Scotland announces new £10m CO2 Utilisation Challenge Fund

Scottish Enterprise will administer a new fund to support businesses and organisations in developing and commercialising carbon dioxide utilisation technology. 

CO2 Utilisation is could be a significant weapon in the fight to slow and stall the climate crisis, allowing emissions to be captured, stored and converted into valuable products such as synthetic fuels and proteins. 

Now, new money is being made available to support experts working to develop these technologies in Scotland. Overall, more than £10m will be offered to relevant firms and research teams during the next two years as part of the CO2 Utilisation Challenge Fund. Around half will come from match-funding by industry, with Scottish Enterprise charged with administering the project.

‘The Scottish Government is fully committed to helping Scotland become a net zero economy. The IPCC’s latest reports show that the impacts of climate change are even worse than previously thought and that business as usual is not an option,’ said Net Zero and Energy Secretary Michael Matheson. ‘Promising early work around potential uses for captured CO2 shows that CO2 utilisation has real potential to help develop a circular economy while providing opportunities for our workforces and economic benefits for a range of different sectors.’

‘This fund will help ensure we remain at the forefront of the global effort to tackle climate change by supporting innovative Scottish companies with the ambition, capability and expertise to utilise CO2 and transform it into products with commercial value,’ added Andy McDonald, Head of Low Carbon Transition at Scottish Enterprise. ‘Carbon utilisation technology has wide-reaching benefits for both Scotland’s low carbon economy and the environment. This fund will boost this dynamic and emerging sector by facilitating the creation of more high-value jobs.’

In related news, last month the Climate Change Committee issued a statement warning that Scotland was ill-prepared for climate change. 

Image credit: Veeterz