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The financial support will speed the technologies' development through to commercial reality and accelerate the UK's move to a low carbon economy.

Projects including a new generation of LEDs, energy efficient kilns and steam trap performance sensors have all received financial backing from the Carbon Trust's Applied Research scheme. Over the past four years the Carbon Trust has invested more than £17 million in projects that have demonstrated their potential to develop into viable commercial technologies that could reduce UK carbon emissions.

The seven projects to receive funding from the Carbon Trust are:

•     Aluminium smelting technology with the potential to reduce energy consumption by up to 20% - Coventry University
•     Technology to explode paint into moulds, eliminating the need for paint shops in the manufacture of plastic components – Warwick Manufacturing Group
•     Energy efficient kilns, which could reduce the energy used in the manufacture of ceramics – Horizon Ceramics
•     Natural ventilation systems for large buildings with the potential of halving the energy used by conventional mechanically ventilated buildings – e-stack Ltd.
•     Testing of new fully automated biomass combined heat and power unit – Biomass CHP Ltd.
•     Steam trap performance sensors with the potential for reducing carbon emissions by more than 750,000 tonnes over ten years – Spirax Sarco Ltd.
•     New generation of ultra bright LEDs with improved life expectancy and massive carbon savings over traditional lighting – GlowLed Ltd.

Garry Staunton, Head of Low Carbon Research at the Carbon Trust, said:

“The diverse nature of these technologies clearly demonstrates the exciting low carbon innovation work taking place in the UK today. These technologies have the potential to make significant carbon savings and to be commercially very successful.

“The Carbon Trust's Applied Research scheme aims to speed promising low carbon technologies towards commercial reality and large scale deployment. These technologies will play a vital part in moving the UK towards a low carbon economy. The application process is rigorous so successful projects are to be congratulated on securing support from the Carbon Trust.”