Boris Johnson has unveiled £350m in funding to help industry to reduce carbon emissions in a bid to speed up progress towards the UK’s 2050 net zero goal.
The funding will go to a range of businesses and projects working across industries such as heavy industry, construction, space and transport.
Johnson said that the coronavirus pandemic meant that it was “more important than ever that we keep up the pace of change to fuel a green, sustainable recovery.
“The UK now has a huge opportunity to cement its place at the vanguard of green innovation, setting an example worldwide while growing the economy and creating new jobs’.
Of the funding, £139m will go to heavy industry to support the transition from natural gas to hydrogen, as well as scaling up the development of carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technologies.
The two technologies have both long been earmarked as critical to the transition to a green economy, with 40 businesses last month writing to chancellor Rishi Sunak in support of a country-wide hydrogen strategy.
In addition, £149m will go towards developing the use of innovative materials, such as so-called “green steel” across industry, while £26m will be put towards supporting low-carbon building techniques.