UK calls for industrial energy efficiency deployment projects

The UK government has opened a second round in its Industrial Energy Technology Fund (IETF), offering GBP40 million ($55.27 million) of grants to businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to improve the energy efficiency of industrial processes, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said March 8.

In all, BEIS has pledged GBP315 million over the lifetime of the fund, aimed at cutting energy bills and emissions of CO2.

Technologies that qualify include electric heat pumps, control systems, asynchronous drive motors and more efficient driers, ovens and kilns, using for instance microwave and infra-red heating. Energy- and carbon-saving fuel switching to gas and power is also eligible.

Applicants can put forward deployment projects under this strand of the competition, or feasibility and engineering studies in a spring round, BEIS said.

Industrial businesses of any size may apply, individually or in collaborations. Applicants can be awarded 30% of the cost of energy efficiency projects, while studies can be awarded 25% to 40% of costs.

Projects must begin by Jan. 1, 2023 and end by Dec. 31, 2024, at which point energy efficiency technology must be installed and ready to operate.

The competition caps any single grant at GBP14 million.