Cash boost to help push UK towards climate targets
The green technology required to help the UK meet its climate targets has been given a £166.5m cash injection, six months on from the publication of the Prime Minister’s10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
The multi-million pound investment, awarded to innovators, businesses, academics and heavy industry right across the UK, will accelerate the delivery of the critical game-changing technologies needed to further drive Britain’s climate change ambitions, while creating over 60,000 jobs across the UK.
The funding package will develop technologies in carbon capture, greenhouse gas removal and hydrogen, while also helping find solutions to decarbonise the UK’s polluting sectors including manufacturing, steel, energy and waste.
The Government hopes that this investment will help put the UK at the forefront of the green technologies of the future, while supporting British industries to lowers costs, remain competitive and protect jobs as they improve their energy efficiency and transition to a green economy.
This significant investment will help the UK meet its ambitious climate commitments, including reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and the world’s most ambitious climate target of reducing UK emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.
Energy Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said: “We are determined to tackle climate change and make it win-win for both our planet and our economy. Today’s major cash boost – targeted at our most polluting industries – will encourage the rapid development of the technologies we need to reign in our emissions and transition to a green economy, one that reduces costs for business, boosts investment and create jobs.”
The package of funding includes:
- £60m to support the development of low-carbon hydrogen in the UK and to identify and scale-up more efficient solutions for making clean hydrogen from water using electricity;
- £37.5m to fund the largest government programme of greenhouse gas removal methods helping cement the UK’s status as a world-leader in this technology;
- £20m to support the development of the next generation carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) technologies so they can be deployed at scale by 2030; and
- £20m to establish a new virtual Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre that will accelerate the decarbonisation of key energy-intensive industries which currently make a significant contribution to UK emissions. Run by Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, the centre will bring together new technologies and address the challenges faced by industrial areas, helping to provide solutions that reduce costs, risks and emissions.
