UK energy companies are asking the government to support a £100m loan scheme that will enable businesses and households affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic to take a payment holiday.
As reported by the Financial Times, energy industry trade body Energy UK has allegedly consulted with the UK Government to set up the programme, as the number of people cancelling their direct debit plans increases.
An Energy UK spokesperson said: “We have been in contact with the Government, Ofgem and Citizens Advice on what actions, protections and practical steps suppliers can take to support customers during these challenging times. Suppliers will be doing all they can to identify customers in vulnerable circumstances and provide support where possible on a case-by-case basis.
“On behalf of the industry, we have been also having discussions with the Government to explore if any additional financial support could be required to help these customers over the coming months.”
The plan would be for the government to lend money to energy suppliers that will repay once customers resume their payment plans.
The UK Government had already put in place a set of financial measures to help the economy during the pandemic, unveiling on 17 March its plan to give out £330bn in loans to businesses.
As reported by the Financial Times, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We have been clear we will do whatever it takes to get us through this pandemic and have put in place an unprecedented package of support for businesses, including £330bn of loans and guarantees and paying 80 per cent of the wages of furloughed workers.
“We continue to engage with the energy sector to understand how suppliers and their customers could be further supported.”
The energy sector has already set up contingency plans to help customers during the pandemic.
Energy UK chief executive Audrey Gallagher said: “The sector is very conscious of the potential consequences for customers confined to their homes for prolonged periods.
“In particular, customers in vulnerable circumstances and those on prepayment meters may need additional help and support with repayments or keeping meters topped up.”
Cash-strapped energy firms have been denied a state bailout amid concerns they could go bust if thousands of customers are unable to pay their bills.
Suppliers had sought a special taxpayer-backed rescue fund as British workers brace for economic hardship and businesses shut their doors – but the Government has refused to provide one and is instead directing them to a rescue loan scheme already on offer to other companies, emails show.
Last week, trade organisation Energy UK approached the Government to request its own loan scheme worth £100m a month which could be used to offer repayment holidays for struggling customers.
But energy suppliers have instead been told to rely on support already being made available more widely.
In an email to the energy suppliers, Dan Monzani, director of energy security at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), said: “I would like to draw your attention to the business support measures announced by HM Treasury on March 17.
“We are aware that energy companies do not always think they are eligible when in fact you may be.”
But there is some concern among energy suppliers that vulnerable customers will not be able to pay for their gas and electricity in coming months if they are unable to return to work. The small business loan scheme has also faced criticism for being slow to deliver cash.
A number of suppliers have already seen some customers cancel direct debits, an early indication they are struggling to make payments.
A string of energy companies have large debts and virtually no safety net after several years of aggressively chasing new customers and charging ultra-low prices.
Industry sources have said that some smaller, profitable energy suppliers are frustrated that large loss-making firms appear to be seeking ways to get a bailout without having to get their bank to approve a business plan.
Doug Stewart, chief executive of provider Green Energy, said: “There should be no need for further intervention at present.
Last week Energy UK requested that firms provide detailed information to support their claims that customers are falling behind.
In a letter to the firms, BEIS thanked suppliers for providing evidence on potential risks. It appeared to leave open the possibility of further support by saying that the Government is still considering these cases.
One of the companies that originally approached Energy UK to discuss the bailout was Centrica, the owner of British Gas.
In a statement, the company said: “This is about supporting customers and our immediate focus is on supplying the country with the energy that will help it get through the coming months.
“This is not about propping up financially weak and unsustainable energy supply companies.”
A spokesperson for BEIS said that Government had put in place an “exceptional package of economic support for businesses, including extending the eligibility criteria for the Covid Business Interruption Loan Scheme which will allow more smaller energy businesses to qualify.”
“We continue to engage with the energy sector to understand how suppliers and their customers could be further supported,” they added.
The company is set to deploy a prototype of its SME energy efficiency digital platform in three locations across the UK.
Scottish building optimisation company, arbnco, has won a £641,000 contract for phase two of ‘Boosting Access for SMEs to Energy Efficiency’ (BASEE), the Government innovation competition.
The contract with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), through its Energy Innovation Programme, will allow arbnco to develop a prototype of its Digital Energy Efficiency Platform (DEEP) to improve energy efficiency across the UK’s 5.9 million SMEs. Phase two of the project will involve arbnco deploying the prototype for pilots in the central belt of Scotland, the West Midlands and Bridgend, Wales.
