£11m for innovative energy solutions
David Willetts has opened €13m energy initiative © bisgovuk 22 January, 2014

£11m for innovative energy solutions

A new initiative, opened by UK Science and Universities Minister David Willetts, has promised to revolutionise the way energy is generated, distributed and stored by supporting R&D projects focused on bringing energy generation and supply down to a local level.

Through a funding competition, up to £11m (~€13m) will be made available to fund innovative ideas for the development of localised energy systems. It’s hoped the plan will encourage the development of ways to provide energy at a scale from clusters of buildings up to whole districts.

Willetts said: “Energy and its storage is one of the eight great technologies of the future where the UK has world leading research, and the potential to seize a significant share of growing global markets. This funding will enable innovative companies to bring their ideas into reality. This will help the UK to move to a low-carbon economy, drive growth and get ahead in the global race.”

Jointly funded by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the competition will allow businesses to develop new products, services and solutions in and across the energy, built environment, transport and digital sectors. This includes integrating renewable energy supplies in places of high demand to reduce the need to reinforce the national grid, balancing energy supply and demand, and integrating electric vehicle or easy charging systems into buildings.

Adding his thoughts, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board Iain Gray said: “The development of localised energy systems is an important part of what will be a complex mix of technologies for generating, transmitting, distributing and storing energy, as we continue the transition to a low carbon economy in the coming decades.

“This funding competition is therefore critical, not only in developing the individual technologies, but also in developing solutions to how technologies are integrated to deliver robust, flexible and cost-effective systems.”

The market for smart energy systems to UK companies is estimated to be worth £3-5bn (€3.65-6bn) by 2020.