http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5472/?cid=3

UK Energy Minister Greg Barker officially launched the government's £20 million fund to charge up energy storage technologies on Friday.

The fund, which was announced last month, promises to support innovators to help develop energy storage designs and cut costs bringing new technologies to the market.

Energy storage technologies, which are crucial to enabling use of intermittent renewable energy sources, are suffering from a lack of funds to spur innovation and investment, according to a report from the Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group (LCICG).

The fund will be split into two parts, £17 million for an energy storage demonstration competition and a £3 million competition for systems component research and feasibility studies.

The demonstration competition will be spread over two phases, initially offering up to £40,000 for project designs. The designs with the most potential will be invited to enter the second part of the contest, where up to £12 million will be on offer to up to three real-world demonstration projects.

The other competition stream will offer funding of up to £1 million for projects looking to improve components or materials used for energy storage systems or undertake feasibility studies looking at how systems work and could be used in the UK.

"As we move towards a low carbon future, the ability to store energy when we don't need it, for times when we do will become even more important, helping us balance our electricity network and use more clean green power," says Barker. "This investment will help boost innovation in this area and bring more technologies into this growing market."