Energy Entrepreneurs Fund to unlock the UK’s massive potential as an innovation nation

With net zero targets being a key objective in a greener future, British businesses are able to receive a sizeable boost thanks to recently announced government funding.

Companies that are working on sustainable and renewable technology ideas will be able to use the cash to develop their innovations. The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund is £19 million, with an additional £5 million to be awarded to an industrial decarbonisation competition winner.

Homegrown innovation

The funding will encourage innovators, drive forward decarbonisation in the UK, and vastly improve the energy efficiency of old and new homes. And where there are growing companies, there are growing teams too. As a result, the renewables and sustainability sector continues to grow, creating thousands of new jobs every year.

The following businesses have already received funding, and are great examples of innovators in their field.

Inductive Power Projection – £444k
Based in Cornwall, the company is developing high-frequency wireless modules that can recharge the batteries in their offshore wind farm inspection drones.

Build Solar – £272k
Founded by Exeter University, Build Solar is developing affordable solar bricks known as ‘Solar Squared’, which enable a building to collect solar energy via its walls.

Clearwell Technology – £224k
This Scottish company is designing a thermal pipe milling tool for plugging wells more sustainably. This could completely change the way that oil and gas wells are decommissioned.

“The UK is a nation of innovators, and this funding will help the next generation of energy pioneers develop cheap and green technologies of the future, deliver more green jobs and cheaper energy, and create world-leading solutions.”

Grant Shapps – Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero.

Safety in numbers

The £5 million prize fund is part of the government’s local industrial decarbonisation plans, and supports manufacturers in glass, cement and ceramics that will work together to form local ‘clusters’. The challenge ahead is to decarbonise typically heavy-emission sites, which are found in industrial parts of the UK including The Black Country and Teesside.

All of the funding we’ve mentioned here is part of the government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which has been created to directly transform the UK’s industrial sector, which contributes almost £200 billion to the economy and currently provides 2.6 million jobs.

It’s reassuring to see our government pledge such sizable amounts of money to decarbonisation and net zero strategies, and it’s important to be aware of funding like this as well as other kickstarter schemes that are available to businesses of all shapes and sizes throughout the UK.

If you’d like to talk to us about how your innovations can benefit from the government’s tax incentives, then we have our very own Innovations Director (pretty innovative, huh?) in Emma Richards who will be only too happy to advise. You can contact Emma here.