Which Net Zero support is right for my project?

A sequencing guide across Energy Entrepreneurs Fund, Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, IETF and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for UK net-zero projects.

**Net-zero funding splits across four distinct stages.** Most founders waste time approaching the wrong stage.

**Early-stage clean-tech innovation** (TRL 3–6, hardware or systems IP): **Energy Entrepreneurs Fund** — DESNZ feasibility and prototyping support for SMEs.

**Demonstrator-stage clean-energy projects** (TRL 6–8, consortium-led, deployable): **Net Zero Innovation Portfolio** — rolling competitions for hydrogen, storage, industrial decarbonisation, carbon capture, low-carbon heat.

**Operating industrial sites cutting energy use and emissions**: **Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF)** — capital and feasibility grants for existing manufacturing facilities only.

**Domestic heat decarbonisation** (households, microbusinesses, single-property landlords): **Boiler Upgrade Scheme** — vouchers towards heat pumps and biomass boilers in England and Wales.

**Sequencing rule.** Innovation stages flow forward: EEF → NZIP → IETF for industrial deployment. Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a separate domestic / small-property track, not a route for commercial sites.

**Common misconception.** IETF does not fund new-build facilities or speculative net-zero projects — only existing industrial sites with board-committed matched capex.