Green Technology 8

the UK – from powering transport such as trains and ships to factories and the heating systems in our homes. This funding will help create around 8,000 hydrogen jobs set out in the 10 Point Plan

£37.5 million to fund the largest government programme of greenhouse gas removal methods helping cement the UK’s status as a worldleader in this technology. Of this, 24 projects across England and Wales will receive up to £250,000 to fund innovative designs that develop new ways of removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and store them safely, and a further 5 projects will receive up to £4.5 million each to investigate the viability of adopting greenhouse gas removal methods at scale

£20 million to support the development of the next generation carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) technologies so they can be deployed at scale by 2030. This could include funding innovative technologies that widen the suitability of CCUS to a larger range of UK industrial uses such as chemicals and cement, reducing the cost of deploying CCUS and helping industrial waste or power sector companies to capture and store harmful emissions from the source, before they are emitted into the atmosphere

£20 million to establish a new virtual Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre that will accelerate the decarbonisation of key energy-intensive industries which currently make a significant contribution to UK emissions. Run by Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, the Centre will bring together new technologies and address the challenges faced by industrial areas, helping to provide solutions that reduce costs, risks and emissions. This centre will connect and empower the UK industrial decarbonisation community with over 140 partners, including industry and business, government and regulatory agencies and world-leading academics, working together to deliver an impactful innovation hub for industrial decarbonisation

£16.5 million through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to develop new technologies and processes that help energyintensive sectors cut their emissions, while reducing their energy bills. Projects receiving funding include Tate & Lyle to decarbonise its London sugar refinery and cut emissions by up to 90% and Celsa Manufacturing to install new technologies that improve energy efficiencies in the process to melt scrap metal and produce steel. BAE Systems will also receive funding to install energy efficient technology that could save equivalent annual emissions of around 700 households

£8 million for projects to develop innovations, such as repurposing textile waste, new clay production techniques for the ceramics industry and concrete manufacturing that support the rapid recovery and sustainability of UK industry. Projects include developing glazes for fast-fire manufacturing of ceramic tiles made entirely from recycled waste, creating a costefficient, low carbon concrete manufacturing solution using waste materials and developing the world’s first, high temperature heat pump that can compete commercially with burning fossil fuels

£4.7 million will establish a new Transforming Foundation Industries Research and Innovation Hub. The hub will be led by Cranfield University and will help industries like metals, glass, cement, paper and glass to work together and address their common challenges while accelerating the development and adoption of new technologies and business models. This could include creating new, smart materials and processes that enable cheaper, lower energy and low carbon products.

ROBOTS TAKE STEP FORWARDS IN OFFSHORE INSPECTIONS

Using robots to make offshore infrastructure inspection and repair safer is a step closer thanks to the backing of UK Research & Innovation.

Founded in 2017 and led by Heriot-Watt and the University of Edinburgh, the ORCA Hub which also includes Imperial College London, University of Liverpool and University of Oxford, is supporting the energy transition and the growth of renewable energy. It is one of the strategic projects within the National Robotarium.

Working with industry partners, the Hub’s aim is to help the offshore energy industry to use robots to safely inspect, maintain and repair platforms, wind turbines, and other infrastructure, guided by human experts on ships or back on shore.

£600,000 of the new funding will be used to help deliver six demonstration projects with industrial partners, including the inspection of wind turbine foundations and the deployment of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors.

The remaining £1.9 million will fund an extension of ORCA Hub’s activities to see if technologies and processes developed by the Hub can be used in other sectors, ranging from construction and urban infrastructure through to decommissioning and waste management.

Yvan Petillot, professor of robotics and autonomous systems at Heriot-Watt University and co-academic lead of the National Robotarium, has been appointed as the ORCA Hub’s new director.

He takes over from Professor David Lane, founding director of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, who will continue to support the Hub as an advisor to its independent steering committee.

Professor Petillot said: “Robots have the potential to carry out inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments, reducing the risks of putting divers into the water in harsh conditions or workers operating at height on wind turbines. Finding ways to combine the flexibility of autonomous robots with remote human operators has been one of the key strands in my career over the past 20 years.

