The Government has pledged over £31 million in extra funding to help industries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and slash carbon emissions, supporting businesses to become greener and cut energy bills.
Funding will also support the development of innovative carbon capture and green technologies in the UK, which will create jobs and encourage investment, according to the Government.
The £31m is being added to three different grant pots that are all funded through the Government's £1 billion net zero innovation portfolio.
Spending breakdown
The funding announced on 31 May includes over £6.6m to help industrial businesses move away from red diesel - also known as gas oil - which is commonly used for off-road vehicles and machinery.
The Government said the money will encourage the development of red diesel alternatives, including e-fuels, green hydrogen and waste-energy capture technology.
Over £5.5m is also being invested to develop technology that will support the industry to cut back its use of carbon fuels and switch to cleaner power sources, such as hydrogen or electrification.
The funding will be awarded to winners of phase 1 of the industrial fuel switching competition.
Winners from the first stage of the carbon capture usage and storage innovation competition will receive a share of the £12m made available for projects aiming to improve carbon capture technologies. Up to £7.3m will be available for the next round.
Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands said:
"As we accelerate the UK's energy independence by boosting clean, home-grown, affordable energy, it's crucial that our industries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
"This investment will help them to not only cut emissions, but also save money on energy bills, on top of supporting jobs by encouraging green innovation across the UK."
Projects get funding
A number of projects have already received funding from the Government's support scheme.
PUNCH Flybird in Silverstone, for example, will receive £460,000 to develop a high power electricity driven flywheel energy system to store wasted energy from vehicles and machines.
British Steel in Scunthorpe, meanwhile, will receive £161,050 for a study into switching its manufacturing processes from natural gas to green hydrogen.
And Ingenza in Edinburgh will receive £44,632 to develop a new type of CO2 conversion technology to capture carbon from industry and turn it into a versatile chemical to be used across a range of sectors.
Sam Cockerhill, chief executive of Libertine, which also received funding, said:
"We are delighted to have been awarded further funding to continue to build on our work.
"We are grateful to the UK government for their support and look forward to delivering this exciting project."
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