AN OXFORD social enterprise has won £1.6m EU funding to boost renewable energy generation in the city.

The Low Carbon Hub's £1.6m European Regional Development funding will be matched with another £1.6m from six council and university partners.

Through the project, known as OxFutures, the partners are hoping to increase the number of new low-carbon businesses so that more of the £1.5bn Oxfordshire spends annually on energy stays in the county.

The group plans to spend the money by offering grants to fund development of new products, start-ups and energy-efficiency projects.

There is also an aim to encourage Oxford businesses to work with the hub and the councils to improve energy efficiencies.

Low Carbon Hub says the result will be an improvement in air quality in Oxford, a reduction in energy bills and CO2 emissions and a boost to the local economy.

The project will build on the success of the first phase of OxFutures which originated as a partnership between Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and the hub.

During that first phase, a four-year EU-funded program, £18m of investment was ploughed into local renewable energy and energy-efficient projects.

The partners for this phase are Oxford City Council, Cherwell District Council, Oxford Brookes University and Oxford University’s ‘Oxford Martin Program on Integrating Renewable Energy’.

Businesses interested in applying for grant funding should email the Low Carbon Hub at info@lowcarbonhub.org or call 01865 246099