Notice

Industry of Future Programme: questions and answers (latest update 22 September 2021)

Updated 30 September 2021

Questions arising from applications (published 22 September 2021)

Questions and comments

How many sites can we apply for funding for, for each customer?

Industrial sites can apply to take part of the scoping study stage to have a decarbonisation roadmap developed for their sites, but there is no actual funding available.

Applications will need to be made by the industrial sites themselves and not the technology providers or engineering contractors who work with the sites. If you know two different sites who may be eligible, please let them know, they can put their application through themselves, but you cannot do that on their behalf.

We already partner with these Data Centres and provide engineering and energy management/efficiency services. Can we apply for the funding for them to use us as the supplier of works? We are a little confused as to the definition of the selected “Engineering Delivery Partner”

The Engineering Delivery Partner contract is with BEIS to deliver the 40 industrial roadmaps. We are unable to receive individual applications for the engineering partners per site. The Delivery contractor competition was published via UKSBS’s HELGA framework, which has a list of approved suppliers whom may submit proposals.

Would we need to submit a “consortium” bid? As we would like to continue supporting our own customers and this would potentially help fund a significant proportion of work for next year.

A consortium with other engineering firms who have been part of the approved HELGA process (and should have already received the invitation to tender for this work) is possible. . This call is for industrial sites who emit more than 10ktco2 per year per site.

What is the minimum eligible “lot size” (e.g. carbon emissions). The powerpoint (13th July 2021) shows a “lot 4 (5-10kt CO2)”, whereas the eligibility document only states 3 lots.

The stakeholder engagement day was held in July to gauge industries interest and to help further develop the programme. After careful consideration and the challenges faced, BEIS has made the decision to put a minimum threshold of 10ktCO2 per year per site. Please review the Q&A document for further information.

Is the 10,000 tonnes threshold required by each site or in total across the sites?

10ktCO2 threshold is per site and not across the sites.

Are there any geographical limits for a consortia (the case in mind is quite close about a mile or so)?

There is no limit but they need to be close enough so they can work together, for example a site within a few miles distance is fine, though for example, a site in northwest England cannott form a consortium with another site in south England

How similar do the types of manufacturing need to be? For example, would the sites need to both be brick plants or could they be making different products?

The sites do not need to be producing the same or even similar products, they can be different.

Questions submitted after the information event (published 7 September 2021)

Background

Are there any SIC codes excluded from this exercise?

No SIC codes are excluded from the IFP competition.

Will you be prioritising dispersed sites ahead of site located in clusters?

The evaluation criteria, which has been shared in draft form in the attached slides and will be updated for the final application and guidance, sets out the priorities for the IFP. The priority for this programme is to support organisations which have not previously had support on the development of decarbonisation roadmaps.

Can academic institutes be part of the project?

Only industrial sites are eligible for the delivery of roadmaps. Academic institutes could however look to partner with a Delivery Contractor to deliver the roadmaps as part of a consortium, but not on their own.

Will you be allocating a number of project to each of the emission thresholds shown earlier?

An indicative outline of the proposed allocation of projects to emissions levels has been outlined in the slides, however BEIS reserves the right to allocate funds appropriately based on the number and quality of applications.

I think that final point about sharing the learning is crucial. Are key sector organisations lined up to help that happen, especially to reach up and down supply chains?

It is the responsibility of individual applicants to liaise with potential partners and sector organisations to facilitate collaboration. Whilst BEIS has not made any formal steps to facilitate collaboration, it is encouraged under IFP.

On the flowchart it showed the programme feeding into the IETF are the 2 programmes linked in any way?

The IFP sits separate to the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), though both programmes sit under the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.

Will industrial sites be expected to have partnered with a delivery partner or are they applying separately and will be assigned a delivery partner to help them develop the roadmap?

BEIS will appoint the delivery partner, who will deliver roadmaps to successful industrial applicants.

Sounds very similar to IETF feasibility studies - will it replace these?

No, the IFP is separate to the IETF.

Do you have a specific definition for “dispersed”?

In this work ‘dispersed’ industrial sites are defined as those located at least 15 km away from major industrial clusters.

What proportion of the costs of the roadmaps will be funded?

100% of the costs of the Delivery Partner will be funded by BEIS, however any costs incurred by the successful sites in the delivery of the roadmaps (e.g. staff time to facilitate roadmap development) will not be covered.

How much funding does the competition have overall?

The budget for the programme has still to be confirmed, however it is anticipate that up to 40 roadmaps will be delivered.

Would this scheme support site re-purposing or new build projects to include emerging technologies?

This type of approach may be considered if it provides opportunity to trial new decarbonisation technologies which can then be replicated and scaled up.

What scale -up level of new technologies will be considered for demonstrators?

Technology Readiness Levels 3-7 will be considered.

