Over £90M to Power Green Technologies

The UK Government has announced that a £92 million investment will be made available to enable green innovators to drive forward the next generation of technologies which will help the UK transition to clean, green energy as well as helping to tackle climate change.

The funding will be based in three new innovation challenges in key areas of the green energy sector – energy storage technology, floating offshore wind, and biomass production.

The new challenges will help to develop innovative technology which will reduce the costs of deploying them throughout the energy sector, as well as supporting thousands of highly skilled jobs across the UK, helping grow the economy and delivering the Prime Minister’s ten point plan.

Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “The UK’s energy innovators have been vital to us becoming a world leader in clean green technology, helping us to go further and faster as we tackle climate change.

“This funding will allow us to develop new ways of unlocking the potential for green energy as we continue making big strides towards our goal of eradicating our contribution to climate change by 2050.”

Energy storage innovation

£68M is to be invested to further the development of energy storage technologies, to support a future renewable energy system. These new innovations will accelerate the commercialisation of a first-of-its-kind storage which can hold energy from wind turbines and solar panels, as well as heat, over long periods of time (months or years), until it is needed by consumers.

The supply of energy from renewable sources can be intermittent, so effective storage is important to ensuring clean energy that is reliable. Energy storage is expected to be one of the key components in a smarter, more flexible low-carbon energy system which can maximise the use of renewable generation.

Floating offshore wind

£20M in funding will go to power innovation that unlocks the potential of floating offshore wind technology around the UK’s coastline. This will allow turbines to be situated in areas where it is too deep for them to be embedded on the seafloor. These are often located where wind strengths are stronger and more consistent as they are further out to sea and further support the Government’s commitment to power every home in the country with wind by 2030.

Innovative technologies could include advancing vital components such as dynamic high-voltage cable systems, moorings for challenging seabed conditions, and foundations.

Sustainably sourced biomass

Biomass projects will see the benefit of £4M of government investment. This is aimed at increasing the production of sustainably sourced biomass in the UK, supporting local economies and regional growth, as well as creating jobs in rural areas.

Biomass is organic matter that can be used for fuel in green energy production or to substitute for fossil fuel derived products elsewhere in the economy. It is a key component for the UK to achieve its decarbonisation commitments, with the Climate Change Committee stating that sustainable biomass can play a significant role in meeting long-term climate targets.

New innovations will help scale up sustainably sourced biomass feedstocks and the production of energy crops – low-cost and low-maintenance crops grown solely for green energy production, including forestry – as well as helping to achieve improvements in yields, cost reductions and profitability.

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