10 March 2011
2011 Energy Innovation Awards
The 2011 Energy Innovation Awards officially open for entries
~
Organisers are searching for the brightest and best talent within
the low carbon environmental goods and services sector.
The search is on to find the UK’s most innovative energy products
and services as the 2011 Energy Innovation Awards officially opens
for entries.
Building on the success of last year’s Inaugural Energy Innovation
Awards, launched by Cheshire’s world-class Energy Innovation
Centre, the 2011 awards are set to be even bigger and better.
The awards will be held in Manchester on Thursday 23 June 2011 and
celebrate the outstanding achievements of individuals and
organisations across the UK flying the flag for energy innovation
and sustainability. In addition there will be an international
category welcoming entrants from anywhere in the world.
The Energy Innovation Centre - which has four of the leading energy
giants amongst its partners - champions innovation and provides a
gateway to accelerate cutting-edge products and technologies to
market.
The categories for the 2011 energy Innovation Awards are:
• Rising Star Award
• University Spin-out
• New Energy Generation
• Existing Performance Improvement
• Consumer Benefit Award
• Best Service Provider
• Best International Trade Award
• Energy Innovation Award - Best of the best
Denise Massey, director of the Energy Innovation Centre, said: “Our
Inaugural Energy Innovation Awards were a tremendous success and it
is with great pleasure that we announce the 2011 awards are now
open for entries. There is a great deal of pressure on the energy
sector to meet rising energy demand and decarbonising targets,
meaning innovation has never been more important. These awards
bring to the forefront and celebrate the pioneering work which is
taking place across the UK and internationally to address the
world’s energy problems.”
Joe Flanagan, Head of Energy and ETS at the Northwest Regional
Development Agency, said: “We are delighted with the success of the
inaugural awards, demonstrating the high level of expertise and
innovation within the renewable energy industry, both regionally
and nationally. With concerns over climate change continuing, the
energy sector is one of the fastest growing areas of the economy
and these awards will showcase the industry’s finest.”
Tackling rising energy demand is a global issue and the UK
Government has set a target to generate 15% of its energy from
renewable sources by 2020. The low carbon environmental goods and
services (LCEGS) market is a growing and important sector,
estimated to be worth £106 billion a year in the UK alone.
Last year’s Inaugural Energy Innovation Awards attracted entries
from across the UK and as far afield as Eastern Europe, from a
wealth of companies ranging from start-ups through to
multi-national organisations.
Merseyside firm E-Energy Enterprise Limited scooped two awards
after impressing judges with its ‘E-Engine’, which allows low
temperature waste heat to be used to generate electricity in many
thousands of industrial processes. While ‘Best International Trade
Award’ went to FMC-Tech Ltd, of County Clare, Ireland, whose
real-time network monitoring equipment is a fundamental component
of the Smart Grid schemes. Merseyside-based Furlong Innovations was
awarded the ‘Consumer Benefit Award’ for its cost-effective
CombiSave technology, which provides “instant” hot water to
households with combination boilers, eliminating waiting time for
the water to run hot.
The Energy Innovation Awards will be held for the second year at
The Hilton Deansgate Manchester on Thursday June 23 2011, where the
winners will be announced.
The Judges, made up of leading experts from the energy industry,
include John Bullock, Chairman, Institute of Engineering and
Technology North West, Alan Clarke, Director & Investment
Committee Chairman, University of Manchester Intellectual Property,
and David Smith, Chief Executive of Energy Networks
Association.
Manchester-based company Out There Events is supporting the Energy
Innovation Centre in staging the awards.
The closing date for entries is Friday 8 April 2011.
Entry forms, sponsorship opportunities and more detail about the
awards dinner can be found at http://www.energyinnovationcentre.com/
For more information about the Energy Innovation Centre generally
or office availability within its popular incubator facility please
visit http://www.energyinnovationcentre.com/
ENDS
Notes to editors: The Energy Innovation Awards will take
place at The Hilton Deansgate Manchester on Thursday June 23
2011.
The awards honour innovation, young talent, best practice and
sustainability within the industry.
Energy Innovation Centre, founded in 2008, actively seeks
businesses or individuals with a bright idea in energy products or
services that they want to turn into commercial reality.
It connects individual inventors and small businesses with:
- Industry grant funding, equity funding and public sector
funding
- The R&D teams of some of the key energy industry
players
- Technical support to validate new technologies
- A professional business support network
- Potential customers in the energy sector
The centre, in conjunction with the energy companies, provides a
bespoke service to individuals and SMEs so that they can accelerate
their products and technologies to market.
Energy Innovation Centre offers office accommodation in an industry
incubator in the northwest of England, although it can work with
companies around the world.
The Energy Innovation Centre, located on the Capenhurst Technology
Park, Capenhurst, Chester, aims to create 30 new companies and 100
new jobs by 2013.
The Energy Innovation Centre currently has a number of rooms
available to rent. Advantages of being based at the Energy
Innovation Centre include:
• Gateway to four of the UK DNO’s
• Established and trusted investment process (PID and Project Plan
support)
• Financial project management of your IFI project
• Delivery of Route to Market workshops
• Mentoring, including Business Planning support
• Access to our Preferred Supplier list
• Series of Workshops delivered by our preferred suppliers focusing
on key topics
• A technical review of your project technology by EA Technology
experts.
For further information or to arrange a viewing, please contact
Jane Blackwell on 0151 347 2252
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) provided the
Energy Innovation Centre with a £1.5 million start-up grant over
six years.
In April 2009, Energy Innovation Centre secured a further £620,000
from the European Regional Development Fund to support new
businesses.
Between 2007 and 2013 the Northwest of England will receive a total
of £521million (dependent on exchange rate) from the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Managed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), this
funding will enhance the competitiveness of the region’s economy by
supporting growth in employment and enterprise.
Key targets for the ERDF include:
• Creating 26,700 net additional jobs by 2015
• Generating £1.17bn additional annual GVA by 2015
• Supporting a 25% reduction in addition CO2 emissions generated by
the ERDF Programme.
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) works to deliver
economic success in England’s Northwest by building the
competitiveness of businesses, people and places. Leading the
region towards a low carbon economy by ensuring the Northwest
reduces its environmental impact, adapts to climate change and
capitalises on key business opportunities.
For more information about Energy Innovation Centre please visit
www.energyinnovationcentre.com
For interview opportunities or more information please call Emilie
Bradshaw or Helen Worthy at Active Profile on 0151 601 8688 or
email firstname.lastname@activeprofile.co.uk