The UK Government is to pump £11million into a new funding competition aimed at the development of community-level energy systems.
Science Minister David Willets launched the fund, which aims to support research and development projects focused on bringing energy generation and supply down to a local level.
“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,” said Mr Willetts.
“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.”
The competition is jointly funded by the government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Collaborative R&D funding will be awarded to help businesses develop new products, services and solutions in and across the energy, built environment, transport and digital sectors.
TSB chief executive 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.”
Businesses interested in applying for funding must first register with the TSB by March 12, 2014 and submit their expressions of interest by March 19.
TSB says proposals must be collaborative and business-led, with anticipated project costs ranging from £200,000 to £2million.
The body said it expects to fund mainly industrial research projects, where a business partner will attract up to 50% public funding for the projects.
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