Led by arbnco, the project brings together energy and services company Centrica, Energy Systems Catapult, Aston Business School, Durham County Council and sustainable finance company, Cyan Finance.
DEEP will simplify the process of engaging with energy efficiency by automatically optimising a business’ total energy consumption and the energy performance of its premises specifically.
The platform will use a range of data sources such as energy consumption and building energy performance, retrieved automatically or supplied by the SME, to generate a unique list of physical and behavioural energy efficiency recommendations together with costs, trusted suppliers and finance options.
Andrew Stewart, research and development manager at arbnco, said: “The first phase of the project focussed on the technical feasibility of the platform as well as, understanding of the obstacles that SMEs face when it comes to energy efficiency.
“A review of potential business models was conducted by Energy Systems Catapult during the first phase. Bringing Centrica on board for phase two will provide greater insight and access to SMEs as we look to roll the platform out nationwide.
“By providing SMEs with critical insight into their energy use and tailored retrofit recommendations, based on an assessment of the energy performance of their building and patterns in their energy consumption, we can help thousands of businesses become more energy efficient.”
Liam Burlinson, head of business energy efficiency at British Gas Business, said: “SMEs have a critical role to play as the UK strives to meet its net-zero targets, but they often don’t know where to start when it comes to improving energy efficiency.
“Centrica is committed to helping customers become more sustainable and we think arbnco’s platform can help tackle some of the fundamental barriers that exist for SMEs today – such as lack of time, money or internal expertise to make targeted, cost-effective changes.”
Phase two of the project began in February 2020 and will run for 14 months. Following completion in April 2021, the platform will be rolled out nationally.
arbnco has partnered with Energy Systems Catapult on the project, which is providing Business Model Innovation support to improve the functionality and usability of the DEEP prototype.
Rebecca Lane, business modelling analyst at Energy Systems Catapult, said: “Having worked with arbnco on phase one of the project, we are confident we have now identified a strong value proposition from both ends of the value chain.
“As the project moves into phase two, we will be working with arbnco and Centrica to pilot the prototype in three locations across the UK and develop the product ready for its national rollout in 2021.”
A COUNCIL-BACKED energy company has confirmed it works with six outsourced telesales contact centres in South Africa that have 90 staff allocated to its campaigns.
But Scottish firm Together Energy says it only has one of its own members of staff based in South Africa, with the other 129 located in Clydebank.
Warrington Borough Council is putting £18 million into the company, as well as providing a £4 million loan to it.
Together Energy finished bottom of the Which? energy provider table and has received many complaints from users.
It said it is looking to recruit around 25 members of staff in Warrington and that it recently attended a careers fair in the town to help achieve this aim.
But concerns have been raised from customers following adverts online for vacancies in a South Africa call centre for work on a Together Energy campaign.
However, the issue has sparked a response from the company.
A spokesman said: “We do not have any sites in South Africa.
“We had a customer service function in South Africa to help us with the Supplier of Last Resort volumes which has now been closed and the function moved back to Clydebank.
“We work with six outsourced telesales contact centres in South Africa who have around 90 staff allocated to campaigns for Together Energy including a small sales verification team.
“These companies also sell for many other UK energy suppliers including most of the ‘big six’ energy companies.
“The adverts are for these companies trying to recruit people to work on our campaign.
“They are not our adverts or our employees.
“Our one full-time employee in South Africa manages these relationships and the necessary compliance for these centres.”
The firm says it is not directly recruiting for any field sales agents in Clydebank or any telesales agents in South Africa.
There was also an advertisement online for a national fields associate role in Clydebank to sell Together Energy products.
The spokesman added: “We also work in the UK with two outsourced field sales companies, who sell our tariffs and again recruit for people to sell Together Energy products.
“They are not employed by us and the job referred to is for one of these companies not us.”
tarting next week, five House of Lords committees will be examine some of the ways climate change will affect specific policy areas, and what action the Government is taking to prepare for COP26, the UN climate change conference the UK is hosting in November.
On 11, 12 and 18 March, five House of Lords committees will consider climate change from five different angles, exploring how it will affect specific policy areas and what the Government’s response should be. Following these evidence sessions, on 25 March members from each committee will come together to challenge the Government on what action it is taking and scrutinise preparations for COP26, the UN climate change conference the UK is hosting in November.
