Funding Opportunities

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy invites applications for its hydrogen BECCS innovation programme call. This supports the development of technologies which will enable the commercialisation and deployment of Hydrogen BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) at scale to achieve negative emission and hydrogen production targets as outlined in the UK's sixth carbon budget covering greenhouse gas emissions for the period 2033 to 2037. The current round is phase 2, which builds on projects that were successful in phase 1.

The aim of the programme is to support innovative Hydrogen BECCS technology solutions across the following three categories:
•feedstock pre-processing - the development of low cost, energy and material efficient technologies which will optimise biogenic, including biomass and waste, feedstocks for use in advanced gasification technologies;
•gasification components - the development of advanced gasification technology components focusing on improving syngas quality and upgrading for generation of hydrogen;
•novel biohydrogen technologies - the development of novel biohydrogen technologies which can be combined with carbon capture.

The programme is split into two phases. The current round is phase 2 and is only open to applications from projects that were supported in Phase 1. Phase 1 supported multiple projects to scope and develop a feasible prototype demonstration project to be run in phase 2. Phase 2 selects projects from phase 1 and supports the proposed physical demonstration of their innovation.

The project lead must be a UK registered company, academic, research, public, third sector or community organisation. The majority of project activities must take place in the UK.

Funding is worth up to £5 million.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy invites applications for its Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator Programme: steam 2B call. This supports the demonstration of end-to-end industrial fuel switching to hydrogen. The scope will include the full technology chain, from hydrogen generation and delivery infrastructure through to industrial end-use, including the integration of the components in a single project.

Stream 2B is open only to projects who have completed feasibility studies in Stream 2A and submitted a draft feasibility report for Stream 2A prior to submission of Stream 2B application. Projects can work with international partners, but over 50% of the funded project work (by value) must be conducted in the UK. The physical demonstrators, or projects which are the subject of the FEED study, must be located in the UK

A maximum of £7 million is available in funding for each demonstration project, or £3.5 million available for each FEED study. Applicants will need to provide match funding.

The Net Zero Technology Centre invites applications for its 2023 Open Innovation Programme call. This supports data and digital technology-based solutions that will reduce offshore emissions, accelerate clean energy production, and enable delivery of the UK’s net zero ambitions. The projects must support the transition towards net zero with an obligation of trialling and deploying technology on the UK continental shelf.

Use cases should ideally be focussed on the following key themes, but are not limited to them:

- Reducing Venting and Flaring
- Facilitating Zero Emissions Power
- Late Life & Decommissioning Efficiencies
- Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Solutions
- Hydrogen
- Renewable and Energy Storage Solutions
- Floating Wind Modelling/Simulation

Businesses from across the globe can apply for up to £500,000 funding with the potential of additional match funding from industry to support their technology development and deployment projects. As well as funding, the projects will also gain access to data facilities and technical expertise from industry.

Closing date, stage 1: 22/11/ 2023; stage 2: 27/03/2024

The Call Module on CCU/CCS is based on the previous ERA-Net ACT initiative with the aim to facilitate the emergence of CO2 Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies via funding of transnational projects. It aims at facilitating the emergence of CCU and CCS by accelerating and maturing these CCU/CCS technologies through targeted financing of innovation and research activities.

The term CCUS refers to all areas of the CCU and CCS chains. It encompasses a wide spectrum of technologies to capture CO2 from point sources or directly from the air and either store it in porous geological formations that are typically located several kilometres under the earth’s surface, onshore or offshore (CCS), or use the CO2 to produce valuable products like fuels or energy, chemicals, and other materials (CCU).

Under this Call, CCU does not include the use of CO2 as a non-reactive working fluid, unless it is combined with other renewable systems (such as geothermal) to constitute a CCUS system.

The CCU/CCS Call Module intends to fund projects that aim to accelerate CCUS technologies in support of global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 50 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 and further efforts for climate neutrality.

The CCU/CCS Call Module is seeking innovative projects that range from smaller research projects to new or major expansions/upgrades of existing pilot and demonstration facility sites or projects.

