British Sugar given £7.5m to help cut carbon emissions

The funding will go towards a project to replace gas dryers with steam dryers which could result in the site's emissions reducing by 25%

British Sugar has been given £7.5m in funding to help overhaul crop drying processes with the aim of cutting carbon emissions by 25%.

The company, which operates a factory in Wissington, Norfolk, plans to use the money to install emission-cutting technology including heat pumps and carbon capture.

The government funding is part of a £37m project to revolutionise the on-site drying process with gas dryers replaced by steam dryers to save 193,000 MWh a year in energy usage.

Terry Jermy, Labour MP for South West Norfolk, said: "This is excellent news as British Sugar is a pillar of our country and region with regards to production and innovation."

The company needs to clean, shred, boil and process the beet crop into different grades of sugar for food and confectionary manufacturers.

Phil McNaughton says the funding marks another step in the company's decarbonisation plans

Phil McNaughton, head of decarbonisation at British Sugar, said the project would "not be possible" without the funding.

He said the change was a "significant milestone" in the company's aim of achieving a net zero operation.

"We look forward to working together with the government in the future to utilise new technologies and continue decarbonising our operations."

In recent years British Sugar has also invested in an evaporation plant at the Wissington factory.

It was awarded the money as part of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.

The government hopes the investment will help to cut carbon emissions and improve the efficiency of operations while supporting local jobs and economic growth.