Competitions Launched to Help Fund Energy Innovators

Two competitions offering up to GBP 11 million ($16.8 million) to energy innovators were launched Wednesday at Aberdeen's Technology Showcase.

Innovate UK's funding competition for cleaner, more efficient conventional fuels will see GBP 4 million ($6.1 million) set aside for business-led, collaborative research and development projects with an additional GBP 1 million ($1.5 million) made available for smaller-scale feasibility studies. An additional GBP 1 million ($1.5 million) is available through the National Environment Research Council (NERC) for the academic element of projects that fall within NERC's remit.

The competition has two deadlines: one for expressions of interest in collaborative R&D on April 15, 2015; the other for feasibility studies on June 10, 2015.

Dr. Derek Allen of Innovate UK commented in a statement:

"We are actively seeking innovations that will improve efficiency, reduce cost and minimize environmental impacts, which could be anything from advanced fossil fuel process technologies to carbon capture and storage or new approaches to decommissioning. We anticipate interest from the oil and gas sector as well as power generation and energy intensive industries.”

NERC is also planning a separate five-year GBP 5 million ($7.7 million) Oil and Gas Innovation Programme that has decommissioning as one of its key themes. A workshop will take place in Aberdeen April 1 that will bring industry, academia and government together to explore the key challenges in managing the environmental impacts of infrastructure and assessment of decommissioning options.