The dates and times of the sessions will be as follows: • Wednesday 11 March, 11am: climate change and migration • Wednesday 11 March, midday: international carbon markets • Thursday 12 March, 10am: climate change and international development • Thursday 12 March, 10.15am and 11.30am: state aid and meeting climate targets • Wednesday 18 March, 10:15am: Mark Carney on green finance • Wednesday 25 March, 3.30pm: Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP and President of COP 26, on climate change and COP26
Speaking ahead of the series of evidence sessions, Lord Teverson, Chair of the EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee, said: “Climate change is an emergency. The repeated serious flooding here in the UK is just one of the many ways global warming is already taking its toll. That’s why five House of Lords committees have uniquely come together to examine this emergency. “These sessions will shed light on a number of those diverse climate change challenges that now confront us. Our follow up will be pressing ministers on how the Government intends to move forward. With COP26 only months away, clear and focused responses from minsters will be essential.”
All of these evidence sessions will be open to the public. They can also be followed live on parliamentlive.tv
Ofgem recently published its Decarbonisation Action Plan. This set out our priorities and the steps we will take as a regulator to help achieve ‘net zero’ at lowest cost. One of those priorities is to accelerate innovation to create products and services that help consumers use energy in ways that supports decarbonisation.
Empowered consumers will be central to fair and effective decarbonisation. Ultimately, a diverse range of products and services need to be made available to consumers, empowering them to change the way they use energy in order to meet and benefit from the net zero challenge.
We’ve been speaking to innovators and investors to understand their experiences and realise we need to continue to adapt our approach to regulation to better enable innovative consumer offerings. This means Ofgem being more proactive and using our existing powers to provide the flexibility innovators need to bring new products and services to market.
So, what can you expect over the coming months? Our plans centre around:
the launch of an expanded Innovation Sandbox Service
extending our ability to provide relief from certain supplier obligations
a more permissive approach to granting supply licences restricted by geography or premises type.
Enabling innovators to test and trial
Testing new ideas allows us and businesses to understand how consumers actually react and respond to new products and services. Yet there are times when it is not always clear whether an idea is possible or not under existing rules and regulations.
Our Sandbox service was launched in 2017 to experiment with ways of mitigating barriers when innovative plans didn’t readily fit with the rulebook. This includes the BP and Tonik trial of a new platform for trading customers’ small scale exports with other consumers. We now have a much better handle on what kinds of support innovators are looking for, and are expanding our Innovation Sandbox Service.
As part of this, we are widening the scope of rules that can be relaxed for innovative trials beyond the Ofgem rulebook to cover some of the main industry codes. This includes the rules for electricity balancing and settlement (BSC), rules around the connection to, and use of, the electricity distribution networks (DCUSA), and code requirements relating to retail energy activities (REC).
We also want to better use derogations from the rulebook so that experimentation, trialling and testing can flourish. This means taking a more permissive approach and we will consult shortly on expanding the number of rules that we can provide relief from.
Bringing innovative ideas to market
Many innovators have told us that they want to specialise in the products and services they bring to market, focusing on offerings within their expertise. This could include local or regional suppliers, social enterprises focused on vulnerable customers, or those delivering flexibility solutions. To help with this, we’ll be providing greater clarity on when we might grant restricted supply licences – that enable a business to focus on particular geographies or types of premises. We’ll say more on restricted licences and the potential for greater use of derogations to deliver innovative ideas shortly.
Innovators often approach us with ideas that blur the boundaries of the traditional definitions of generation, distribution and supply. These activities typically aren’t prescribed for in law which can undermine the confidence of innovators, investors, and consumers. Many of you think that we should be able to confirm whether a type of activity is permissible (as well as what isn’t), and we agree. This means we’ll confirm to innovators that what they’re trying to do is allowable within today’s regulatory framework, without going as far as endorsing particular business models.
Helping navigate complexity
We’re regularly reminded of just how complex the energy sector can be and we want to help the industry and new entrants navigate this complexity effectively.
We’ll provide more guidance in other areas as we go forward – including on how longer-term contracts fit with the current rules. And we stand ready to amend or remove rules where these are getting in the way of good outcomes for consumers. We want to work with innovators and industry to help drive innovation so welcome your views and input
Speculation is mounting about the future of Bristol Energy after city council leaders hinted they might have to throw even more money at the loss-making company.
