From hydrogen-powered cornflake production to low-carbon Scottish whisky distillation, businesses across the UK have received a share of more than US$102.5 million in government funding to switch from fossil fuels to cleaner alternatives.
Among the June 28, 2023, award recipients, breakfast giant Kellogg’s is among 29 successful projects to change its production processes to cut emissions. The company plans to use hydrogen to fuel its cereal making process in Manchester, backed by a more than US$3.8 million government investment.
Meanwhile one of Scotland’s oldest whisky makers, Annadale Distillery, will also take a step toward a new low-carbon future, with a US$4.6 million government investment in new thermal heating technology. This will see the distillery work with Exergy3 Ltd. to develop a system that stores energy from electricity in special ceramic bricks, to then produce heating gas that could fully decarbonize the whisky-making process.
Another company receiving funding is Britain’s biggest biscuit maker, Burton’s Food Ltd. The company which will swap out a gas oven for low-carbon electric at their Dorset bakery, thanks to more than US$4.2 million from the government.
Around US$1.2 million will also go to consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble to explore how to integrate carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS) into its manufacturing, by extracting carbon from the company’s waste streams to help cut emissions. The project will form a new research drive, CarboNation, in partnership with Newcastle University’s School of Engineering and Centre for Process Innovation.
The energy projects receiving backing come in the latest round of the government’s US$1.3 billion Net-Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to scale up low-carbon technologies for use across UK industries.
The funding forms part of the government’s commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15% by 2030, alongside the wider ambition for the UK to move toward greater energy independence. The full list of successful projects to receive funding from the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio can be found here.
