Energy is essential in almost every aspect of our lives and for the success of our economy. It is because of issues such as climate change, security of supply and rising fuel costs that it now has such a high profile.
In the face of climate change, issues of energy security and rising fuel costs there are major market opportunities for businesses working in the energy sector and the Technology Strategy Board is looking to support innovation in the area of energy generation and supply, which will create wealth for the UK and help meet the country's energy policy targets.
Our low carbon energy technology investments
From July 2008 to March 2009, the value of our portfolio was of £61m for 94 collaborative R&D projects in low carbon energy technologies.
| Carbon abatement technologies |
£5m |
| Intelligent grid management |
£6m |
| Fuel cells and hydrogen |
£13m |
| Bioenergy |
£5m |
| Microgeneration and photovoltaics |
£6m |
| Wave energy and tidal stream |
£20m |
| Offshore wind |
£7m |
When business contribution is included, the value of this portfolio is of £153m. Further details of this portfolio are in the AEA Annual report 2008/9.
Oil and gas technologies
In the same time frame, we have invested £4.3m in nine collaborative R&D projects in oil and gas technologies. The total value of this portfolio, when business contribution is included, is just over £10m.
New activities
We've committed nearly £9m in new projects in fuel cells and hydrogen and nearly £5m in new R&D to find innovative technology solutions to help in maximising recovery of the UK's hydrocarbon resources. Jointly with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and The Northern Way, up to £15m is being made available to new projects in carbon abatement technologies. We're also investing further in marine energy, working with The Carbon Trust, the Energy Technologies Institute and DECC.
A new Knowledge Transfer Network in energy generation and supply
We have also established a knowledge transfer network for the energy generation and supply area. To become a member visit http://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/energyktn
Working together
The Technology Strategy Board is one of the sponsors of the Energy Technologies Institute and, in addition, is working closely with other funding agencies such as DECC, the Research Councils, the Regional Development Agencies and Carbon Trust to develop a coordinated Energy R&D programme for the UK.
See Related Documents (left) for the Technology Strategy Board's Energy Generation and Supply Strategy