Part of the government’s ‘Plan for Change’, the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund offers grants to businesses of all sizes to accelerate their net zero ambitions, helping to cut their energy bills and boost local growth across the country.
Nestlé’s coffee processing site in Staffordshire and Heinz’s baked bean factory in Wigan were two of the biggest winners within the food and drink processing industry to have won grants from the scheme.
Heinz, which received over £2.5m and invested nearly £5m of their own funding in the project, will use the money to switch its dependence on fossil fuels to heat water by installing heat pumps that reuse waste heat from other processes in the factory.
Cutting emissions
This improvement in energy efficiency will allow the manufacturer to cut emissions and bills for the business, freeing up more money to invest in other areas of the business.
Commenting on the grant, Saji Jacob, head of Heinz’s West Europe supply chain, said: “The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund has enabled this energy efficiency project to become a reality at our largest food manufacturing plant in Europe.
“It represents a critical step in our decarbonisation journey towards Net Zero. The UK business recognises the significance of the investment and is committed to further utilising this technology across our company.”
Food and drink wins
Other winners include Paul’s Malt and Verdant Brewing company, two businesses at the forefront of decarbonising beer production, as well as Warrington-based Novelis – who received nearly £14m to expand its recycling capacity - part of a £63m project that will reduce the company’s carbon emissions by over 350,000 tonnes.
Minister for Industry Sarah Jones said: “Helping businesses of all sizes to reduce their emissions is core to our Plan for Change to achieve net zero while growing the economy.
“These companies represent some of the best of business innovation – using new technologies to improve how we do things, become more sustainable, and continue to make the British products we love – from baked beans to beer.”
Meanwhile, Britvic has invested more than £1m into sustainability improvements at its Rugby site.
