Government backs carbon-cutting businesses with £51.9m
Government backs carbon-cutting businesses with £51.9m
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Published on 16 January 2025
25 UK businesses have been awarded nearly £52m
The funding will help businesses of all shapes and sizes expand and innovate
It is part of the UK’s Plan for Change initiative
These businesses emission cutting projects are worth £154m in total
The government has given £51.9m to 25 UK businesses to cut carbon emissions, as part of its mission to turn the UK into a clean energy superpower.
Minister for Industry, Sarah Jones said the funding will help the businesses expand and innovate, including supporting new jobs through construction and operations – helping to cut bills and boost local growth.
Some of the businesses to benefit include Nestlé’s coffee processing site in Staffordshire, Heinz’s baked bean factory in Wigan, and a specialist craft beer company in Cornwall.
These businesses will be able to deliver emissions-cutting technology, such as heat pumps, with projects worth £154m in total.
“This delivers the government’s Plan for Change to make Britain a clean energy superpower, driving economic growth and building Britain,” Jones stated.
“The upcoming Industrial Strategy will also give investors and industry confidence to plan for the next decade and beyond, with clean energy industries a key sector identified to reignite the UK’s industrial heartlands and grow the economy.”
Heinz received more than £2.5m, and invested nearly £5m of its own in the project, and will use it to switch its dependence on fossil fuels to heat water that’s needed to blanch beans and boil spaghetti hoops.
The company will install heat pumps to reuse waste heat from other processes in the factory.
Hanson Cement in North Wales will use its £5.6m grant to support its annoying multi-million pound carbon capture and storage project – creating hundreds of jobs during construction and capturing 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year once operational.
Other winners included Pauls Malt and Verdant Brewing Co, who are helping to decarbonise beer production, as well as Warrington-based Novelis who received nearly £14m to expand its recycling capacity.
Written by
Tamara BirchSenior Writer
Tamara is a London-based journalist and has written about environmental topics for more than four years. This includes advising small business owners on cost-effective ways, like solar panels and energy-efficient products, to help them become more sustainable.
She has used her journalist and research skills to become highly knowledgeable on sustainable initiatives, issues, and solutions to help consumers do their bit for the environment - all while reducing monthly costs.
In addition to adopting sustainable practices in her personal life, Tamara has worked in the retail B2B space to help independent retailers think about their environmental choices and how they can help improve their business. She now uses this knowledge to help consumers do the same.
Her passion for sustainability and eco-friendly solutions stems from a long obsession with nature and animals and ensuring they feel looked after. In her free time, Tamara enjoys reading fantasy novels, visiting the gym, and going on long walks in new areas.
You can get in touch with Tamara via email at tamara.birch@mvfglobal.com.
Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.
In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.
He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.
Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.
As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.
His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.
Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history and ghost stories. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.
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