E.ON hands out 6.9 mln pounds for UK CCS research

LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - E.ON (EONGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) is providing 6.9 million pounds ($10.46 million) to fund British research projects for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, it said on Thursday.

E.ON said it was committed to fit CCS technology to its plant in Kingsnorth, Britain's first coal-fired plant to be built in more than 20 years.

CCS is a process that allows carbon dioxide to be captured from power stations and then stored underground to prevent it from entering the atmosphere.

It is yet to be proven on a commercial scale. Its costs are also yet to come down to become commercially viable.

Together with Britain's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, E.ON is to award four projects led by universities in Nottingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Leeds universities.

"CCS is the most important technology we have in the fight against climate change. If we can get it right then we can look forward to a secure, low carbon energy future for the UK," said Paul Golby, the Chief Executive of E.ON UK.

"Alongside new nuclear and renewable sources, coal is a vital part of our energy mix. These latest research projects are vital in identifying solutions," he said.

Last month, the government said it would force all new coal plants to test the pioneering carbon-cutting technology as it was sharpening efforts to meet steep climate change targets, while ensuring electricity supply.

(Reporting by Nao Nakanishi)