Is there a way for sites to find partners to help perform the study, for example through KTN?

It is the responsibility of individual applicants to liaise with potential partners and sector organisations to facilitate collaboration. Whilst BEIS has not made any formal steps to facilitate collaboration, it is encouraged under IFP.

Are BEIS expecting to procure a single IFP Delivery Contractor, or looking to match multiple IFP Contractors with specific specialities to IFP Industrial Sites?

BEIS anticipates procuring a single contractor or single consortium to deliver the roadmaps.

How are you going to pick the projects? There’s a large scope to compare benefits.

Our draft evaluation criteria for applications has been outlined in the attached slides. Final, detailed, evaluation criteria will be published in the scheme guidance when the application opens.

Will the organisation(s) undertaking the study(ies) be partners to the bid or later sub-contractors?

The Delivery Partner will undertake the roadmaps and will be procured under a separate contract.

Does the embodied carbon in the products made on the site form part of a “net zero site”?

The focus of the roadmaps will be on Scope 1 & 2 emissions.

Is there a set % of CO2e emissions that must be considered for change by 2030?

There is no set objective for interim emissions reductions at this stage.

Can BEIS help R&D companies to build up network with clusters ?

It is the responsibility of individual applicants to liaise with potential partners and sector organisations to facilitate collaboration. Whilst BEIS has not made any formal steps to facilitate collaboration, it is encouraged under IFP.

Will roadmaps solely for energy efficiency interventions be in scope, or will the roadmaps need to look to the whole route to net zero?

The roadmaps will be scoped to take a broad and long term view of the route to decarbonisation for each site. Whilst energy efficiency will play an important part in this, to achieve Net Zero most sites which currently use fossil fuels will need to consider other steps to achieve this.

How much detail from the study has to be made public?

The industrial sites, confidential information will be kept confidential, however any lessons learned such as what type of technology needed to decarbonise a sector or region, any barriers to decarbonisation and technology gaps will need to be in the final report.

Will the organisations selected by BEIS to do the studies be openly procured or is it part of the wider NZIP support services contract currently being procured? Will BEIS set the methodology to be used or can applicants propose their own?

The Delivery Partner will be procured under a separate competition from the application for industrial sites. The preferred procurement route has not yet been identified but notification to potential bidders will be provided in due course. The methodology will be agreed as part of this procurement process.

Can the industrial lead invite a Research Technology Organisation (RTO) to be a partner to support the project? And if so, would the RTO be eligible for 100% funding?

It is the responsibility of individual applicants to liaise with potential partners and sector organisations to facilitate collaboration. Whilst BEIS has not made any formal steps to facilitate collaboration, it is encouraged under IFP.

Will BEIS let Local Energy Partners and Universities know who’s won so we can bring them into our local innovation partnerships?

BEIS will usually publish the name of projects that have been selected, after the contracts have been signed/awarded.

Can part of the project be co-located in an overseas location?

Only UK based sites can be supported on this programme, however technologies from overseas can be considered.

As a technology provider, is there any way to share technology details centrally so those conducting assessments can include in options appraisal?

In the scoping study we will focus on what technology type is best for a particular industrial site, the details of that technology will be considered in the follow up activities. Therefore, there will be opportunities for a further stakeholder engagement day when the technology providers will be invited to showcase their technology.

Question 15 follow up - In relation to a specific IETF fund application. Will we be able to email questions through for specific comment?

There will be further opportunities to ask questions about the programme once the ITT is published.

How will the contracted delivery partner or consortium of delivery partners find out about possible technologies and innovations that could help industrial sites meet their net zero goals? More importantly how can technology providers make sites aware of their innovations?

At this stage, the delivery contractor is required to highlight the best and most effective decarbonisation technology for the industrial sites. There will be an opportunity for technology providers to showcase their technology in the next phases of this programme, through another stakeholder engagement day.

Comments

The following general comments were made on the background section.

• Great initiative!
• could be a really good programme for companies that are not sure of which technologies to apply on their sites
• Would be good to link this to DFE’s Enterprise Adviser Network scheme – e.g., by making applicants commit to work with local schools to inspire them about future jobs.
• Thanks for the plug for KTN

Do you think there any issues with this list of excluded technologies?

Fuel switches that increase GHG Emission

No questions were asked in this section.

Fuel switches to unsustainable biomass sources - questions, comments and answers

Sustainable and Unstainable biomass definitions can be ambiguous

A clear definition of what is meant by sustainable biomass will be provided as part of the application guidance.

Can international sources of biomass be considered?

All sustainable biomass sources can be considered.

Fuel switches to natural gas - questions, comments and answers

As Hydrogen not fully mainstream yet would this fund support switch to natural gas capable of 100% hydrogen once infrastructure catches up?

Could a fuel switch to gas be acceptable as a transition step to hydrogen? for instance gas CHP that eventually is fuelled by hydrogen when supply is available.