Opposition councillors expressed “very grave doubt” that the budget passed by full council on Tuesday (February 25) is legal amid fears it could mess up the balance sheet, and by law, local authorities must set balanced budgets.
The concerns stem from an “urgent” confidential report to next week’s cabinet which overview & scrutiny management board (OSMB) chairman and Tory Cllr Geoff Gollop said was “of such significance” that the budget meeting should have been postponed to allow all 70 councillors to read it.
Labour deputy mayor Craig Cheney insisted the mystery papers, whose details were not revealed, “did not materially affect the budget”.
He told the full council meeting: “We have adequate risk reserves should we need to draw down on them should we need to deal with any issues arising from that paper.”
It comes just a month after cabinet members approved the energy firm’s five-year business plan amid assurances that it did not need any further public cash.
Bristol City Council has already pumped £37million into the company.
However, the business has posted total losses so far of £29.7million, including £10.1million in 2018/19, its third year of trading.
It was initially expected to be in profit by 2019/20. But in December, Peter Beange, executive chairman of Bristol Holding, which oversees Bristol Energy, told OSMB councillors that the firm’s break-even point remained 2023/24 .
He told members: “Bristol Energy is not seeking any investments nor increased collateral within this business plan. However, its risks remain significant.
“The key risks to Bristol Energy are not dissimilar from a lot of energy companies in that it needs to secure its customer base, there is tremendous volatility of the energy sector and that might lead to a credit gap and dependency on the council for collateral coverage.”
Whether the situation has changed within a matter of weeks is now open to speculation with an exempt report, thought to contain commercially sensitive information, going to cabinet on March 3, that has alarmed Cllr Gollop.
He told full council: “The implications of the item on the cabinet agenda are of such significance that all members of this council should access it before full council considers this budget, not just members of cabinet.
“To have not had access could risk the setting of an ultra vires budget [without legal authority].
“I understand the sudden urgency of this cabinet item but to not refer to it in the (full council) papers is appalling, and for the mayor and deputy mayor to have not alluded to it in their presentations is unacceptable.”
He said he had only received access to the report minutes before full council began.
“It is inappropriate that the only time members can read something of such significance is actually during the debate when they are setting the budget,” Cllr Gollop said.
“I am not allowed in public session to explain my concerns further, so I apologise to members of the public that I’m talking in riddles but I cannot breach confidentiality.”
Cllr Cheney said: “I have been assured that that paper does not materially affect the budget.
“We have adequate risk reserves should we need to draw down on them should we need to deal with any issues arising from that paper.”
Cllr Gollop replied: “I understand why Cllr Cheney is saying that but if we could have a debate about it, I could explain why I believe it is significant and why members need at least to be aware of the potential significance when deciding whether to approve the budget today or not.
“If that budget is potentially illegal then I think that will be very dangerous.”
City council finance director Denise Murray said: “I have reviewed the details and been party to the drafting of the report.
“There is sufficient contingency risk reserves to deal with any risk to which the council is exposed.
“The budget itself is robust and the paper does not impact on the budget.”
Legal and democratic services director Tim O’Gara said: “I have also been privy to the drafting of the report and I’m satisfied that the council can proceed to set a lawful budget this afternoon without further consideration of a report which will be duly considered by cabinet next week.”
Cllr Gollop said: “Professionally I have a different interpretation of the financial position and I believe there is a potential impact fundamentally on the council’s budget and balance sheet.
“I find it very frustrating that we can’t have a debate about it because I cannot explain why I have those concerns.
“But I cannot let a budget go through without registering my very grave doubt.”
Cllr Cheney said: “The paper will go to OSMB next week so there is the opportunity for councillors to scrutinise and review that paperwork.”
Tory group leader Cllr Mark Weston said: “I don’t know what is in that report but the fact we’re having to get assurance that even if the worst happened it wouldn’t affect the budget makes me wonder what the hell is in there.
Scottish Power parent Iberdrola’s 13 per cent surge in group profits to £2.89 billion (€3.4 billion) last year reflects its two decades of steady renewables investment, according to CEO Ignacio Galán.
Galán said its push into clean generation puts Iberdrola “20 years ahead of the current energy transition.”
The group’s full 2019 results reveal a record 2.8GW of new green generation capacity, including East Anglia One’s first turbines commissioned last year. A further 9GW is under construction worldwide.
