On 10 September, the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s Subsidy Advice Unit formally accepted a referral for the £350 million Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade plans to invite pre-selected strategic chemical producers to submit capital projects, with successful applicants potentially receiving grants covering up to 50% of eligible costs.
The fund itself is not a new announcement. The UK government first unveiled it in May. The latest development moves the scheme into a statutory subsidy-control assessment after it was classified as a “Subsidy Scheme of Particular Interest.” The advisory report is due on 21 October, while third-party submissions must be filed by 23 September.
The programme is intended to operate until the end of March 2030. It will target production assets supplying critical inputs to food, energy, water, healthcare and national infrastructure. Eligible investments may include plant modernisation, infrastructure upgrades and efficiency improvements intended to keep strategically important facilities economically viable.
Applications will not be open to every chemical company. Potential beneficiaries have already been identified by the department and reviewed by an industry expert panel. Invited producers will need to provide a business case explaining the supply challenge, proposed investment, expected resilience benefits, delivery arrangements and why government support is necessary.
The 50% figure is a maximum, not an automatic award. Actual grants will depend on strategic fit, deliverability, additionality, environmental considerations, value for money and the expected improvement in supply security.
Britain’s chemical industry has been under pressure from high energy costs, ageing assets and international competition. Many basic chemical facilities are linked through shared feedstocks, utilities and infrastructure. The closure of one upstream plant can undermine several downstream operations within the same industrial cluster.
That interdependence is central to the proposed scheme. The government is not treating every chemical plant as a stand-alone business. It is assessing whether the loss of one production asset could trigger cascading failures across connected sites and downstream industries.
The fund also has trade implications. Subsidised British producers may be able to extend plant life, modernise equipment and reduce dependence on imported chemicals. Overseas suppliers selling basic chemicals and intermediates into the UK could therefore face competition from domestic assets supported with public money.
No grants have yet been awarded, and the list of eligible companies and chemicals has not been made public. The review outcome and the first projects invited to apply when the scheme opens will show which parts of Britain’s chemical supply chain the government considers too important to lose.
