Have your say on £315m fund for energy intensive industries

The government is seeking views on the final design of a £315 million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), aimed at manufacturers and other energy intensive industries.

The IETF will provide funding for capital investment in two areas: energy efficiency and ‘deep decarbonisation’ projects – this refers to measures beyond efficiency that reduce industrial process emissions, such as carbon capture, low carbon fuels, and material efficiency.

The fund focuses on industrial processes, and as such excludes transport and building energy efficiency measures (such as heating, cooling and lighting).

Under the proposed scheme, only manufacturing sector organisations will be able to apply for the energy efficiency side of the scheme, although if other organisations such as data centres or laundromats can demonstrate their energy intensity, they may also be eligible. There will not be a limit on which sectors can apply for deep decarbonisation given the relative immaturity of such projects.

The scheme will be delivered in two phases: Phase 1 will launch in spring 2020, open for applications in summer 2020 and support a small number of projects worth up to £30 million in total. Phase 2 will deliver the full scheme from 2021 to 2024 and will be worth around £285 million.

The government wants feedback on whether the design of the scheme is right in terms of who can apply, whether or not only technologies from the Energy Technologies List should be eligible, how the fund should be delivered and how knowledge can be shared/transferred from successful projects.

Have your say here. The consultation closes on 21 November.