Over 22 energy intensive businesses across England Wales & Northern Ireland will share £12.4m of Government funding to help reduce their carbon emissions and energy bills.
The latest phase of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) will see funds provided to businesses in sectors including agriculture, food & drink, pharmaceutical and paper, as part of the Government’s drive down the use of fossil fuels and cut harmful UK emissions by two thirds by 2035.
Graham Stuart, Minister at the recently formed Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said:
“Boosting the energy efficiency of industrial processes is a critical step not only in our transition to a lower-carbon economy, but also by helping businesses to cut their energy costs and protect valuable British jobs.
“That’s why the government has stepped in once again to support energy intensive industries, with a fresh funding round to unleash the next generation of green innovators who are re-shaping the way technology can reduce carbon emissions.”
£34.8m has been awarded through the IETF thus far, with the recent winners including:
- Long Clawson Dairy, who run 31 farms in the Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire areas, and have been producing cheese for over a century. The company has created a new thermal storage system, using revolutionary high temperature heat pumps to reduce overall energy by 27% and saving 34% carbon emissions, with the ambition of moving to a purely electrically powered in the long term.
- Dunbia, the red meat processors based in Carmarthenshire, Wales will be using the funds to upgrade its heating system from a gas oil fired steam boiler to an air source heat pump that is powered by electricity sourced from renewables, allowing the company to harvest edible products and process the food with hot water washing, through a sustainable and energy efficient thermal supply system, reducing carbon emissions each year.
- Autotech Engineering/Gestamp specialise in the design, development and manufacture of metals for lighter vehicles. They have been awarded funding to support the ‘SERPENT’ project which is actively capturing and reusing energy lost during the high-tonnage pressing of flat metal sheets, which will in turn help reduce the environmental impact of vehicle manufacturing.
- Harsco Environmental, based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, develop and manufacture high performance tarmac products for the UK roadmaking industry. This energy intensive process of drying, heating, crushing, grinding and conveying currently utilises large volumes of natural gas, gas oil and electricity from the grid. The company will be using the funds to investigate ways to capture the waste heat in the exhaust gases and transform it into electrical power.
More information, including updates on future phases of the IETF are available on the Government’s website.
