UK Industrial Strategy: A New Era for Heavy Industry – But Are You Ready?

The UK Government’s new Industrial Strategy, released on 23 June 2025, promises a once-in-a-generation opportunity to correct decades of industrial decline and re-establish Britain as a high-growth, high-productivity economy. From energy pricing reform to sector-specific investments, this 10-year roadmap—Invest 2035—offers heavy industry a firmer foundation to plan, invest and grow. 

At iconsys, we welcome the strategy’s focus on advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and digital transformation. As a UK-based system integrator and automation solutions provider serving industrial operators and OEMs – across metals, automotive, pulp & paper, construction materials, transport infrastructure, consumer goods, energy transition, marine & ports and more — we see a direct link between these policy changes and the urgent, boardroom-level challenges our clients face. 

But policy alone doesn’t solve problems. It’s what industry does next that matters. 

 

A Much-Needed Reboot for UK Industrial Policy

The new strategy contains a series of structural reforms and long-term funding plans designed to drive private investment in eight core sectors. For energy-intensive and asset-heavy operators, several headline measures are worth highlighting: 

✅ Energy Price Relief – At Last, A Level Playing Field

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will deliver up to 25% reductions in electricity costs for 7,000 eligible firms, by exempting them from green levies and network charges. This finally begins to bring UK industrial energy prices in line with EU competitors. 

Impact: A meaningful boost to operating margins, improved resilience in global markets, and freed-up capital to reinvest in modernisation. 

✅ Grid Access Reform – Breaking the Connection Bottleneck

Heavy-industry decarbonisation efforts have long been hampered by delays to grid connections. The strategy outlines a new Energy System Operator and reform agenda to cut bureaucracy and accelerate grid readiness. 

Impact: Smoother deployment of energy-intensive facilities—whether electrified plant upgrades, battery storage, hydrogen generation, or smart shore power. 

✅ Long-Term Policy Certainty – A 10-Year Investment Horizon

Long cycle investment is hard to justify when industrial policy shifts with every government. A decade-long plan—combined with sector-specific action—provides the confidence industry needs to commit capital and people. 

Impact: Stronger business cases for transformative projects—especially in automation, energy transition, and vertically integrated control infrastructure. 

✅ Sector-Focused R&D and Innovation Funding

Advanced manufacturing and clean energy sectors will benefit from £2.8bn of new R&D funding and further targeted investment in skills, facilities and innovation testbeds. 

Impact: Support for Industry 4.0 upgrades, process automation, and intelligent control systems that reduce waste, downtime and emissions. 

 

What Businesses Should Do Now

This is not the time to wait for perfect clarity. Policy is aligning with what many UK industrials already know: that productivity, resilience, and sustainability must be delivered in parallel. So, what can your business do today? 

1. Reassess your energy strategy

iconsys works with manufacturers and site operators to understand current energy usage, simulate future scenarios, and develop energy management, power, control and automation strategies that reduce cost and increase uptime. 

Whether it’s integrating solar PV, onsite energy storage, load-shedding controls, or grid-independent infrastructure—there is now a clearer path to funding and regulatory support. 

2. Map your digital and automation maturity

Digitally enabled, vertically integrated systems deliver not only improved control and monitoring but reduced labour reliance and enhanced quality. 

Our platform-agnostic lifecycle services, from concept design through commissioning and optimisation, are helping clients move beyond legacy SCADA into smart, connected environments fit for the next decade. 

3. Unlock funding and support for futureproofing projects

We can help you identify opportunities for grants, partnerships, and cost-sharing models to de-risk capital investment in decarbonisation, predictive maintenance, or flexible manufacturing systems. 

iconsys is already supporting clients in securing government-backed innovation funding for electrification and smart grid readiness. These opportunities will increase under the new strategy. 

 

iconsys: Delivering Value at the Intersection of Energy, Control & Productivity

As outlined in the UK Government’s Sector strategies, investment is prioritised in industries where the UK has strength and global opportunity. 

Advanced Manufacturing

We deliver tailored automation, control, power, energy management and safety solutions that drive uptime, flexibility and quality: all of which are critical in many industries including automotive, aerospace, metals and consumer goods. 

• System integration for complex production lines 

• Predictive maintenance and digital twins 

• Energy-efficient control strategies for plant-wide systems 

Clean Energy

Our recent innovations in shore power, battery energy storage and electrification demonstrate how we support the transition to a low-carbon industrial base. 

• Smart grid and DNO interface integration 

• Renewable energy automation and microgrid design 

• Hydrogen-ready controls and monitoring platforms 

Digital Transformation

We bring together operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) to provide real-time visibility and control—enabling smarter decision-making at every level. 

• Unified control architectures 

• Asset management and remote diagnostics 

• SCADA, MES and cloud-enabled analytics 

Life Sciences and Regulated Industries

Through high-integrity automation, we help life sciences and food manufacturers meet strict regulatory, repeatability and traceability requirements. 

 

Make UK: “A Strong Foundation – Now Let’s Deliver”

In its response to the strategy, Make UK rightly called the new industrial plan “a strong foundation for economic growth”, particularly welcoming the commitments to long-term vision, sector focus and clean energy. 

However, they also caution that policy alone won’t deliver results. Implementation must be sustained across multiple governments, with accountability, clarity, and local delivery built into the system. 

iconsys agrees. As a delivery partner to the industries this strategy seeks to empower, we will continue supporting our clients not only to comply, but to lead, from carbon reduction and energy efficiency to data-driven control and futureproof asset management. 

 

Final Word: This Strategy Opens the Door. Now It’s Time to Step Through It.

The release of Invest 2035 marks a decisive pivot in the UK’s industrial ambition. For heavy industry, this is not merely an opportunity—it is a call to action. 

We are entering a phase where the winners will be those that can move fastest to implement real, measurable transformation. With support from government and clarity on direction, the groundwork has been laid. 

At iconsys, our aim is to make that transformation deliverable. Whether you’re an end user looking to decarbonise a legacy asset, or an OEM needing to automate at scale, we’re ready to help you harness this strategy and turn policy into productivity. 

To discuss how your business can align with Invest 2035 and access the energy, control and automation expertise needed to stay competitive, contact us today. 

You can access the full Industrial Strategy here

The Sector-specific Strategies can be accessed here

You are welcome to connect with me on LinkedIn here

Nick Darrall, Managing Director, iconsys