The UK government will allocate more than £190 million (about $241 million) to 12 winners of the Local Industry Decarbonization Plan competition to reduce emissions and transition to green energy.
The companies will receive £6 million each to develop plans for a low-carbon future, according to the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
It is noted that this funding will give the winning companies and partners the opportunity to work together on emissions reduction plans, learning from each other. Participants will also have access to technical advisors to prepare for measures such as hydrogen use and carbon capture.
The report explained that companies located outside the main industrial zones account for 55% of the country's industrial emissions. They are the target of the support project, and some of the winners are:
- The Shoreham Port Industrial Cluster of 175 businesses on an area of 44.5 hectares, which will explore ways to reduce emissions and improve local air quality through cooperation with local councils;
- Industrial Decarbonisation for Northern Ireland (ID-NI), which will develop plans to help local businesses improve productivity as well as reduce emissions;
- The Decarbonising Midlands Aerospace Cluster (DMAC), which will work with key players in the region's aerospace supply chain, identifying manufacturing processes that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and potential solutions.
It is noted that the projects will cover a wide range of industries – from the production of pet food to the management of ferries in Pula.
Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Minister Lord Martyn Callanan also announced plans to launch a new £185m ($235m) Industrial Energy Transformation Fund funding round in January 2024. The program will focus on replacing inefficient equipment, installing electric furnaces and switching to hydrogen, as well as gardening projects, industrial laundries and textile rental points.
"UK industry is at the heart of our economy, from chemicals to food and drink," he said. "I look forward to the plans developed by the successful clusters and encourage other businesses to apply to our Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, which has already awarded more than 150 projects to help companies go green."
The announcements are part of the government's commitment to spend more than £12 billion ($15.25 billion) on energy efficiency by 2028, it said.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the government of Great Britain announced that starting in 2027, the country will introduce its analogue CBAM (the European carbon import adjustment mechanism).
As EcoPolitic previously reported, 20 energy-intensive enterprises in Slovenia plan to invest €450 million in decarbonization projects by 2030.
