Wednesday 21 October 2020

Innovate UK offers £7m to cement, glass, ceramics, paper, metals and chemical sectors

Businesses in foundation industries, such as cement, glass, ceramics, paper, metals and bulk chemical sectors, could land a share of £7 million to help reduce resource and energy use.

The new financing from Innovate UK will be delivered alongside support from partner investors that are also willing to invest in the businesses - projects could range in size between £50,000 and £2 million and last up to two years.

These investor partners will be expected to identify potential businesses from across the foundation industries - these sectors are worth £52 billion to the economy and are vital for UK manufacturing - however, they are responsible for around a tenth of the UK's carbon emissions.

The funding will focus on projects that help reduce energy costs and optimisation such as heat or energy recovery and reuse as well as process measurement, optimisation and digitisation such as sensor technology or digital tools.

They also include waste recycling, utilisation and symbiosis, such as reuse of waste or industrial symbiosis and new product and service development such as new materials or business models.

Partner investors will be asked to make an investment that equals or exceeds the value of the grant from Innovate UK - the competition deadline is 9th December 2020.