HFC/CAT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The following is the current list of frequently asked questions, together
with the preliminary responses from the BERR. This list of questions
and answers will be expanded as further common questions are received.
Q1) How much grant funding investment is BERR committing to
this programme and over what period?
A1) £50m total grant funding investment by BERR.
Call for applications no. 1 is HFC £5m, CAT £10m. Funding released
over the 4 year period commencing April 2007.
Q2) How will applications be assessed and against what criteria?
A2) The application process will be a 2 stage process. Stage 1 being a
prequalification questionnaire. Stage 2 being a more detailed proposal
and presentation of the proposal. An independent assessor panel will
review the proposals. There are 8 eligibility criteria by which the
applications will be assessed:
- an eligible CAT or HFC technology,
- cost effective technology,
- at a satisfactory technology readiness level,
- a low carbon solution,
- offering value for money,
- an innovative solution,
- how results and feedback will be made available and disseminated,
- credibility of proposal and organisations involved
And a secondary set of 3 criteria being:
- collaborative approach,
- feedback of information to benefit further R&D work
- benefits to UK in terms of technical, economic, environmental
and social aspects
Q3) What are the weighting of the assessment criteria?
A3) There will
be weighting assigned for the assessment against the stated criteria.
The priorities of the criteria will be defined in outline as part of
the stage 1 enquiry. This work is currently in progress.
Q4) We understand any proposal must comply with EU State Aid rules
applicable to this funding. What are they?
A4) The demonstrations must
operate in accordance the EU State Aid Rules. State Aid clearance has
been obtained for the demonstration programme under the EU R&D
Guidelines.
Refer to (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31996Y0217(01):EN:HTML)
for further details of EU State Aid rules.
Where proposals are for grant funding greater than Euro 5m and a
total project value being funded is greater than Euro 25m then project
specific State Aid clearance will have to be obtained.
Q5) What percentage of a project can be funded from the grant aid
funding?
A5) 25% of the total project value plus some opportunities
for uplifts based upon organisation meeting the SME criteria or projects
carried out in assisted areas. Refer to the HFC/CAT scheme overview
document on the website for definitions.
Q6) What are the focus areas for the BERR grant funding investment?
A6) The focus will be fairly wide at the call no.1 stage as per annex 1
of the scheme overview posted on the HFCCAT website. Subject to the
responses from industry we expect to refine the focus of the later
calls for proposals.
Q7) When will the first grant payment be available?
A7) Our target
is April 07 subject to a good response to the call and good quality
of proposals. Payments would be released upon a pre-agreed milestone
schedule.
Q8) When will HFC/CAT proposal call no.1 be available and how will
we find it?
A8) October 2006. The proposal call no.1 questionnaire will
be posted on the website from mid October 2006.
Q9) Is this specific grant funding round intended to fund large scale
CCS projects?
A9) This HFC/CAT demonstration programme is intended
to potentially fund sub-components within a CCS project.
Q10) Can proposals be made for R&D projects?
A10) No. Projects
leading to desktop studies and reports without physical demonstration
plant and equipment are not acceptable for funding under this programme.
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The information provided below is correct as of 26 September
2006
Q11) Re: eligible technologies. Are molten carbonate fuel
cells included, as they were not listed in the presentation?
A11) Yes. The eligible technologies
are listed on the website ( http://www.hfccat-demo.org/competition/call1.htm).
Assessments will be based on how the project as a whole meets the criteria.
Q12) Which type of organisations is the funding open to e.g.
universities?
A12) We envisage collaborations including end users and technology
suppliers. University sector involvement is welcome.
Q13) Is additionality important?
A13) Additionality is one of the criteria
for assessment. Further guidance will be will be provided with the
stage 1 questionnaire.
Q14) Is the 25% the maximum of BERR funding or the maximum
of public spending?
A14) The total of amount of grant funding available is in
accordance with the EC State Aid Rules. For this programme, demonstration
support can be up to 25% as this is classified as pre-competitive development.
Certain uplifts may be available (e.g. for SME's, certain geographical
regions).
We are aware of the particular state aid issues for some of
the Carbon Abatement Technologies. The current State Aid R& D framework
is being revised and we would seek to use any enhanced flexibility
of the State Aid framework in later calls of the programme.
Q15) What would happen if a public building wanted funding to demonstrate,
for example, a heating system?
A15) A link to the current State Aid R & D
guidelines (under which this scheme is operating) are available on
the website. The eligible costs are also set out there.
Q16) There are no companies in the UK which manufacture larger
fuel cells. Will non-UK companies be able to apply?
A16) Yes, however we expect
project proposals to be in the form of consortia including end-user
and technology supplier. Such a proposal will need to demonstrate how
they meet the full range of criteria.
Q17) How will GHG savings be calculated and what will they
be compared to?
A17) This is likely to be specific to the project proposal.
It is envisaged that due to the nature of demonstration projects such
as those that are looking at systems integration and optimisation will
not necessarily lead to short term greenhouse gas savings. However,
proposals will be expected to show how the proposed technology - once
in widespread commercial deployment –would assist Government in meeting
its energy policy goals - including CO 2 reduction.
Q18) Will projects with the lowest carbon emissions on a life-cycle
basis (e.g. “well to wheels”) be favoured over higher-carbon alternatives?
A18) That is one of the criteria by which proposals will be assessed.
Q19) Who is the money going to – end-users or suppliers?
A19) The grant
funding will be available to meet the eligible costs of project owners.
The eligible costs are defined by the EC State Aid R&D guidelines.
Q20) Are all criteria equally weighted and will the weighting
be published?
A20) The criteria weighting will vary. The weighting will
be published on the website in time for the first call.
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Q21) What information will be put in to the public domain
from each project – from the tender, status reporting to the end
report? How will this balance with those who are unsuccessful?
A21) It’s a very
sensitive issue so we will need to be clear about IPR. The information
to be published and the performance measurements will be agreed on
a contract by contract basis with successful projects. The public domain
information will be placed on the programme's website as this becomes
available.
Given that applications will initially be in confidence
to the programme we will not be making public details of those who
are not selected under this programme.
Q22) The funding will be available from next year. When does
the project have to start or finish?
A22) The grant funding should be committed
within the lifetime of the programme. There is no expiry date, but
certainty of cash flow and accurate forecasting will be an important
part of the process.
Q23) Is there an allocation of market sector funding?
A23) For the
first call there is a nominal split between Carbon Abatement Technologies
(£10 million) and hydrogen & fuel cell technologies
(£5 million).
Q24) Is hydrogen transport included?
A24) Yes.
Q25) Is this funding only for large projects?
A25) Given the nature
of the projects, which we expect to come forward, we think it unlikely
that we will be offering grants of much less than£1 million. However
we do not intend to set an upper or lower limit for project costs.
The award of funding will be subject to the available budget.
Q26) What are the uplifts?
A26) Information is on the website. Eligible
uplifts are cumulative.
Q27) Projects may be approved in 2007 but may not begin until
2009; would this be a problem?
A27) No. As stated above, the current expectation
is that money should be committed within the lifetime of the programme.
That is to say, contracts agreed between project sponsors and the BERR.
Providing the projected spend is forecast and managed accurately, projects
can start and complete outwith the lifetime of the programme.
Q28) Collaborative working and large projects are being favoured;
would multiple organisations on 1 project be favoured over a number
of demonstrations?
A28) A single project that addresses a number of
components would score higher than a single project that addressed
a single component. The component maps will shortly be available on
the website.
Q29) Size of projects; is there an indicative range given?
A29) No
range has been given but this may change later – as long as it still
falls within the State Aid guidelines.
Q30) There are other demonstration programmes; will you be
co-ordinating with them?
A30) Yes, there will be liaison with other programmes but
is not envisaged that the programmes will be linked.
Q31) The response to Call 1 will influence Calls 2 and 3;
do you have to apply to Call 1 even if you are interested in Call
2 or 3?
A31) No. You should not apply to a specific call unless
you are in a position to go-ahead under that call (assuming that
you are successful). Given that this is the first time a national
demonstration fund will be available for these technologies we anticipate
the first call and indeed the launch event being a valuable part
of the learning process for this programme.
The Department would be interested in hearing from you if you expect
to submit proposals under the second or third calls so that it has as
good a picture as possible of the potential funding demand. If you would
like to discuss with the Department potential projects on a without prejudice
basis in confidence then please request this through the email address:
info@hfccat-demo.org
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