Government makes £116m pledge to help UK's green-tech firms innovate to fight climate change

The UK government has pledged to invest more than £116m in green-tech businesses as part of its push to decarbonise the economy and make the nation more energy efficient.

The funding, announced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will be used to finance carbon capture projects, as well as tech-led efforts to bolster the energy efficiency of UK homes and businesses by finding cleaner, greener ways to heat and power them.

Energy and climate change minister Greg Hands said the investment will help businesses across the nation turn their “green ideas into reality” and develop “groundbreaking projects” that will help consumers save energy, cut their utility bills and tackle pollution.

“British businesses and entrepreneurs are already leading the world with innovative solutions to tackling climate change,” he said. “This is not only good for the planet but will bring new jobs and investment across the UK.”

The funding will be made available in stages, with the government inviting businesses from today to bid for a share of £64m, which will be used to finance new technologies that can be used to capture carbon emissions and remove other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Examples of such technologies include innovations that rely on absorbents that can capture carbon dioxide directly from the air or trap it using natural materials – such as waste wood – that can be combusted to produce energy.

Participants in the first phase of the project will be invited to have their ideas developed further into proof of concept demonstration projects, with a view to them being made into commercially viable offerings by 2025.