The UK's Department of Trade and Industry has published details about its proposals for a new institute for energy research and called for investment from the private sector.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is calling for the private sector to invest GBP500 million in its planned Energy Technologies Institute initiative, the same amount pledged by the UK government.
The Energy Technologies Institute will focus on the research and development of secure, reliable and affordable low carbon energy technologies. The DTI said that the institute will bring together the public and private sector for a collaboration that will deliver sustainable and secure energy technologies for the long term.
The objectives for the Institute include increasing the level of funding devoted to R&D to meet the UK’s energy policy goals; conducting R&D to allow rapid commercial deployment of cost-effective, low carbon energy technologies; and building R&D capacity in the UK to help deliver the UK’s energy policy goals.
Companies that have already offered their support to the project include BP, EDF, E.ON UK and Shell. Each of these companies is reported to have offered to invest GBP5 million per year in the institute.
Secure and sustainable energy is of paramount importance to our prosperity and way of life – both now and in the future. We want to meet this challenge by making the UK a world-leader in developing vital new energy technologies, said UK trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling. The Energy Technologies Institute is the most important development in UK energy research and innovation for decades…I want more companies to come forward and join us in this groundbreaking partnership.
The DTI is inviting companies to express interest in participating in the institute by the end of November. The institute is expected to be fully operational by 2008.