Minister announces £3.6million funding to support pioneering advances in sustainable energy

Minister for the Economy, Diane Dodds, today announced that Invest Northern Ireland has offered £3.6million of support for Phase II of the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE).

Minister Diane Dodds is joined by Sam McCloskey (left), Director of the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy and CASE chairman Trevor Haslett CBE to announce the new funding

CASE, which is an industry-led sustainable energy research centre, is hosted at Queen’s University and draws upon the research capabilities of Ulster University and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

Making the announcement, the Minister said: “Over the last six years, CASE has helped to position Northern Ireland within the global sustainable energy market. It has created opportunities for over 50 ambitious companies to work collaboratively with academic researchers to explore innovative technologies and services with global commercial potential.

“CASE has also exceeded its targets. This includes its support in securing over £3million of funding to Northern Ireland for the Bryden Centre – a cross border renewable energy research centre funded under the EU’s Interreg VA programme and led from Belfast.

“In the coming years, I look forward to watching the progress CASE makes with some of the world’s major challenges in sustainable energy research for the benefit of the Northern Ireland economy.”

Over the last five years, the Centre has greatly exceeded its target of leveraging funding into Northern Ireland’s sustainable energy sector. The new Invest NI funding will enable it to continue this work and its focus on the development of highly innovative solutions for the sustainable energy sector.

Sam McCloskey, Director of CASE, said: “We are delighted that the Minister and Invest NI has recognised the importance of continuing research in sustainable energy and has committed to funding CASE in this second phase. This R&D is particularly important in light of the links between decarbonising the energy system and reducing the impact of climate change.”

Chair of CASE, Trevor Haslett, said: “Our ambitions are to capitalise on the positive R&D outcomes from our collaborative projects to date and to maximise the benefits for our industrial members. We will be providing some insight into this and outlining our future plans at the ‘Innovating to secure a zero carbon energy future conference’ at Riddel Hall, Belfast on Thursday 16 January 2020.”

CASE was established in 2013 with funding made available through the Invest NI Competence Centre programme to drive collaborative R&D in sustainable energy.

Notes to editors: 

1. Photograph attached – caption: Minister Diane Dodds is joined by Sam McCloskey (left), Director of the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy and CASE chairman Trevor Haslett CBE to announce the new funding.
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