IETF industrial energy efficiency and decarbonisation studies

This Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) competition is offering up to £30 million, split across 2 strands, to fund feasibility, engineering studies and deployment.

In this strand projects must undertake a feasibility or an engineering study (experimental development) to develop either an energy efficiency or a deep decarbonisation project that enables possible subsequent deployment.

In this strand, industrial businesses of any size can apply, either on their own or in collaboration with other organisations. The lead applicant must operate at an eligible site in England, Wales or Northern Ireland at which the study is carried out.

The other competition strand, IETF deployment of energy efficiency technologies in industry, will fund projects that deploy energy efficiency technology.

Your project must:

• have total eligible project costs of at least £60,000 and last up to 12 months if it is a feasibility study
• have total eligible project costs of at least £100,000 and last up to 24 months if it is experimental development
• start by 1 October 2021
• end by 30 September 2023

If your study’s total eligible costs exceed £2 million, you must inform Innovate UK before submitting an application. This must be by email to support@innovateuk.ukri.org at least 15 working days before the competition closes. Include the technology area your study is focusing on and the total eligible costs you expect to apply for.

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

This competition is aimed at specific types of business. These are determined by a code allocated at the time of registering at Companies House, called a standard industrial classification (SIC) code.
You will need to check your business SIC code to make sure you are eligible. For this competition your business must be one of these:

• manufacturing 10 to 33
• data centres 63110

Feasibility studies

If you are carrying out a feasibility study it must:

• investigate technologies that improve the energy efficiency or reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of an industrial process
• establish whether or not the potential technology is technically and commercially viable

Experimental development (engineering study)

Experimental development projects must be engineering studies. An engineering study is a detailed project plan that identifies specific technical requirements. The final report will be an overall document, summarising many separate studies carried out by different specialists. It is a structured, multi-disciplinary engineering design with the purpose of identifying key project design features and providing a project cost estimate.

Your project must provide sufficient detail to enable the site operator to make a final investment decision.

We expect your engineering study to show appropriate consideration of:

• technical approach
• carbon reduction and other benefits analysis
• health and safety
• planning and consenting
• environmental impacts
• economic analysis
• project delivery requirements and scheduling
• project risks

Both feasibility studies and engineering studies must focus on one of the following.

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency projects must support technologies that improve the energy efficiency of an industrial process or processes.

These must focus on deployment of technology that has been proven to work through successful operations and/or is qualified through test and demonstration.

You must follow the specific technical requirements.

Deep decarbonisation

Deep decarbonisation projects must result in a significant reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of an industrial process and may not necessarily have an energy efficiency benefit.

These must focus on the deployment of technology that either:

• has been proven to work through successful operations and/or is qualified through test and demonstration

or

• is currently at a prototype stage or requires demonstration of an actual system prototype in an operational environment

You must follow the specific technical requirements.

We are not funding:

• repair and maintenance projects that would be undertaken in the normal course of business
• plant closure projects
• energy efficiency measures in transport, lighting, or building heating and cooling
• electricity generation, such as solar, wind, combined heat and power without fuel switching
• CO2 transportation and long term storage solutions
• direct air capture technologies
• option analysis or trade studies

Online briefing events were held on 14th and 20th July: you can view the briefings below. Both covered the same subjects, so the one from 20th July is likely to include more information.

14th July

20th July