Selected projects will support the emergence of CCU/CCS primarily in the industrial sectors and the energy sector.

The ambition of the Call Module is to select projects that have the potential to accelerate the time to market for CCU/CCS technologies. This will require cost-shared participation from industries in research and innovation activities, especially in energy intensive and heavy industry sectors, which may benefit strongly from implementing CCU/CCS technologies.

This supports proposals that contribute to a more efficient, clean, sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply through new solutions for smart grids and energy systems based on more performance renewable energy solutions. Funding is available under the following topics:
•HORIZON-CL5-2024-D3-02-02 - development of next generation synthetic renewable fuel technologies;
•HORIZON-CL5-2024-D3-02-03 - development of smart concepts of integrated energy driven bio-refineries for co-production of advanced biofuels, bio-chemicals and biomaterials;
•HORIZON-CL5-2024-D3-02-11 - CCU for the production of fuels;
•HORIZON-CL5-2024-D3-02-12 - DACCS and BECCS for CO2 removal or negative emissions.

Depending on the topic, proposals must take the form of coordination and support actions or research and innovation actions, and innovation actions. Coordination and support actions require one or more legal entities established in an EU member state, Horizon Europe associated country or, in exceptional cases, another third country. Research and innovation actions and innovation actions require participation by at least three legal entities; each established in a different EU member state or Horizon Europe associated country. Participants from selected LMICs are automatically eligible for funding. Participants from other countries may participate at their own cost. Applicants from the UK and Switzerland should check that funding under this call is covered by their national funding authority.

The budget is €138 million. Grants are worth up to €15m each.

A number of grant opportunities, including Early Career Fellowships, visiting Professorships etc.

Expected Outcome: The EU and China have committed to become climate neutral (by 2050) and carbon neutral (by 2060), respectively. Successful proposal(s) will support the transition to a climate neutral and resilient society as part of the EU-China Climate Change and Biodiversity Research Flagship (CCB Flagship).

Actions are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

- Improved knowledge and mutual learning in achieving both regions’ climate targets concerning potential pathways towards carbon neutrality and renewable transition.
- Identify, explore and present possible options and challenges in the short, medium and long-term that are necessary to achieve these climate goals.
- Achieved combination of state-of-the-art modelling and dialogue among relevant experts.

Scope: The topic aims at developing a state-of-the-art framework that includes up-to-date representation of technologies and policies for modelling different pathways that lead to climate neutrality from a holistic and sectoral perspective. Successful proposal(s) should include joint work by European and Chinese experts aimed at informing the achievement of each country’s long-term decarbonisation goal. Actions under this call should consider deep reductions and pathways to net zero incorporating mitigation of both CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

Closing date: Forthcoming call

Link: Please contact SCCS for more information

Zero Waste Scotland is investing European Regional Development Funds to help SME businesses in Scotland become resource efficient and create a more circular economy. Sectors of interest include the bioeconomy (food & drink) and energy infrastructure (oil & gas decommissioning, renewables, transmission).

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

- Advance the European scientific basis and increase technology competitiveness and technology export potential in the area of bioenergy.
- Reduced cost and improved technical performance and efficiency of bio-based heat and/or CHP.
- Enhance sustainability of biomass-based heat and/or CHP by addressing socioeconomic and environmental sustainability, in particular in reducing emissions and air pollution and also addressing aspects of carbon reuse and circularity, also in particular in fossil- fuel-based economic areas in transition.

Scope: Development of novel near zero-emission bio-based heat and/or CHP technologies, which allow for highly efficient use of sustainable solid biomass residues, going hand in hand with close to zero emissions for particles and harmful gaseous emissions including NOx, SOx, aromatics etc. Flexibility for different biomass fuels and power/heat ratios featuring a wide range of temperatures for heat supply as well as technological interfaces for carbon capture as well as high cost-efficiency for the consumer are to be included.

Closing date: Forthcoming call

Link: Please contact SCCS for more information

Applications for fellowships at all levels are now open. There is a new framework which removes closing dates and eligibility requirements based on years of experience, and establishes a person specification against which applicants will be judged.