Finding ways to combine the flexibility of autonomous robots with remote human operators has been one of the key strands in my career over the past 20 years.

“The international offshore energy industry is undergoing a revolution, adopting aggressive net zero objectives, and shifting rapidly towards large scale offshore wind energy production.

“The long-term industry vision is for a digitised offshore energy field, operated, inspected and maintained from the shore using robots, digital architectures and cloud-based processes to realise this vision. However, the recent pandemic has highlighted a widespread need for remote operations in many other industrial sectors.

“The ORCA Hub has built a community of roboticists and expertise during its initial phase. This funding extension aims to accelerate the

Robots have the potential to carry out inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments, reducing the risks of putting divers into the water in harsh conditions or workers operating at height on wind turbines.

translation of the research into our existing industry network, working with companies including Wood, EDF and Ross Robotics, while expanding into new sectors by adapting the current research and tackling the novel challenges these sectors bring.”

During its first project for the ORCA Hub, the Spot robot will be deployed on construction sites, collecting data and measurements in real time. This will allow multiple parties, regardless of location, to access and review the data, building greater understanding of the construction process and allowing companies to identify new efficiencies, potential hazards and quality control measures.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: “Advancements in robotics will be essential to meeting the UK’s ambitious climate targets.

“Robots can help us to reduce waste, safely manage new infrastructure such as solar energy and offshore wind, and better monitor and protect our environment.

“The UK Government is building back better from the pandemic, supporting cutting-edge research across the entire UK and investing £21 million in the National Robotarium as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.”

Professor David Lane added: “Since the ORCA Hub was launched, its successes have been wide ranging from launching tech that can help humans and robots to speak the same language to autonomous drones that can inspect offshore turbines.

“However, research of this type can only have impact if it is driven by and addresses specific industry needs. Significant industry engagement has been achieved since 2017 with 68 individual research projects, PhD sponsorships, user engagements, and supply of equipment, hardware, software, data and asset samples taking place with a further 16 projects currently in discussion or pending approval with an estimated value of over £6M. We’ve spun-out a company and two more are in the process of spin-out, alongside two patent applications enabling developments to be licensed to companies.”

Engaging with the public has also been an important objective with events reaching over 15,000 members of the public.

Simon Reeve, chair of the ORCA Hub’s Independent Steering Committee, said “The Hub’s success to date has been greatly helped by the contributions of a wide range of specialists overseeing its strategic direction. An international scientific panel supported the early stages of the Hub, while an industry panel reviews and guides the application of the new technologies. Our Independent Steering Committee is made up of international specialists representing government, public and private sector organisations across a wide range of sectors providing fresh perspective and the best possible support to achieving the Hub’s objectives.”

Andrew Tyrer, Challenge Director – Robotics, Industrial Strategy Research Fund, said: “The funding is crucial to widening the scope of our work. With net zero ambitions underlying industrial plans in every sector, and the chance to rebuild new industries after the pandemic, robotics, AI and automation are vital ingredients for the future.”

The National Robotarium is funded separately from the ORCA Hub. The National Robotarium is supported by £21 million from the UK Government and £1.4 million from the Scottish Government as part of the £1.3 billion Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal - a 15 year investment programme jointly funded by both governments and regional partners.

The National Robotarium building will open on Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh campus in 2022.

Professor Yvan Petillot with the Spot robot

GREENBACKERS

greenbackers.com

26 CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY START-UPS WIN PLACE ON COP26 FUNDING PROGRAMME

Greenbackers Investment Capital has revealed the identity of 26 climate technology start-ups who will be taking part in an innovative six-month programme designed to help them secure international funding ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

Called 26ForCOP26, the programme will introduce the businesses to a global investor base through Greenbackers Showcase, an online deal platform, via a series of hosted events between June and November.

It will culminate in a live and live-streamed “SuperPitch”, hosted in Glasgow during COP26, which runs from October 31 to November 12.

The programme launch comes after a recent report from the International Energy Authority stated that by 2050, “almost half the reductions in CO2 emissions will come from technologies that are currently at the demonstration or prototype phase. Major innovation efforts must take place this decade, in order to bring these new technologies to market in time.”

Robert Hokin, Managing Partner at Glasgow-based Greenbackers, said: “We developed a showcase of great technology ventures to coincide with the global focus on the COP26 Climate Summit happening here in our hometown of Glasgow this November.

“There’s been plenty of talk about target-setting but to make Net Zero a reality, COP26 needs to be about action. Investment capital needs to flow faster into the climate technology start-ups that can and will make a difference.

“Our ‘26ForCOP26’ is an action programme for making that investment happen.”

The selected 26 have been picked from over 120 applicants and come from nine countries.

They cover the following cleantech sub sectors: Sustainable transportation; Sustainable fashion; Renewable power generation; Water & energy conservation; Smart grid; Building & Internet of Things (IoT); Circular economy; Ocean & blue economy and Sustainable materials technology. The full cohort of companies selected are:

Blockchain Triangle – Bermuda Cheesecake Energy – UK Chitendai Ltd – UK CityQ – Norway CPower – USA Dryad Networks – Germany eHempHouse – UK ExxFire B.V. – Netherlands Forev Ltd – UK Hydrowheel UK Hypervolt – UK Lambda Energy – UK Limit Jeans – UK | Magtor – Malta Paua – UK Propelair – UK Seawater Solutions – UK Smart Green Shipping – UK Subsea Micropiles – Ireland Swiss Vault – Switzerland TISICS – UK Tocardo – Netherlands Zelim – UK ZUoS – UK Stealth Mode A (to be announced shortly) Stealth Mode B (to be announced shortly)

STUDENTS WIN AWARD FOR FACEMASK MADE FROM POTATO

A Year 12 student team who developed a biodegradable face mask made from potato were crowned the winners of an inaugural sustainability competition by Stephen Richardson, President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

The University of Cambridge’s Davidson Inventors Challenge encouraged 14- to 17-year-old UK students to use engineering problem-solving skills to develop an innovative solution that addresses one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The winning team was AdMeliora (comprising Mehakdeep Kaur, Maya Rawat, Vivien Ablay, Niketa Walichchoru Evayage and Akshita Sudhir) from the Tiffin Girls’ School in Kingston-uponThames.

They developed a face mask to combat the issue of increasing waste from disposable face masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The competition was held in memory of the university’s emeritus professor John Davidson, who died in December 2020.

Known as the founding father of fluidisation, he had worked in chemical engineering since 1952, including in process dynamics, gas absorption and fluidisation technology. He was president of IChemE from 1970-1971 and in 2016 IChemE named a medal after him in recognition of the inspirational role he had played for young engineers.

IChemE President Stephen Richardson, University of Cambridge alumnus, was part of the judging panel and announced the winners in a virtual presentation ceremony on 28 May. He said:

“On behalf of IChemE, many congratulations to AdMeliora and all the finalists in this inaugural competition. I’m delighted to have been part of this awards ceremony.

“A past president of IChemE and a friend of mine, Professor John Davidson was an active member of the Institution, committed to the profession and passionate about teaching the future leaders of chemical engineering. Through your creative and innovative projects, you have demonstrated the importance of applying chemical engineering skills and thinking to find sustainable solutions to problems that we all face around the world today. I am sure that this would have made him very proud. I hope you will consider this exciting profession as a potential for your future career journey.” Professor Clemens Kaminski, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge said:

“I am really impressed by the innovative spirit and the quality of the presentations by the students. Their enthusiasm was tangible – clearly the next generation of brilliant scientists is on its way.”

As well as presentations from the four finalists, the event featured talks from Professor Davidson’s son Peter Davidson, CEB alumnus, on his father’s life and legacy; IChemE Fellow Dr Rachel Cooke, CEB alumna and Senior Manager for Reliability Engineering at Amazon, on career opportunities for chemical engineers; and a keynote speech from MP Nadhim Zahawi, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment.

Zahawi, who was also a member of the judging panel, said: “I am delighted to see the enthusiasm this has generated amongst the scientists of the future, who will be at the forefront of developing new technologies as we look to build a more sustainable world.”

The winning student team will receive a certificate, a personalised trophy and a special virtual tour of the Amazon facilities. The winners will also visit the University of Cambridge to meet the academics and students and to understand what studying at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology is really like.

The competition attracted more than 50 organisations, involving more than 200 students from 45 schools across the UK.

The winning team from Tiffin Girls’ School in Kingston-upon-Thames

BEING GREEN DOESN’T HAVE TO BE TAXING

Welcome to the 1st ever issue of the Green Business Journal. I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce, or in some cases perhaps reconnect, you to the wonderful world of Research and Development Tax Relief. Then I’d like to introduce you to a few businesses that we have been working with to support them with claims for relevant projects, to give you a feel for what you might be missing out on.

Has it really been around that long?

Research and Development Tax Relief has been available to small and medium-sized companies since 2000 and was the brainchild of Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. It has been supported and improved upon by every Government since. Large companies have been able to claim since 2001.

The aim of the tax relief is to reward those SME companies that are doing interesting things with Science or Technology, with either a tax relief against profits or a repayable tax credit for surrenderable losses. For Large companies, or SMEs that have received funding for their project, the tax relief comes in the form of what is called an “Above the Line Credit” or Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC). RDEC provides a taxable income that can either then be deducted from the tax charge or if there is insufficient liability can be reimbursed to the business subject to a number of qualifying criteria.

The rate of tax relief for SMEs is 24.7% of the eligible expenditure and the rate of the repayable tax credit is 33.35% of the eligible expenditure. The rate for RDEC is 13% of the eligible expenditure, which after being taxed equates to 10.53% of the eligible expenditure.

What is eligible expenditure?

Well it falls into a number of categories for eligible projects:

Staff Costs – payments to employees and workers for salaries, wages, bonuses, Employers NI and Pension Contributions and reimbursed out of pocket expenses, for both direct R&D and activities that support R&D.

Subcontractor costs (SMEs only) – payments to subcontractors on a time and materials basis for work performed to assist with the project. This is important, I’ll explain in a later article!

Externally Provided Workers – payments to agencies or other companies providing workers to operate at the behest of the R&D business.

Materials Consumed – the cost of materials consumed in the R&D process, such that they either need to be scrapped or cannot be used again inside a working prototype that is not sold by the business.

COODEN TAX CONSULTING

coodentaxconsulting.co.uk Utility Costs – Light, heat and water

Payments to Universities and Prescribed

Bodies – Any payment for support in an R&D Project to a place of learning or to a hospital that is free at the point of delivery.

Software – the costs of software purchased (or developed, where the development is not itself R&D) to support the R&D Process.

Payments to Clinical Trial Volunteers – perhaps not so relevant.

Is my project eligible

This is the real crunch question. The Legislation states

R&D for tax purposes takes place when a project seeks to achieve an advance in science or technology. The activities that directly contribute to achieving this advance in science or technology through the resolution of scientific or technological uncertainty are R&D. Certain qualifying indirect activities related to the project are also R&D.

An advance in science or technology means an advance in overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology (not a company’s own state of knowledge or capability alone). This includes the adaptation of knowledge or capability from another field of science or technology in order to make such an advance where this adaptation was not readily deducible. An advance in science or technology may have tangible consequences (such as a new or more efficient cleaning product, or a process which generates less waste) or more intangible outcomes (new knowledge or cost improvements, for example).

A project which seeks to, for example:

extend overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology; or

create a process, material, device, product or service which incorporates or represents an increase in overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology; or

make an appreciable improvement to an existing process, material, device, product or service through scientific or technological changes; or

use science or technology to duplicate the effect of an existing process, material, device, product or service in a new or appreciably improved way (e.g. a product that has exactly the same performance characteristics as existing models, but is built in a fundamentally different manner), will therefore be R&D.

Got it? The examples at the end certainly seem to explain it more than the narrative and it is these we will discuss with you.

Challenges

The real challenge we always find when we talk to companies is identifying the scientific or technological challenges that they faced during their project. This is usually because we are getting involved after the fact. But it is these challenges and how you overcame them that will be the determining factor in whether you have an R&D project.

