The British Government has announced the provision of £46 million for businesses which will help to cut omissions and boost home-grown energy.
According to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero on Wednesday made it known that this New government-backed projects will clean up industrial processes and reduce business energy costs.
The UK’s largest malting site, a leading supplier of household paper and an innovative green fuel producer in Belfast are among those receiving a share of nearly £46 million to use cleaner, home-grown energy.
Tweed Valley Maltings in Northumberland has been the headquarters of Simpsons Malt, a fifth-generation family business, since 1963 accordingly.
It stated further that Today’s funding will help businesses establish a low carbon energy centre and with help of a wind powered electric boiler, the new facility at Simpsons Malt will cut bills, reduce emissions and secure their energy independence.
This is one of 26 businesses who are receiving a share of the funding, with others including:
Danfoss, who are testing a pump and motor system in an excavator at an Edinburgh quarry, improving energy efficiency and supporting the transition to electric off-road vehicles; and
Digital Realty, who will be upgrading coolers in their data halls, switching to more efficient chillers to help cut their energy consumption.
Adding that these projects will put the UK a step closer to meeting our international targets, and see businesses save money on their energy bills and safeguard British jobs.
They are the winners of three government competitions: the Red Diesel Replacement Competition, the Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator Competition and the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability Amanda Solloway said: “As we continue towards our goal of reaching net zero by 2050, we want to ensure businesses have all the support they need to power our transition to a cleaner, cheaper energy system.
“Our funding will support ground-breaking projects in malting, construction and manufacturing so businesses can incorporate green energy into their day-to-day operations”, the Minister added.
Meanwhile, the UK is a trailblazer in its ambitions to reach net zero by 2050 – forging ahead of many other countries and nearly halving emissions since 1990.
But the UK will need to cut this by a further two thirds by 2035 to achieve our net zero target. With industry responsible for producing estimated 16% of our emissions at present, the government is taking action to support businesses onto greener paths.
Catagen, one of the winning projects from the Red Diesel Replacement Competition, which will receive the programme’s largest government award, is using new net zero technology to produce green hydrogen and e-diesel for industrial vehicles in Northern Ireland.
This will further support Northern Ireland’s green economy, helping industry at home to transition away from costly fossil fuels, while laying the foundations for future export opportunities that could create new jobs and boost local growth.
The announcement came on the day of the Northern Ireland Investment Summit, where Northern Ireland’s innovation and technological strengths are on display to more than 100 global investors.
The Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator Competition supports projects to test moving from industrial fuel to hydrogen, spanning all the way from generation and storage to end use.
One winner is the Bay Hydrogen Hub, run by EDF Energy Generation, which generates low-carbon hydrogen using steam from the generation of nuclear energy and will support the asphalt industry move to a cleaner fuel source.