In 2018 the UK government launched £350 million in funding for industrial businesses to lower their carbon emissions. This is tied into their pledge to lower emissions and ensure the UK has met its target to become carbon neutral by 2050. The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) is available for all businesses, big and small, to replace machinery and make updates that will have a significant impact on the UK’s environmental future.
The Application Process
The IETF is delivered by the department of business, energy, and industrial strategy (BEIS), in partnership with Innovate UK and KTN who will manage the process. The application is scored by independent adjudicators and won competitively. Constructive feedback will be given whether the funding is won or lost.
The fund is delivered in three phases. Phase 1: Summer 2020 has closed. The next phase opens on 8th March 2021, this deployment phase (phase 1: Spring 2021) closes on 14th July. This is the phase that is most relevant to our customers.
The final phase is phase 2 which focuses on decarbonisation – information on this will be available soon.
Dependent on your business size, you can apply for between 30%-65% of the costs of the transformative project. This fund works on matched funding, so your business would need to take on the rest of the costs.
You can apply for the funding as a company on your own, or you can join collaboratively with a second firm. This would mean you could work on the application process together and get an extra level of support.
How We Can Help
Gibbons Engineering is an expert supplier of ABB Variable Speed Drives (VSD). The installation of VSD’s comes under the scope of the IETF if it is undertaken as a transformative project for your business. Gibbons is always happy to assist on a project which helps the UK’s 2050 emissions target.
As an ABB value provider, Gibbons is well suited to partner up with for the IETF. We ensure our engineers are completely up to date on their training, so we can provide a solution to the most complex of business challenges. One of the benefits of being a Value Provider is we have access to the latest tools and information from ABB so we will always be able to provide the best service.
VSD’s are brilliant for increasing your business’ energy efficiency. As they work on a pattern or reactively rather than on or off, so they decrease overall energy consumption. A VSD can lower your motor, fan, or pump’s energy consumption by up to 50%*. Most motors would benefit from the installation of a VSD – if they were widely applied then the energy use of the country would be hugely reduced.
We can provide the equipment, do the installation, and the testing required for the funding.
- The project should ensure it will reduce energy.
- All projects must help get the company to the net-zero emissions by 2050 target.
- This fund is transformative – if the potential project already has funding from other government areas, then you will not be able to apply for the IETF.
The grant funding is between £100,000 and £14 million. This can include the cost of equipment, staff, testing, and training.
Further Information
If you have any more questions check out the KTN website, and you can arrange a one-to-one appointment with them if you need more information.
If you are interested in working with Gibbons on an Industrial Energy Transformation Fund project, contact marketing@gibbonsgroup.co.uk or call 01621 868 138.
It is important to note that the grant payments are made quarterly and in arrears, this may affect you if you are a smaller company. The project must also take place on one site, which may exclude businesses who need several VSD’s over many smaller sites.
*http://efficientpowersolutions.uk/variable-speed-drives/what-are-vs