What can I do now to prepare for a claim?

The best thing you can do for yourself right now is to document your thoughts, your ideas, your failures and to a certain extent your successes, both that have happened in the past or for when you move forward with your project. Focus more on your failures than your successes! We have a very basic form, if you’d like a copy of it contact me through the website: www.coodentaxconsulting.co.uk or contact me through LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/ in/simonbulteel74cooden/ there aren’t too many Simon Bulteels!

Our successes with Green Champions

Tensei. We met Annabelle at the Business Show in 2015, Tensei have been developing technical papers from waste agricultural products, particularly straw. They have developed the treatment and manufacturing processes to produce these papers and now they have moved into developing pads for soft fruits that are currently being trialed by a leading supermarket. They are now looking at developing their own production plant to allow for the paper to be produced at scale.

OSET Bikes. OSET were one of our first clients, we’ve been working with them since 2014 and helped them to claim several hundred thousand pounds in R&D Tax Relief. They develop electric trials bikes (if you are of an age like me, think Kick Start and Peter Purves), they are one of the leading names in the industry and have initially developed children’s bikes that actually have a competitive advantage over the petrol versions. Oset have recently been involved in a KTP with Brighton University.

That’s just two of the companies we have worked with to date there are several more!

If the article has piqued your interest you really should explore your potential to claim. We offer a no obligation discovery call, we call it “Find out in Fifteen Minutes”. You can book a call at

www.calendly.com/simon-bulteel

In future articles, we’ll explore some of the pitfalls and opportunities that exist within the R&D Eco-System, touch on other funding opportunities and give you as much information as you can dare to wish for as you continue on your research and development journey.

SWITCH TO CYCLING FOR THE WORKPLACE JOURNEY CHALLENGE

The Workplace Journey Challenge kicks off in March with employers and employees from across Scotland being encourage to switch to more sustainable forms of transport. The sum total of these journeys will be used to calculate the winners but perhaps more importantly, show the positive impact the reduced car journeys has had on air quality, congestion and the economy.

Green Commute Initiative’s cycle to work scheme can help incentivise employees to try cycling to work by offering them access to brand new bikes at a massive discount. There’s no £1,000 limit meaning any bike can be acquired through the scheme; road bikes, ebikes, cargo bikes and adapted cycles and trikes for those with mobility issues.

As well as no spending cap, GCI’s scheme does not have any exit fees either. Whilst other providers charge 7%, making a massive dent in employee savings, GCI has an altogether fairer model, enabling employees to retain the bikes for just £1. This means employees make the maximum possible savings available to them; 32-47%, depending on their tax rate.

GCI’s pay-as-you-go scheme, Instant GCI, is perfect for organisations who do not wish to register or commit to a supplier contract. Employees simply get a quote for the bike they want, enter the details on the GCI website and ask their employer to pay the proforma invoice. Once payment has been received, GCI will generate the agreements and, upon electronic signature, pay the bike shop and issue the collection voucher. It’s a same day or next day service. Check out our 5-star TrustPilot reviews.

theteam@greencommuteinitiative.uk @greencommuteuk

RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT SECTOR TO INVEST £10BN IN ACHIEVING NET ZERO BY 2040

Recycling and waste management sector sets out detailed plan to cut 8% of UK total greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040 Environmental Services Association members to invest £10bn and create 40,000 new jobs over the next decade to deliver this goal Goal requires more clarity on the regulatory and policy context for carbon capture technology and greater access to renewable energy sources. Success in reaching net zero equivalent to taking 7 million cars off British roads

The UK recycling and waste management sector committed to meeting a challenging Net Zero emissions target a decade ahead of the Government’s own deadline, in a statement published on June 30.

The recycling and waste management sector has reduced its GHG emissions by 46% since 1990. To go further and faster and deliver its 2040 target, the ESA said its members will: Invest £10bn of new money in recycling infrastructure to drive up recycling rates and cut down waste; and increasing capture of methane emissions, the most potent form, by 85% from landfill by 2030

Decarbonise non-recyclable waste treatment by diverting organic waste from landfill to recycling and energy production by 2030, and moving removing plastics from energy