We are actively involved in a portfolio of high-level partnerships and joint initiatives whose objectives are to stimulate more innovation in energy production and low carbon technologies, and encourage strategic partnerships to develop relevant technologies.

Energy Technologies Institute (ETI)

E.ON UK is playing a leading role in a government initiative to shape research and development into energy technologies.

The ETI is a partnership between the UK Government and leading companies – including E.ON – to develop low carbon energy technologies.

As a partner with the ETI, E.ON will contribute up to £5 million per year for 10 years, with the UK Government matching these investments to create a potential £1 billion investment fund for new energy technologies.

The technology areas being researched are Marine, Offshore Wind, Carbon Capture and Storage, Transport, Energy Storage and Distribution, Distributed Energy, Buildings and Bio Energy.

University Collaboration

In 2007, E.ON UK and the EPSRC launched a £10 million fund for a research programme to look at the next generation of low carbon energy solutions.

Together we identified the following broad themes for the fund:

Pathways to a low carbon economy - £2.1 million grant awarded in December 2007 to a consortium of eight universities, led by the University of Bath and Imperial College London.

Energy efficiency technologies - Two projects were announced in April 2008 at a total cost of £4 million. The first is Carbon, Control and Comfort’ a multi-disciplinary multi-university project looking at user-centred control systems for comfort, carbon savings and energy management.

Loughborough University is heading five universities in the second project which will examine how energy efficient and low carbon technologies - such as advanced heat pumps, vacuum glazing and solid wall insulation - can better provide the heating and hot water needs and reduce energy consumption in the home.

Cleaner fossil fuel technologies – Three projects were announced in March 2008 at a total cost of £4.7 million. The first, led by Newcastle University will investigate materials for next generation CO2 transport systems. A consortium, led by the University of Leeds, will focus on oxyfuel combustion. The third consortium, led by the University of Nottingham, will investigate step change adsorbents and processes for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture.