Government grant boost for GKN Aerospace Services

Aerospace technology supplier GKN Aerospace Services in Filton has secured a £231,000 slice of a £24 million government fund to help energy-intensive industries cut costs and emissions.

The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) supports businesses using high amounts of energy to reduce their fossil fuel using innovative low-carbon technologies.

The government says the grant will help companies save on their energy costs, which in turn will safeguard British jobs and help grow the economy – one of its five priorities.

Energy-intensive industries are responsible for 11 per cent of the UK’s total emissions and represent over 70 per cent of UK industrial emissions.

While the UK is making excellent progress on the road to net zero, having cut emissions by 48 per cent between 1990 and 2021 - decarbonising faster than any other G7 country - it is estimated that industry will need to cut their emissions by two-thirds by 2035 for the UK to achieve its net zero target.

Minister for Energy Efficiency Lord Callanan said: "We are leading the world in reaching net zero, having cut emissions by 48 per cent – but to keep up this progress and achieve our green goals, we’ve got to transform our industrial sectors, as some of the industries most critical to our economy are also those with the highest emissions.

"Today, we’re backing them with government funding to use the latest technologies to cut their emissions and their reliance on fossil fuels – helping to future-proof these industries as we grow our green economy.

"This will not only cut their energy costs but also boost their competitiveness on the world stage, helping them thrive and protecting the thousands of jobs they offer across the country.

A total of £289 million is being made available to businesses through the IETF up to 2027 and the most recent allocations take amount awarded under the scheme so far to £61.4 million.