Iberdrola’s UK activities posted a net profit of £347 million, up 5 per cent on 2018. Higher wholesale prices pushed gross earnings at Scottish Power similarly up to £579 million. The subsidiary’s 2.5GW of installed capacity, predominantly onshore wind, is receiving continued investment, said the group.
But Scottish Power suffered in the retail market, with supply accounts falling to 2.8 million. A shrinkage of its customer base, plus a warmer winter, also saw volume sales of electricity drop 3 per cent compared to 2018.
UK performance was strongest in Scottish Power’s Energy Networks unit. Its gross margin rose 7 per cent to £1.12 billion.
The unit was hit though by persistent faults in its Western Link cable to north Wales, now the subject of an Ofgem investigation. Output from onshore generation in the Highlands dropped 2.8 per cent on 2018, says Scottish Power’s parent.
Ofgem recently published its Decarbonisation Action Plan. This set out our priorities and the steps we will take as a regulator to help achieve ‘net zero’ at lowest cost. One of those priorities is to accelerate innovation to create products and services that help consumers use energy in ways that supports decarbonisation.
Empowered consumers will be central to fair and effective decarbonisation. Ultimately, a diverse range of products and services need to be made available to consumers, empowering them to change the way they use energy in order to meet and benefit from the net zero challenge.
We’ve been speaking to innovators and investors to understand their experiences and realise we need to continue to adapt our approach to regulation to better enable innovative consumer offerings. This means Ofgem being more proactive and using our existing powers to provide the flexibility innovators need to bring new products and services to market.
So, what can you expect over the coming months? Our plans centre around:
the launch of an expanded Innovation Sandbox Service
extending our ability to provide relief from certain supplier obligations
a more permissive approach to granting supply licences restricted by geography or premises type.
Enabling innovators to test and trial
Testing new ideas allows us and businesses to understand how consumers actually react and respond to new products and services. Yet there are times when it is not always clear whether an idea is possible or not under existing rules and regulations.
Our Sandbox service was launched in 2017 to experiment with ways of mitigating barriers when innovative plans didn’t readily fit with the rulebook. This includes the BP and Tonik trial of a new platform for trading customers’ small scale exports with other consumers. We now have a much better handle on what kinds of support innovators are looking for, and are expanding our Innovation Sandbox Service.
As part of this, we are widening the scope of rules that can be relaxed for innovative trials beyond the Ofgem rulebook to cover some of the main industry codes. This includes the rules for electricity balancing and settlement (BSC), rules around the connection to, and use of, the electricity distribution networks (DCUSA), and code requirements relating to retail energy activities (REC).
We also want to better use derogations from the rulebook so that experimentation, trialling and testing can flourish. This means taking a more permissive approach and we will consult shortly on expanding the number of rules that we can provide relief from.
Bringing innovative ideas to market
Many innovators have told us that they want to specialise in the products and services they bring to market, focusing on offerings within their expertise. This could include local or regional suppliers, social enterprises focused on vulnerable customers, or those delivering flexibility solutions. To help with this, we’ll be providing greater clarity on when we might grant restricted supply licences – that enable a business to focus on particular geographies or types of premises. We’ll say more on restricted licences and the potential for greater use of derogations to deliver innovative ideas shortly.
Innovators often approach us with ideas that blur the boundaries of the traditional definitions of generation, distribution and supply. These activities typically aren’t prescribed for in law which can undermine the confidence of innovators, investors, and consumers. Many of you think that we should be able to confirm whether a type of activity is permissible (as well as what isn’t), and we agree. This means we’ll confirm to innovators that what they’re trying to do is allowable within today’s regulatory framework, without going as far as endorsing particular business models.
Helping navigate complexity
We’re regularly reminded of just how complex the energy sector can be and we want to help the industry and new entrants navigate this complexity effectively.
We’ll provide more guidance in other areas as we go forward – including on how longer-term contracts fit with the current rules. And we stand ready to amend or remove rules where these are getting in the way of good outcomes for consumers. We want to work with innovators and industry to help drive innovation so welcome your views and input.
Households and businesses will benefit from £90 million to cut carbon emissions in industry and homes.
