Solutions that can help businesses and governments to meet the 2050 target of an 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide levels are still emerging.  There is an urgent need to develop and commercialise low carbon, clean tech and renewable energy technologies now.

Companies commercialising the wide range of innovative low carbon technologies will be central to the transition to a low carbon economy and hence drive sustainable economic growth through the development of such products and services.

Northern Ireland has key strengths in the low carbon research sector through our universities and research centres, whose main research activities include:

• The Environmental Engineering Research Centre (EERC) at Queen's University Belfast, whose main research themes include coastal science and engineering, contaminated land remediation, water quality and renewable energy.
• The Centre for Sustainable Technologies at the University of Ulster undertakes both fundamental and applied research in the areas of  Solar Energy, Biomass and Bioenergy, Clean Power Systems, Advanced Glazing, Heat Pumps, Energy Storage and Energy in Buildings.  Dedicated facilities including a solar simulator, heat pump test laboratory, vacuum glazing manufacture and biomass gasification are underpinned by complementary performance analysis hardware and modelling software for thermal and electrical energy systems.
• The QUESTOR Centre at Queen’s University Belfast which provides member companies and organisations with a world-class environmental research programme focused on their specific needs.

What will the session cover?

The workshop session outlines the available support for research and development activities in this sector.

We will also detail how your business can become more innovative and competitive by accessing a range of financial and advisory research and development support, through Invest NI’s single gateway, the Grant for R&D.

A number of local businesses who are currently operating in this sector will also deliver a series of short presentations.  They will share their experiences on how they have achieved considerable success in both local and international markets. 

What are the business opportunities?

Businesses can access different funding and support programmes available for areas such as:

• product development
• product diversification
• prototype development
• service innovation
• collaborative R&D.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKERS