News story

Decarbonising the UK’s industry: apply for phase 1 funding

2 phase 1 competitions for businesses to help achieve a world-first, net zero-emission industrial area by 2040.

Cement loading in UK

Some of the UK’s most economically active and industrially intensive areas are also some of the largest producers of carbon emissions, with around a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions being produced by industry.

Two competitions aim to help the UK achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Industrial Decarbonisation challenge, part of the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

The Industrial Decarbonisation challenge will commit £170 million towards deploying technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen networks in industrial clusters, supporting the Industrial Clusters Mission to establish the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040.

Competition 1 – deployment

UK businesses will have the opportunity to apply for a share of up to £1 million to develop plans for decarbonising an industrial cluster.

Successful applicants from phase 1 will then compete for phase 2, where up to £131 million will be awarded for projects that will deliver, or support delivery of, significant emissions reductions in a UK industrial cluster by 2030.

Deployment phase 1 information

Your project must:

  • have total eligible costs between £60,000 and £200,000
  • be led by a UK business
  • be collaborative
  • last between 3 and 4 months
  • aim to carry out the project work in the UK and exploit the results across other UK industrial clusters

Timeline

Truck working at a cement works

Competition 2 - roadmaps

UK organisations can apply for a share of up to £1 million to prepare plans for their journey to achieving low carbon and net zero industrial clusters.

In phase 2 up to £8 million will be awarded for the development of industrial cluster decarbonisation roadmaps for major UK industrial clusters. These must set out how a cluster could be decarbonised to net-zero levels.

Roadmaps phase 1 information

Your project:

  • must have total eligible costs between £40,000 and £120,000
  • can be carried out by a single organisation or in collaboration – which we encourage
  • must demonstrate how it will collaborate within a cluster
  • can last between 3 and 4 months
  • can be led by a UK registered business of any size, a research organisation, public sector organisation, charity or academic institution
  • must carry out its project work in the UK
  • must intend to exploit the results in at least one UK industrial cluster

Timeline

Updates to this page

Published 30 October 2019