Wednesday 10 March 2021
UK announces £92m of new investment in next-gen green tech
The UK government has announced it will provide £92 million of new funding to drive forward the next generation of green technologies on the journey to net zero.
It has launched three innovation challenges focusing on biomass production, energy storage technology and floating offshore wind. The challenges have been set to reduce the cost of deployment for green technologies, grow jobs across the clean energy sector, grow the economy and deliver Boris Johnson’s 10 Point Plan.
£68 million of the investment will go towards energy storage innovation. The government states these innovations will quicken the commercialisation of a ‘first-of-a-kind’ storage system that holds energy produced by wind turbines, solar panels and heat for months or years until there is customer demand. Energy storage is predicted to be key to enabling a more flexible low-carbon energy system and maximise the use of renewable generation.
Of the remaining £24 million, £20 million will go towards floating offshore wind technology. This will be implemented around the UK coastline and allows turbines to be installed in areas where water is too deep for them to be embedded on the seafloor.
These areas tend to have stronger wind strengths as they are further out to sea and therefore align with the government’s pledge to power every home in the UK with wind by 2030.
That leaves £4 million to be invested into biomass projects. Biomass is organic matter that can be used as fuel in green energy production or as a substitute for fossil-fuelled products. The investment will increase the production of biomass, while also reducing the cost.
Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan commented: “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."
