UK firms miss EC grants

THE EUROPEAN Community this weekend invited tenders for projects to improve energy technology amid rising concern that British firms are failing to compete and win a fair share of the grants for industry.

The EC's Thermie project, which will dispense 350m ecu ( pounds 252m) to European industry over the next two years, promotes investment in improved technology in hydrocarbon and coal production and also technology to develop renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.

The Association for the Conservation of Energy, has successfully lobbied Thermie to promote its fund in Britain, but awareness remains poor. Moreover, there are suspicions in the energy industry that UK projects are taken less seriously than applications from other countries because of traditional British scepticism about EC projects in general and the tough stand taken by the Government on the EC budget.

British industry has won just 12 per cent of Thermie funding for energy-saving projects and only 10 per cent for investment in projects promoting the use of renewable energy. The association reckons that UK firms should be winning 18 per cent of the grants overall.

Andrew Warren, the association's director, said: 'There is a basic belief that the British are not serious about energy and the environment. But UK firms should apply because they can win 40 per cent of the cost of any project.'

Specific Thermie objectives include achieving a sharp reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from industrial plant and buildings.