Published: January 14th, 2022
An £8 million programme to help UK business reduce energy consumption and cut emissions is on the hunt for innovation across the Marches.
Phase 3 of the BEIS Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) programme will provide around £8 million of grant funding to support the development of innovative technologies which have the potential to reduce energy consumption, maximise resource efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions within any industrial sector.
The funding programme is now looking for expressions of interest from companies across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
The programme is being delivered by the Carbon Trust and forms part of the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which will run between 2021 and 2025.
Successful applicants typically receive between 40-60% of required funding for their project, with IEEA contributions expected to be between £150,000 and £1 million per project – the remainder to be provided by the applicant.
To date the IEEA has supported 16 projects in demonstrating new energy efficiency technologies, with over half of these now ready to commercialise for full-scale roll out.
Energy & Climate Change Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “As some of the biggest contributors to UK emissions, it is imperative that we support industries like ceramics, paper and steel to develop innovative technologies that will not only help us meet our climate commitments, but help them to cut costs and give them a competitive advantage.
“Through our Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator programme and with the extensive experience of the Carbon Trust, industry will have the support it needs to drive forward innovative projects that will help reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency, as we build back greener.”
Grant funding will be competitively awarded to projects that can install and test innovative energy efficiency technologies on an industrial site, to prove that they work at scale in a real industrial setting.
Projects may be applicable to any industrial sector and must include an industrial partner that will demonstrate the technology at their UK site, and (usually) a technology developer that has developed the new technology. Other project partners, such as research organisations, universities, specialist technology suppliers and consultants may be included in a consortium.
In addition to the grant funding, incubation support will also be provided to accelerate commercial readiness of the technologies.
For further information about the competition and to register your interest, please visit the IEEA website.