£90 million package announced to tackle emissions from homes and heavy industry – including funding for Europe’s first hydrogen plants which could generate enough clean energy to heat over 200,000 homes
local energy projects across the country could reduce housing emissions by up to 80% and save consumers money on their energy bills
renewable energy to power industry instead of fossil fuels, removing 3.2 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2030
Households and businesses will benefit from £90 million to cut carbon emissions in industry and homes, Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced today (18 February 2020).
£70 million will include funding for 2 of Europe’s first-ever low carbon hydrogen production plants – the first on the banks of the Mersey, the second planned for near Aberdeen. A third project will develop technology to harness offshore wind off the Grimsby coast to power electrolysis and produce hydrogen.
Hydrogen is a low or zero-emission alternative to fossil fuels which could power future industry and transport. The investment will also fund projects to trial cutting-edge technologies for switching industrial production from fossil fuels to renewables in industries such as cement and glass production.
The remaining £20 million will be used to fund projects aimed at cutting household emissions and bills through nine UK-wide local “smart energy” projects. Over 250,000 people could have their homes powered by local renewable sources by 2030 – which could lead to their energy bills reducing by as much as half, thanks to this government funding.
If successful, the 10 community pilot projects from Rugeley near Stafford to Coleraine in Northern Ireland could revolutionise local energy generation – allowing local communities to join the frontline in the fight against climate change.
In Rugeley, a coal fired power station is to be demolished and turned into a sustainable village of 2,300 homes. Residents will benefit from thermal storage units instead of traditional gas boilers, enabling them to draw, store and heat their homes with geothermal energy from local canals and disused mine shafts.
In Coleraine, a micro-grid of nearly 100 homes will be established, powered entirely by local wind power. It will help lower household electricity bills by as much as 50% and boost the contribution of renewables to the local energy mix by a quarter.
Visiting the Gigastack project in Grimsby today, Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, said:
Cleaning up emissions from industry and housing is a big challenge but today’s £90 million investment will set us on the right path as we develop clean technologies like hydrogen.
This is an important part of our world-leading efforts in eliminating our contribution to climate change by 2050 while also growing our economy, creating up to 2 million green collar jobs across the country by 2030.
This investment in low carbon innovation will be crucial to help us end our contribution to climate change by 2050.
The news comes just 2 weeks after the Prime Minister announced plans to bring forward the phase-out of coal to 2024 as we continue to ramp up our Year of Climate Action ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November.
Notes to editors
1. The complete funding package forms part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s £500 million innovation fund, which is dedicated to harnessing and rolling out cutting edge technology to fight climate change.
2. Currently difficult and expensive to produce in bulk, hydrogen could be vital in the fight against climate change as a low carbon alternative to fossil fuels used by heavy transport and industry.
3. Of the £70 million being invested in these technologies, £28 million will be for projects developing hydrogen production, including the 2 plants.
4. A further £18.5 million of funding is being awarded to projects developing and trialling technologies to move industrial concrete and glass production away from fossil fuels and onto renewables.
5. The projects have the potential to be scaled up and rolled out across industry, meaning houses and roads could be built using low-emission concrete by 2030. This would prevent 3.2 million tonnes of CO2 a year from polluting the environment – equivalent to taking 679,000 cars off the road.
6. The remaining £22 million of funding will go to top UK scientists and engineers to conduct cutting-edge research into decarbonising industry, focusing on emission-heavy transport and heating.
7. Breakdown of funding:
Hydrogen Supply programme – £28 million for 5 demonstration phase projects
Industrial Fuel Switching programme – £18.5 million for 4 demonstration phase projects
UKRI Local Smart Energy Designs – £21 million for 10 demonstration phase projects
UKRI Key Technology Components for Local Energy Systems – £3 million awarded to various demonstration phase projects
UKRI Research funding – £22 million for research into challenges in reaching net zero posed by: heating, transport and global fuel markets
8. Hydrogen projects awarded funding:
Project
Leading body
Funding received
Dolphyn Project
Environmental Resources Management Ltd
£3.12 million
HyNet
Progressive Energy Limited, in collaboration with Johnson Matthey, SNC Lavalin and Essar Oil
£7.48 million
Gigastack
ITM Power Trading Ltd, in collaboration with Orsted, Phillips 66 and Element Energy
£7.5 million
Acorn
Project Pale Blue Dot Energy
£2.7 million
HyPER
Cranfield University, in collaboration with Gas Technology Institute and Doosan
