The first recipient of the Crawley Greentech Business Growth Fund has been announced. Naked Energy Ltd, a solar thermal manufacturer based in Manor Royal, will receive £39,708 to support product development for its industrial and commercial solar heat and photovoltaic products. The grant funding will allow Naked Energy to fund external testing for continuous development of their product range and international certification. As part of the Towns Fund, Crawley Borough Council launched the Crawley Greentech Business Growth Fund to grow local businesses in the green technology and green construction sectors. The intention is to grow local greentech sector employment opportunities. The £900,000 fund provides targeted financial support for commercialisation and development of solutions to support a transition to net zero. The fund provides three tiers of grant support: Councillor Atif Nawaz, Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development, said: “Providing our local businesses an opportunity to access finance for green technology development is part of the council’s overall strategy to support the growth of the innovation hub for green technology in the region. We are delighted to present the first award to Naked Energy Limited, a longstanding member of the local greentech business community and an industry leader within their field.” Councillor Bob Noyce, Cabinet member for Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change, said: “The council has declared a Climate Emergency and we have a commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2040. Our Greentech Business Growth Fund is an important step towards reducing carbon emissions in Crawley, so I’m delighted that we’ve awarded our first grant.” Christophe Williams, CEO and co-founder of Naked Energy, added: “It’s great to be awarded funding from our local council to help our business grow even further. Local innovation support is important to a growing business like ours, and it helps us continue to develop market-leading green technology products, crucial to ensure our community changes energy for good.” The Greentech Business Growth Fund forms part of the wider strategic delivery of Crawley as an innovation hub for green technology. This includes the construction of the Crawley Innovation Centre in the Manor Royal Business District, which is anticipated to provide physical office spaces for existing and future advanced engineering innovators. The programme is being managed by Carbon Limiting Technologies, a specialist consultancy with over 17 years’ experience in designing and delivering climate technology grants and acceleration support. “It is such a pleasure to work with Crawley Borough Council to deliver these fantastic, real-world opportunities to foster green technology innovations that will generate local jobs and support decarbonisation of commercial and industrial properties across the UK. said Beverley Gower-Jones, CEO of Carbon Limiting Technologies. For more information on the Greentech Business Growth Fund and to register for the upcoming webinar on grant applications, visit our Greentech Business Growth Fund webpage.