ABLE welcomes £490k Site Accelerator Grant Award to support the Development of Able Humber Port
Able Humber Ports Ltd (AHP) has welcomed the award of a £490,000 Industrial Strategy Zone (ISZ) Site Accelerator Grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). This funding marks a significant milestone in advancing the development of Able Humber Port, one of the UK’s most strategically important clean energy infrastructure projects.
The Accelerator Grant will FastTrack the essential technical, commercial and procurement preparation required to progress AHP’s major quay development—unlocking a project of national significance within the Humber Freeport. Designed to remove critical preconstruction barriers, the grant will enable Able Humber Port to reach an investment ready and procurement ready position within six months.
A Nationally Significant Offshore Wind Port
Able Humber Port is uniquely located on the Humber Estuary, providing direct access to deep water and some of the shortest steaming distances to UK and European North Sea offshore wind zones. The site offers a landholding of 332 hectares - 177.7 hectares of which are designated as a Humber Freeport Tax Site - and a further 39.73 hectares when new quays are constructed.
AHP represents the UK’s only largescale, fully integrated Offshore Wind Cluster Port, providing the scale, zoning and planning consents necessary to support turbine manufacturing, assembly, storage and installation from a single location. This integrated approach will significantly reduce costs and emissions. The development is expected to unlock more than £535 million in private sector investment and support approximately 4,000 high quality jobs across the Humber region
Strategic Importance to the Humber and the UK
The Able Humber Port quay development supports a range of national policy objectives, including offshore wind manufacturing capacity, energy transition, industrial decarbonisation, enhanced trade capability and Freeport-led economic transformation. The project is underpinned by an existing and recently extended Development Consent Order (DCO), giving it a uniquely advanced planning position.
Once operational, Able Humber Port will anchor a world-class offshore wind industrial ecosystem, creating long-term economic value across the Humber and strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in offshore wind deployment and technology.
Executive Chairman Peter Stephenson said:
“This grant marks an important step forward in unlocking the full potential of Able Humber Port. The Humber has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become the heart of the UK’s offshore wind industry.
We welcome the continued support from government, the Humber Freeport, and our regional partners as we bring this nationally significant development closer to delivery.”
About Able Humber Port
Able is recognised as the UK’s leading offshore wind installation port operator, with Able Seaton Port (ASP) serving as the company’s flagship facility. The port is a fully integrated offshore wind marshalling and installation base, offering extensive heavy-lift quays, flexible marshalling yards, deep-water access, and full planning permissions to support future manufacturing, assembly, and pre-assembly operations.
Building on this proven capability, Able Humber Port (AHP) is set to significantly expand the UK’s offshore wind industrial base. AHP will provide 325 acres of development-ready land along with 39.73 hectares of new quay development, enabling accommodation for up to five offshore wind turbine (OWT) component manufacturers and three large-scale installation yards. AHP can deliver 3GW of installed offshore wind capacity annually which is essential for the UK to meet its 2030 target of 50GW of offshore wind and sustain long-term growth in the sector.
AHP offers several unique competitive advantages:
Strategic Proximity: AHP is 30% closer to key North Sea offshore wind farms than ASP, reducing transit time and installation costs.
Optimal Sailing Distances: All 18 active and planned North Sea offshore wind farms fall within economical installation range from AHP.
European Scale Leader: Upon completion, AHP would be the largest dedicated offshore wind installation facility in Europe, offering unmatched marshalling and manufacturing capacity.
Extensive Adjacent Land: The port provides enough contiguous development land to support up to five major OWT component manufacturers while still offering large-scale storage and logistics zones.
Proven Delivery Record: Able Seaton Port’s successful delivery (more than any other installation yard in the UK) of 8.2GW of offshore wind installations since 2018 demonstrates the operational expertise and reliability that AHP will build upon.
Able Humber Port is one of the largest port regeneration projects in Europe and the only UK port specifically designed to support the full offshore wind lifecycle. With heavy duty quays, deep-water access, integrated Freeport status and a unique scale of development-ready land, AHP is positioned to become the centrepiece of the UK’s growing clean-energy economy.