British industry to benefit from UK government-backed investment into innovative energy efficiency technologies

Seven innovative energy efficiency projects have been selected to receive investment through the first phase of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA). These projects will aim to demonstrate the application of novel technologies to reduce energy consumption in British industry.

The projects will receive a share of £2.7million in government funding, leveraging over £3million in additional private sector investment.

The IEEA is a £9.2million programme managed by the Carbon Trust, and supported by engineering consultancy Jacobs. The second phase of the programme launches on 1 February 2019 and will run for three months.

The IEEA aims to increase the number of technologies available to British industry to help reduce energy consumption and cut carbon emissions. This intervention is designed to strengthen the global competitiveness of UK industry in sectors including manufacturing, waste processing and data centres. 

Government funding has been provided to overcome the risks traditionally associated with deploying new technologies such as, the disruption of production lines, capital constraints, lack of evidence for a business case, and prioritisation of core business activities over energy efficiency improvements. 

Energy represents a significant cost for UK industry, accounting for 17 per cent of final energy consumption,[1] and is responsible for around one fifth of total UK carbon emissions.[2]

Over time, the IEEA is designed to unlock more than £300million of private sector investment into energy saving technologies, delivering lifetime energy savings in excess of £1billion.

Following an extensive engagement process with industry and technology developers, where more than 100 technology ideas were screened, seven successful applications are today being announced.

The projects have been selected based on energy saving potential and scalability, with particular focus on technologies that can be deployed across multiple industrial sectors.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said:

“We want to make sure businesses take advantage of clean growth by making the most of the assets that they have. That is why we are investing in innovative technologies that can help British industry use less energy, reduce their costs and cut emissions as part of our modern Industrial Strategy.”

Paul Huggins, Director Innovation at the Carbon Trust commented:

“Throughout the first phase of the BEIS IEEA we have been really impressed by the high level of response from technology developers and industrial companies who want to actively engage in accelerating energy efficiency across a range of sectors. Technology innovation can play an important role in helping UK industry to cut energy use, which not only brings a competitive advantage, but also reduces carbon emissions. Through the IEEA we have worked collaboratively with trade associations, industry and technology providers to identify and demonstrate the best innovative opportunities for energy reduction and we look forward to seeing the novel solutions that will be supported through the second phase of the programme.”

The phase one projects are:

• ·       Low carbon multi-component cements for UK concrete applications led by the Mineral Products Association (MPA) alongside industrial partners Hanson Cement, Forterra Building Products, and Building Research Establishment (BRE). 

The MPA has identified that low carbon multi-component cements have the potential to replace traditional cements in some UK construction applications. Using a combination of limestone, waste and by-products, the quantities of these materials can be increased, reducing the need for energy intensive cement clinker production. The project is formulating, developing and testing the new cements ready for the UK market. It is estimated that there could be potential carbon emission savings of eight per cent across the UK’s cement sector, which currently emits around 7.8MtCO₂ annually. Additionally, some of these new cements have carbon emission profiles 40 per cent lower than conventional alternatives. 

• ·       Development and trialling of Exergyn Drive^TM for low-grade waste heat recovery led by Exergyn alongside their industrial partner, a global engine manufacturer. 

Globally, we waste almost half of our energy as low-grade heat. The cost-effective recovery of low-grade waste heat has been a long-standing challenge in all energy intensive industries. This ground-breaking project aims to generate electricity from low-grade waste heat streams of up to 100^oC. A shape memory alloy (SMA) core is cycled through hot and cold states to produce reciprocating motion, which is used to drive an electrical generator. The technology benefits from having zero emissions and does not require any refrigerants. 

• ·       PRISMA Energy Storage (Peak Reduction by Integrated Storage and Management of Air) led by Innovatium alongside industrial partner Aggregate Industries and research partner Birmingham University.
  
  Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) has considerable potential for storing energy, which helps increased deployment of intermittent renewable energy sources. PRISMA is a unique new application for LAES in which liquid air is released to provide compressed air to an industrial site. This allows the use of smaller compressors to work more efficiently, operating at times when electricity generation is lower carbon. The project has the potential to deliver estimated electrical energy savings of around 30 per cent via reduced compressor operation, whilst also providing the ability to avoid higher tariff periods.

• ·       Replacing hot water cleaning with electrolysed cold water led by Ozo Innovations. 
  
  

This project demonstrates the significant energy and cost savings available from substituting hot water for cold electrolysed water in hygiene applications, particularly in the food and drink industry. The use of cold water significantly reduces demand on boilers, as well as providing a significant time saving by eliminating multiple hygiene processes, improving productivity. Replacing hot water cleaning with electrolysed cold water cleaning could save up to 90 per cent of energy consumption and 35 per cent of water consumption. 

• ·       Development and demonstration of an automatic steam boiler blowdown system led by Spirax Sarco UK. 
  
  Steam boilers are widely used in a variety of process industries, with accurate control of total dissolved solids (TDS) required to avoid poor-quality steam, scaling and excessive boiler water blowdown. At present, it is a statutory requirement that TDS levels are monitored within steam boilers, yet commercially available TDS sensors are fraught with unreliability issues and require frequent recalibration. Spirax Sarco, with the University of Nottingham, have developed a reliable new type of boiler TDS measurement probe and controls, hoping to improve boiler efficiency significantly. Potential energy savings have been estimated at six per cent of boiler fuel consumption at the demonstration site.

• ·       Energy efficient leachate treatment led by LAT Water alongside industrial partner Viridor Waste Management.

This project will demonstrate a Low Temperature Ambient Pressure Technology (LAT) process in the treatment of a high ammonia content leachate stream on a landfill site. The LAT process utilises heat recovered from hot flue gases from on-site biogas generators to drive the leachate treatment process. The project expects to demonstrate thermal energy savings of greater than 25 per cent compared to existing technologies; coupled with waste heat utilisation there potentially could be a 70 per cent reduction in specific energy consumption on-site. The project also provides a reduction in carbon emissions associated with transportation, where leachates are currently transported off site for treatment.

• ·       Novel de-watering solutions within corrugated case medium (CCM) manufacture led by Innventia alongside industrial partner, DS Smith.

This project aims to demonstrate an enhanced ‘dewatering’ approach to CCM manufacturing in the paper and pulp industry. Contaminants in process water will be identified and removed, leading to improved drying rates following the removal of CCM from paper machines. This will deliver energy savings of approximately ten per cent when compared to existing drying processes, with potential on-site fuel savings of 80million kWh annually, and strong potential to scale in the industry more widely.

ENDS

 

Notes to editors

Phase two of the IEEA will open for applications from the 1 February to 30 April 2019. The programme is open to all industrial sectors and is technology neutral, targeting near-commercial innovations that will have the largest cross-sectoral impact on industrial energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. Companies that wish to take part should contact the Carbon Trust at ieea@carbontrust.co.uk or visit www.carbontrust.com/ieea for further information. 

About the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator

The IEEA is designed to support partnerships between developers of innovative energy efficient technologies and industrial companies willing to test technologies on-site. The programme is open to projects from all UK industry sectors that can demonstrate either a novel technology (targeting Technology Readiness Level 5-8), or the use of an established technology in a novel way.

The BEIS IEEA allows promising innovators to demonstrate their technology in an operational environment and increase confidence from potential users. The BEIS IEEA also provides forward-looking industrial companies with an opportunity to implement pioneering technologies with decreased risk and capital cost.