Energy intensive business across the UK receive taxpayer support to become more energy efficient
Factories producing some of the country’s best-known beers, cereals, soft drinks, and cars will receive taxpayer support to reduce their energy costs and cut carbon emissions.
Heineken, Kellogg’s, Toyota, and Britvic are among businesses across the UK to be awarded a share of £24.3 million in taxpayer funding to help clean up their manufacturing processes and improve their energy efficiency.
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) supports businesses using high amounts of energy to reduce their fossil fuel using innovative low-carbon technologies. This will help companies save on their energy costs, which in turn will safeguard British jobs and help grow the economy – one of the government’s five priorities.
Other recipients include Ingevity UK in Warrington, which will receive £2.6 million for hydrogen-ready natural gas-fuelled boilers at their chemicals plant, Natural World Products in Dunmurry, a producer of peat-free composts and soil conditioners, which is receiving nearly £300,000 to replace diesel-powered plant equipment with the electric kit, and Breedon Cement is receiving over £231,000 for a feasibility study on using carbon capture technologies at their site in Hope, Derbyshire.
Energy-intensive industries are responsible for 11% of the UK’s total emissions and represent over 70% of UK industrial emissions. While the UK is making excellent progress on the road to net zero, having cut emissions by over 44% since 1990 - decarbonising faster than any other G7 country - it is estimated that industry will need to cut their emissions by two-thirds by 2035 for the UK to achieve its net zero target.
Minister for Energy Efficiency Lord Callanan said:
Matt Callan, Senior Director Supply Chain at Heineken UK, said:
Phil Makin, Technical Development Manager at Kellogg UK said:
Sarah Webster, Britvic’s Sustainable Business Director, said:
A total of £289 million is being made available to businesses through the IETF up to 2027 and today’s allocations take the amount awarded under the scheme so far to £61.4 million.
Today’s announcement builds on the wide-ranging support that has been made available to energy-intensive industries. This includes:
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund is one of many schemes that form part of the government’s commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15% by 2030, alongside the wider ambition for the UK to move towards greater energy independence.
The full list of recipients is as follows:
Notes to Editors
Greg Methven, UK Operations Director, Ardagh Glass, which is receiving £1.7 million to develop a new glass production furnace, said:
Greg Hewitt, Managing Director of Rock Chemical Limited, which is receiving over £100,000, to install technology that blends chemicals using ultrasound instead of being powered by diesel, said: