The CO2 Utilisation Challenge Fund will help businesses and organizations develop and commercialize the technology, which involves harnessing and converting CO2 and using it to produce valuable products such as synthetic fuels and proteins for use in aquaculture. The CO2 Utilisation Challenge Fund will be administered by Scottish Enterprise and match-funded by industry, meaning over £10 million could be invested in the initiative over its two-year lifetime.
Net Zero and Energy secretary, Michael Matheson, said that “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. We know that, in order to deliver on our targets, we must develop and grow innovative technologies like carbon capture and utilization, alongside carbon capture and storage. Promising early work around potential uses for captured CO2 shows that CO2 utilization has real potential to help develop a circular economy while providing opportunities for our workforces and economic benefits for a range of different sectors.”
Head of Low Carbon Transition at Scottish Enterprise, Andy McDonald, said that “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 utilize CO2 and transform it into products with commercial value. Carbon utilization 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 while also helping Scotland reach its net zero emissions target.”
More details are available on the Scottish Enterprise website.
