Up to £17 million is being released to drive green jobs, innovation and supply-chain diversification in the North East and Moray as Scotland’s Just Transition Fund opens its latest funding round.
For the first time, community organisations and social enterprises will be guaranteed a share of the fund alongside commercial projects, marking a shift towards placing local communities at the centre of the transition.
The new package includes up to £3 million in capital funding and £1 million in resource funding for community and social enterprise projects, including money allocated through participatory budgeting where communities directly decide how it is spent.
A further £10 million is available for large-scale commercial projects focused on jobs, skills and economic transition with a minimum project size of £500,000.
An additional £3 million will support small and medium-sized firms in the oil and gas supply chain to diversify into low-carbon markets, expanding the existing ETZ Supply Chain Challenge Fund.
Since 2022, the Just Transition Fund has invested more than £85 million into 28 projects across the region, supporting hundreds of jobs and helping companies move into offshore wind, marine energy and carbon capture.
The latest funding round was announced during a visit to subsea battery specialist Verlume, which previously received £2.5 million to develop a prototype grid-forming subsea battery system.
Climate Action and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said the changes reflect advice from the Just Transition Commission and academic research, adding that community groups would now be guaranteed support for larger projects. She said the aim was to ensure Scotland’s renewable potential delivers a “fair and inclusive transition for everyone in the North East”.
Researchers from the University of Aberdeen’s Just Transition Lab said ringfenced funding for communities was a “major improvement” and addressed a key weakness in earlier rounds.
Applications opened today and close on 8 May for commercial and public sector projects.
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