Abstract
As the UK moves further into a decade defined by the twin imperatives of rapid decarbonisation and economic growth, there has been a mounting impetus at the heart of UK Government to accelerate the transition to a clean, secure, and resilient energy system. Central to this shift is the recognition that the pathway to Net Zero must not only reduce emissions, but also deliver tangible socioeconomic benefits felt across all regions of the UK. Ensuring that communities see and experience the value of the energy transition – through skilled jobs, industrial revitalisation and enhanced energy security – has become a defining feature of the wider Net Zero mission.
Against this backdrop, the year-on-year advances of the UK’s ocean energy sector have further demonstrated the opportunities arising from tidal stream and wave energy technologies forming a more meaningful part of the future energy system. Tidal stream is now entering its first phase of commercial deployment. It stands at the cusp of delivering predictable, renewable power at scale, with UK developers leading the global race to achieve large-scale deployment. Wave energy, while earlier in its development pathway, continues to demonstrate progress through sustained innovation, positioning it as a longer-term opportunity within a diverse and flexible clean power mix.
Taken together, the commercialisation and eventual export of these homegrown technologies offer a pathway to secure substantial economic value. By situating their long-term development, manufacture and deployment here in the UK, they offer a potential route to reinvigorate UK industrial competitiveness and boost our national energy security. Finally, the development of these clean energy technologies and their underpinning supply chain will help to answer the growing need for a stronger and more decisive UK response to the ongoing climate crisis.
Throughout 2025, the UK has consolidated its position as a global leader in the development and deployment of ocean energy technologies. Continued support through the UK’s flagship Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism in the last four Allocation Rounds means that, for the first time, tidal stream technologies will play a sustained and more meaningful role in the national energy system, with more than 120 MW now contracted for deployment by 2029. The UK’s internationally recognised expertise in wave energy – built through decades of targeted innovation programmes – has also enabled the sector to position itself as a global hub for testing, validation, and early-stage technology development. At the same time, the UK continues to work closely with European partners through a range of collaborative R&D and demonstration projects, helping accelerate innovation and drive technological breakthroughs across both tidal stream and wave energy.
However, as the sector matures, it must continue to address several persistent challenges. The scale-up of commercial deployment will require a step-change in domestic supply chain capability, ensuring that UK companies can meet growing demand and retain the economic value created by the sector. Sustained innovation remains essential, not only to continue driving down costs, but to ensure that UK developers remain globally competitive. Finally, maximising the socioeconomic contribution of the sector will require coordinated policy action, clear long-term ambition and a commitment to strengthening public confidence in the benefits of emerging technologies.
These challenges are surmountable, and the momentum currently building across the sector suggests that the UK is well-placed to meet them. Ocean energy now offers not only a route to decarbonisation, but a means of strengthening the nation’s industrial base and ensuring that the transition to Net Zero is equitable and enduring.