© Brandon Lewis Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has announced the latest round of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (EEF), which seeks to drive forward new clean technologies across all sectors of UK industry, supporting the UK to eliminate its contribution to climate change by 2050. This includes innovations that boost energy efficiency in people's homes, reduce carbon emissions and develop green transport as well as sourcing cleaner and greener ways to generate power and heat.
Northern Ireland's budding energy entrepreneurs are being urged to bid for the latest £11 million government funding, which will support between 15 and 20 projects, with each successful bidder receiving up to £1 million each.
Successful projects could create hundreds of green jobs and kickstart millions-of-pounds-worth of private sector investment across the UK, helping the country to build back greener as we host the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this November.
Previous recipients of funding include Senergy Innovations in Belfast, which has developed innovative solar power technology that makes panels cheaper and easier to install and Minesto, who are developing a new type of tidal power plant at Strangford Lough.
Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: "From the engineering ingenuity of Henry Ferguson to Sir James Martin revolutionising aircraft safety by inventing the ejector seat, Northern Ireland is famous for its strong entrepreneurial spirit. We want to unleash this talent to drive forward green technologies across the UK, helping the public and businesses cut their carbon footprint. The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund is backing the UK's next generation of inventors and innovators to turn their ideas into reality, with previous successful projects already helping drive down emissions across the country and creating green jobs as we work to build back greener."
Since 2012, the government's Energy Entrepreneur's Fund has awarded £72 million worth of grants, supported 156 projects and leveraged more than £500 million in private investment - a figure that is still growing.
Previous low-carbon projects across Northern Ireland that have reaped the rewards of government grants, include:
Senergy Innovations, Belfast: received £705,571 to develop solar power technology that uses innovative materials, meaning panels can be manufactured and installed at a lower cost and with greater collection capability.
Minesto, Strangford Lough: received £502,608 for development of a new type of tidal power plant, called Deep Green, that can extract electrical energy from low-velocity ocean and tidal currents. Strangford Lough is the location of the test site that is being used to inform design of a full-scale power plant.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis explained: "Northern Ireland is a nation that embodies entrepreneurial spirit and is at the forefront of our efforts to cultivate a more environmentally sustainable future across the United Kingdom. With a share of this new £11million investment, Northern Ireland's entrepreneurs will be able to help supercharge the United Kingdom's 'Green Economy', as we continue to work towards our goal of reducing our emissions to net zero by 2050.
"Northern Ireland based projects such as Senergy Innovations and Minesto have already developed cutting edge technologies to harness natural resources for energy, a testament to our extraordinary local talent. I encourage all our budding entrepreneurs to apply for this scheme to help us build back greener from the coronavirus pandemic."
Christine Boyle, CEO Senergy Innovations, added: "For Senergy, the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund programme brought the perfect combination of critical early-stage funding and business acceleration support. The network of academic and business experts that were brought together to support our innovation journey was key to our success.
"The wealth of experience both within CLT, the programme partner companies, and the international organisations they collaborate with, was key to delivering our early commercial success. A fantastic opportunity to turn an entrepreneur's idea into a global opportunity."
In 2019, the UK became the first major economy to legally commit to ending its contribution to global warming by 2050. This commitment has been reinforced by the Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper, published in 2020.
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