovation: Automotive and Aerospace
Apply for funding to address manufacturing scale-up challenges for new technologies and processes, accelerating innovation and driving UK business growth in the automotive and aerospace sectors.
Made Smarter Energy Efficiency grants
Energy saving revenue grants for manufacturing and production SMEs to gain specialist expertise and develop solutions to reduce carbon emissions and use less energy in production processes.
Fast Track to Research & Innovation – Industrial Technologies
A Horizon Europe call targeting breakthrough industrial technologies at an early R&D stage with an open topic structure and small consortia setup.
Made Smarter - Manufacturing grants and funding
Made Smarter South East is a government-funded programme to drive growth amongst the South East's manufacturing SMEs and makers. It launched in April 2025 and the pilot runs to 31 March 2026 and has a budget of £1.55m.
Made Smarter
Made Smarter helps manufacturers in the North East region increase profits, improve efficiency, and grow by investing in smart technology. The scheme offers a digital roadmap, workshops, fully-funded interns, and grants to support technical advice, software, and equipment purchases.
Made Smarter: Support for manufacturing SMEs
Made Smarter helps manufacturing SMEs adopt digital technologies to boost productivity, improve efficiency, and drive growth. Support includes grant funding for digital equipment and software, expert advice, fully funded internships, and digital leadership training.
Made Smarter South East
A government-funded programme created to drive growth, boost productivity, and increase competitive edge amongst manufacturing SMEs and makers by helping them adopt advanced, automated, and digital industrial technologies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about UK manufacturing grants