Over £50 million to supporting the green energy revolution in the north-east and Moray
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Projects across the north-east and Moray will receive a share of over £50 million to accelerate the energy transition and secure future jobs in the region.
A total of 22 projects will receive funding, including investments in: research and innovation; new green skills training facilities; pilots for emerging energy technologies and projects that will get businesses ready for the supply chain opportunities to come from the energy sector’s transition to net zero.
The awards are the first from the Scottish Government’s flagship Just Transition Fund, which is investing £500 million over ten years in the north-east and Moray to support the region’s transition away from fossil fuels and towards a low-carbon economy.
The First Minister said:“Aberdeen is the oil and gas capital of Europe.
"Let us resolve today to make it the net zero capital of the world.
"That ambition led us to establish the £500 million Just Transition Fund for this region.
“Today I can announce the first 22 projects have just been awarded funding of more than £50 million.
"These projects will support the production of green hydrogen, the development of wave and tidal technology, and even pioneer the use of waste from whisky to recycle EV batteries.
"And, they will focus on the skills our existing workforce need to take advantage of the renewables revolution.
“Incredible Scottish ingenuity here in the north-east, supported by the Scottish Government, developing technologies to tackle the global climate emergency. It is exciting, inspiring stuff."
Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, Richard Lochhead, said:“As we embark on our energy transition we can build on the oil and gas industry’s expertise and ingenuity to transition to a clean energy future. This will help us achieve our net zero targets and create good green jobs as well as tackle inequalities in our society.
“The decades ahead must be a just transition and that means we must not leave anyone behind.
"We must ensure this economic transformation is managed fairly for workers in existing industries and the communities they support.
"I welcome the many ambitious projects that have come forward from North East Scotland and Moray as a result of our invitation to the region to co-design its future.”
Successful projects were selected following an invite to submit Expressions of Interest in May 2022. Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council, as well as Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, provided expertise and local knowledge to assist the selection of the funded projects.
In addition to the 22 projects, a £1 million Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund has also been established to provide direct support to social enterprises.
A further £1.2 million has been allocated to develop a participatory budgeting strand of the Fund – which means communities in the North East and Moray will be able to design and vote on future just transition projects. £1 million will be allocation to participatory budgeting for each year of the Fund.
The digital energy skills passport is one of the outcomes from the Aligning Offshore Energy Standards Action Plan, part of the overarching Integrated People and Skills Strategy.
The projects are -
Seedpod - Opportunity North East: Centre providing incubator and product development space to accelerate the growth and decarbonisation of existing businesses and start-ups - £3,100,000.
Just Transition Hub - James Hutton Institute: Hub will act as a catalyst and diffuser of nature-based-solutions for a net zero transition in the land use sector - £7,192,000.
Digital innovation lab - Robert Gordon University; Pilot providing support to the construction sector to decarbonise and generate green jobs, particularly through the retrofitting of existing buildings and intelligent design of new ones - £673,000.
Moray Just Transition Masterplan - Moray Council; Five interlinked projects to support Moray’s journey away from fossil fuels, including projects to support offshore renewables, creation of a local hydrogen economy, natural capital approach to offsetting, and redeveloping derelict land and premises - £881,000.
Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund - Energy Transition Zone (ETZ); Challenge fund will stimulate major investment from indigenous energy supply chain companies looking to deliver green energy projects and pathway programme will inform and identify the capital investment requirements needed to deliver - £9,782,000.
HydroGlen- James Hutton Institute; Green hydrogen farming pilot to acquire new knowledge to switch from increasingly high levels of fuel poverty to self-reliant, net-zero carbon energy producers in rural communities - £6,218,204.
NESS Energy Carbon Capture Feasibility - Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils: Study to determine if there is a viable project to retrofit carbon capture systems to the NESS energy facility - £100,000.
Skills Passport - OPITO; Development and deployment of a digital offshore energy skills passport to support the transition of skills and jobs across the rapidly changing industry- £4,986,000.
Advanced Manufacturing Skills Hub - ETZ and North East Scotland College: Creation of the Skills Hub in Altens as a focal point of the Energy Transition Zone Skills Campus - £4,500,000.
Pilot Energy Transition Skills - National Energy Skills Accelerator (NESA): Pilot scheme to determine the skills required to reach an energy transition - £1,000,000.
Net Zero Bottlenecks in Moray - UHI Moray: Feasibility study to identify the current skill gaps in Moray and what is holding it back in transitioning to net zero - £210,000.
Easter Anguston Farm - VSA: Centre of excellence focusing on 4 areas: STEM, food, woodland adventures and social prescribing - £500,000.
Hydrogen Offshore Production (HOP2)- Net Zero Technology Centre: Project to demonstrate that offshore hydrogen production and storage is feasible through the repurposing of existing assets to produce green hydrogen. - £2,120,000.
Sustainable Solvent Recovery for EV battery recycling - Ripcell: Pilot to test technology using pot ale (whisky waste product) to deploy a “green solvent” to be used in recycling batteries - £626,734.
Tidal Rotor Generators - Shine Engineering: Pilot to develop tidal rotor generators to create a source of green energy in the region - £167,000.
Wave Energy Converter - Seaweed Energy: Development of device that generates electricity from the oscillation of waves - £100,100.
Findhorn EcoVillage - Park Ecovillage Trust and Findhorn Innovation Research & Education: Four feasibility studies looking at shifting from conventional housing to net zero housing and transportation within the context of the ecovillage and beyond - £226,775.
Findhorn Watershed Riverwoods Pilot - Findhorn Nairn & Lossie Rivers Trust: Creating a thriving, regenerated River Findhorn watershed, with an unbroken network of riparian woodland along its riverbanks, supporting the restoration of Wild Atlantic Salmon populations - £970,000.
North East Adventure Tourism - Opportunity North East: Project to transform the region into a world class destination for adventure tourism by facilitating the development of high quality, sustainable facilities and low carbon infrastructure - £2,097,000.
The Cabrach Distillery - Cabrach Trust: Development of distillery, a Community Interest Company for the Cabrach region that would use its revenues for rural regeneration and community led regeneration master plan - £325,000.
North East Community Climate Assembly Pilot - North East Climate Action Network (NESCAN): Project aims to address the question of how communities can be involved in and help to drive the process of designing, creating and delivering a Just Transition through a range of participative approaches, including Climate Assemblies- £386,152.
Railway Feasibility Study - Campaign for North East Rail (CNER):Study examining a freight and passenger railway connecting Dyce, Ellon, Peterhead, and Fraserburgh - £250,000 (Note - this figure does not match the amount announced in media releases from the SNP earlier this week).
Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund - Social Investment Scotland: Creation of a pilot challenge fund alongside a programme of market building activity to support social enterprises to understand the opportunities presented by the Just Transition Fund over the next 10 years and to take advantage of the investment available - £1,027,180.