Why is this excluded - if the switch to NG (With ability to burn H2 in the future) reduces CO2 emissions now then as part of a pathway further reduces CO2 emissions which would then rely on NG grid move to H2 mixes. This would roadblock the change at the start.

Possibly consider processes where methane ‘mfc’ is the output of combining waste gases and then maybe cracked into Hydrogen with CCUS . (Noting this could be energy intensive so would need to be looked at)

Following review of the feedback from the engagement event, BEIS have amended the eligibility criteria and exclusions and fuel switches to natural gas will no longer be an exclusion provided they do not increase emissions and that they are part of a broader strategic route to decarbonisation.

Switching of feedstock, except where feedstock provides chemical energy to drive the process - questions and comments

Does this exclude use of recycled materials as feedstock for manufacturing? In several sectors this will represent a negative signal for recycling in adjacent sectors e.g. recycled feedstock for glass production.

What about the conversion of waste plastic to fuel to decrease direct fossil fuel?

Surely feedstock recycling directly aids a strive for net zero if it reduced the need for fossil fuels/raw materials?

Following review of the feedback from the engagement event, BEIS have amended the eligibility criteria and exclusions and switching of feedstock will no longer be an exclusion provided any switches do not increase emissions and that they are part of a broader strategic route to decarbonisation

Biomethane & synthetic methane (as this is essentially chemically identical to methane, with little or no innovation needed for end users) - questions and comments

Does this include a requirement for 100% proof against leaks? You only need a small methane leak to outweigh the benefits of most projects.

Could you expand on this? Biomethane is normally derived from biogas after stripping out CO2. What about using the CO2 for high end compounds?

Following review of the feedback from the engagement event, BEIS have amended the eligibility criteria and exclusions and biomethane and synthetic methane will no longer be an exclusion from the applications for industrial sites.

Fuel production to be used for the fuel switch - questions, comments and answers

Please could you explain what this means?

This refers to the on site generation of fuels onto which the site may switch to replace fossil fuels.

General Comments

Is energy from waste eligible

Yes, energy from waste is eligible.

Are low carbon liquid fuels included or excluded in fuel switching? if yes how will low carbon liquid fuels be defined?

Yes, these can be included.

Should we not exclude blue and just go straight for green hydrogen?

Interim stages towards the use of hydrogen which uses blue hydrogen are permitted under this programme.

Its not about technology exclusions, but it was mentioned previously that this funding was targeted at dispersed rather than clustered sites and only in specific industries. Will it be clear which sites are excluded from applying?

No sites which meet the eligibility criteria will be excluded from applying, however sites within existing industrial clusters will have to demonstrate additionality by partnering with organisations outside their cluster. Any site that has received previous funding from government to develop a roadmap and towards decarbonisation would be excluded,

Is improving/reducing methane emissions as part of oil production in scope? Could methane emission from ruminants (Cattle farming) be considered in scope?

This is unlikely to be the best way to reduce carbon emissions in the long term, however, it may be an appropriate interim step. In this case, this option before may be eligible however justification would be required.

Feedback on Timeline

What’s the weighting between the five criteria?

The draft weighting is included in the final slides. Final weighting will be outlined in the guidance when published.

Is “Levelling UP” going to be part of the criteria?

Whilst levelling up is not part of the formal criteria, BEIS is committed to the economic development of the whole UK.

Are you looking for a single delivery contractor to undertake approximately 40 roadmaps covering sites across the UK during an 11 month period? Or a panel / framework of contractors?

BEIS will procure a single delivery partner to provide the roadmaps, however this may consist of a consortium of bidders.

It is hard to judge whether the timelines are adequate when we don’t know exactly what will be funded in the follow activities

Noted.

How much promotion will be undertaken over the summer before the launch of the funding competition?

No further formal promotion will be carried out, however all registered attendees and sector associations will be notified prior to the application window opening.

Our company has found the short application windows challenging. Any chance it could be opened earlier?

BEIS will review the timeline and prior to submission and provide final dates upon publication.

Is the Delivery Contractor and Site Emitter score combined to get to the 60%?

No, these are separate competitions.

Site investment plans for large corporations often have a long lead time. If they don’t have it their 2 to 3 year future business plan!

Noted

You know the probable winners which provide UK PLC with the largest emissions reductions. Why don’t you just pick the identified sites and match make technologies/deliver contractors to deliver these schemes

It is BEIS’ preferred approach to run an open competition within the eligibility criteria.

A 6 week application window is preferred over 4 weeks. Definitely being summertime

Noted

Was it clear in the criteria that extent of carbon reduction on the site was not a factor but the replicability of the approach to other sites was?

This is correct. We have not put a limit on the carbon reduction at this stage, however this will be considered for follow-up activities.

If sites cannot be part of an existing industrial cluster and you want projects to be complete by March 2025, then fuel-switching to hydrogen or any form of carbon capture for permanent storage are unlikely to be deployable.

Whilst the support under this programme must be complete by 2025, the overall roadmaps toward decarbonisation will likely be longer term approaches consistent with government decarbonisation targets. Sites within industrial clusters are eligible to apply to this scheme provided they can partner with sites who are outside the existing clusters.

Does the split between Scoping Study and follow up activities seem appropriate?

Are sites supposed to have identified the applicable decarbonisation technology before they apply to the programme?

Sites will not be required to have identified applicable technology requirements prior to the completion of the roadmaps.

Sorry, but it’s not at all clear how the industrial sites and delivery partners will work together - will BEIS appoint the delivery partner to develop the roadmaps?

Yes, BEIS will procure the delivery partner who will in turn work with the successful industrial sites to deliver the roadmaps.

Is the real objective to identify effective routes for industrial decarbonisation at these sites, or to find sites for demonstration of next generation technologies

The objective of this programme is to deliver decarbonisation technology roadmaps for a range of industrial sites.

How do technology providers and innovators make site owners and delivery partners aware of their solution? How are you going to raise awareness of all possible technologies for a roadmap?

It is the responsibility of technology providers to make prospective clients aware of their products. It will be the role of the Delivery Partner to work with sites and other stakeholders to identify potential technologies and to identify technology gaps.

Would seem that a directory of relevant KTN & EPSRC Hubs, Catapults, other RTOs , global leading Universities published with the competition would be a good start

Noted.

Feedback on Eligibility Criteria

Is this classed as a government grant or a contract?

The scoping study is a single stage contract which will be procured with a delivery partner

Assessment criteria - questions, comments and answers

Not sure if I read it right, but I don’t think I spotted a criteria related to the extent of carbon reduction to be achieved on the site?

No target has been set within the criteria for this stage of the programme, however it is anticipated that the roadmaps will provide a route to achieving carbon reductions consistent with the government’s 2050 net zero commitments. Specific targets may be introduced for later stages.

Presumably the sites will need the help of the delivery partner to establish what carbon reductions are achievable by March 2025.

Yes, it is anticipated that the delivery partner will work with the sites to identify both the potential technologies and the technology roadmaps.

Any other questions

Funded projects success criteria?

The success criteria will be outlined in the application guidance.

How will you ensure that the delivery partner will fairly judge all the possible innovations for a particular site’s roadmap - how is that covered in the eligibility criteria for the delivery partner?

The delivery partner will be selected through a competitive procurement process and the bidder who submits the most compelling bid overall will be appointed to carry out the work. There will be a quality assurance panel who will review the outputs of the roadmaps, consisting of commercial, engineers, programme leads and scientists, to ensure all recommended technologies have been fairly judged before finalising the roadmap for the industrial sites.

How can you demonstrate or show ‘additionality’- difficult to know every technology available globally

Additionality will be demonstrated by showing how the technologies to be covered by a prospective roadmap will be relevant to other sites across the UK

Is there a central resource for eligible technologies which those conducting assessment can review during options appraisal? those looking to decarbonise would benefit from understanding the suite of options available

BEIS is not aware of any central database that currently exists.

Is there a plan for annual entry and if so, can a business/technology enter year after year?

There are no plans for annual entry at this stage.

Please could you make the presentations available after this event?

Presentation slides will be made available and are appended to this page.

Is this is conjunction or in conflict to Innovate UK activity?

This programme is in conjunction with Innovate UK activities.

Is the delivery partner prohibited from participating in (or applying for) other BEIS programmes?

No, the delivery partner is not prohibited from participating in other programmes for which they are eligible.

Are overseas-owned firms eligible for support?

Overseas-owned sites are eligible provided they are applying for UK based sites.

Is this classed as gov grant or contract and affected by De Minimis limits?

The scoping study stage is covered by single stage contract, which means BEIS will fully fund the programme. And since this is a procurement contract and not a grant, De Minimis limits would not apply. Funding for follow up activities will be allocated at a later date.

IETF has a technology marketplace which showcases energy efficiency and decarbonisation technologies to industrial sites

Noted

Is there a consideration for the international aspect of additionality, as a global not just UK benefit?

The primary focus is on UK sites, however international collaboration is also welcomed

You stated that a min of 60% score was required. Where does the assessor network come from?

The assessors for applications/bidders are still to be confirmed.

Will this competition / subsequent follow up funding allow for a carbon road map to be developed and the solutions deployed at scale? Eg the deployment on site hydrogen generation to fuel a large scale production kiln

The aim of the scoping study is to develop a roadmap at this stage, and then to carry out a series of feasibility studies and scaling up of the technologies that are suitable for the industrial sites as part of the follow-on activities.