SMALL and medium-sized energy companies will benefit from a £1.6m package to help them expand by developing new technology.

Newcastle University will establish a facility specialising in combined heat and power (CHP), trigeneration, which involves CHP and refrigeration, and energy storage.

The aim is to enable companies to test technology they have developed, with a view to going forward to product development.

The university also hopes smaller enterprises will be able to tap into the technologies to use in their business.

Half of the £1.6m funding came from the EU and half from The Sir Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research at Newcastle University.

Professor Tony Roskilly, who is leading the project, said: “Our aim is to help businesses to innovate and improve performance by increasing output or reducing operating costs.

“We also want to help them exploit opportunities within the energy technology supply chain and give them an appropriate platform for the research, demonstration and testing of emerging technologies.”

The technologies studied could improve energy efficiency, utilise alternative fuel supplies and cut emissions.