Businesses in energy-intensive sectors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including pharmaceuticals, steel, paper and food and drink, will be able to apply for grants worth up to £14 million to help cut their carbon emissions through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
In the second competition window announced by the government, the minimum grant has been lowered to £100,000 for deployment projects, offering more flexibility for small businesses to receive funding so they can speed up getting their ideas to market.
Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan commented on the announcement: “We can only achieve our ambitious plans to tackle climate change if everyone plays their part, including businesses large and small.
“That’s why our £40 million investment will not only help some of the highest polluting industries like steel, paper and pharmaceuticals build back greener by finding innovative ways to reduce their carbon emissions but will also create more opportunities for growth and jobs by levelling up and making industry fit for the future.”
With potential projects taking place across the East and West Midlands, North East, North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, the government grants seek to enable businesses to use new technology to improve the efficiency of industrial processes and reduce energy demand.
This includes factories installing electric motors and heat pumps to replace their natural gas-fired boilers and steam turbines, manufacturers using heat recovery technology to recycle waste heat and generate renewable electricity, and industries such as the food and drink sector carrying out studies to replace natural gas with hydrogen as their primary fuel.
The fund supports the UK government’s mission to build back greener and level up the country’s industrial heartlands by allowing them to lay the path for economic growth.
The government’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund is worth £289 million with funding available across England, Wales and Northern Ireland up until 2024.
The fund supports heavy industry as the UK transitions to a low-carbon economy.
The Fund was initially launched in June 2020, seeing 39 applications approved for funding in the first window, which totalled £31 million.
According to the government it is calculated that as a result of these projects carbon emissions will be reduced by 2.6 million tonnes over their lifespan, which is equivalent to taking 38,000 fossil-fuelled cars off the road over a 30-year period.
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) window opens for applications on Monday 8 March and closes on Wednesday 14 July.
More information about the Fund and how to apply is available on the government website.
The Scottish Government is administering £34 million (£26 million from the IETF) for investment in Scotland and launched the Scottish IETF in December 2020.
