UK government invests £250M in green aerospace
June 17, 2025
At the Paris Air Show 2025, UK Industry Minister Sarah Jones announced that UK government and industry will inject more than £250 million in funding into green aerospace projects, including the use of Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing for large-scale aerostructure manufacturing, gas turbines, and hydrogen-powered flight.
“This government is backing aerospace. This investment will keep it at the forefront of innovation, not only delivering economic growth but boosting the charge to net zero 2030, two key pillars of our Plan for Change,” stated Jones. “This is the latest win for British aerospace in the run-up to the launch of our Industrial Strategy, which will turbocharge growth in our advanced manufacturing and defence sectors to take them to new heights, bringing new high-skilled jobs to every corner of the UK.”
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The announcement comes as new figures from the industry’s trade association ADS show that the UK’s aerospace sector added £13.6 billion to the economy last year – an increase of almost 50% compared to 2014 – and directly supported 100,000 jobs.
During her visit to Paris Air Show, Jones toured the UK’s pavilion and met with exhibiting British companies. She then met with a range of leading aerospace companies, such as Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN.
The meetings focused on encouraging greater investment in British aerospace, promoting the UK’s world-class R&D offerings on the global stage, and discussing how the government can support businesses to increase their manufacturing and operations in the UK.
Small- and medium-sized businesses across the UK have continued to benefit from the ATI Programme, with more than 302 receiving support since 2013, and another nineteen investing over £22.8 million in innovation in the latest funding announcement. In total, from 2013 to 2030, industry and government plan to invest over £5 billion in developing transformational aircraft technology to secure and grow UK jobs and reduce harmful aviation emissions.
The UK aerospace sector had an annual turnover of £34 billion in 2024 and spent £1.9 billion on business R&D – a record level, driven by ongoing investment in both sustainable technology and market manufacturing technology to help ramp up UK production.
“It’s terrific to see ATI funding allocated to projects like our ZeroE Development Centre (ZEDC) that will be built at Airbus Filton, and for DecSAM [Digitally Enabled Competitive and Sustainable Additive Manufacturing], which builds on the industry’s Additive Manufacturing capabilities,” stated Airbus UK Chairman John Harrison.
“It’s initiatives like these that are absolutely critical to accelerating our decarbonisation journey and advancing sustainable, cutting-edge manufacturing. The continued ATI funding provides the UK aerospace industry with the confidence and stability it needs to fuel innovation.”
The full list of newly announced investments can be found here.
“Today’s funding announcement, including our dedicated small and medium-sized company grants, supports critical world-leading research – vital to ensuring UK aerospace companies continue to provide great jobs and growth in future, whilst delivering on our ambitious environmental goals,” stated Paul Adams, Aerospace Technology Institute Chief Innovation Officer. “This is a huge vote of confidence in UK aerospace and in British aerospace companies.”
