Invest Northern Ireland has committed £3.6 million to support pioneering research and advances in sustainable energy, the Economy Minister has announced.

Industry-led research centre CASE will use the funds for Phase II of its work to advance Northern Ireland's position within the global sustainable energy market, specifically in decarbonising the energy system and reducing the impact of climate change.

Minister for the Economy Diane Dodds announced the funding boost on Wednesday, praising the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy's recent achievements, which include opportunities for 50 ambitious firms to explore new innovative technologies and services with global commercial potential.

Established in 2013, CASE is hosted at Queen's University Business and draws on the research capabilities of Ulster University and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

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Minister Dodds said: "CASE has also exceeded its targets. This includes its support in securing over £3million of funding to Northern Ireland for the Bryden Centre – a cross border renewable energy research centre funded under the EU's Interreg VA programme and led from Belfast.

"In the coming years, I look forward to watching the progress CASE makes with some of the world's major challenges in sustainable energy research for the benefit of the Northern Ireland economy."

Director of CASE Sam McCloskey welcomed the funding boost, saying: "We are delighted that the Minister and Invest NI has recognised the importance of continuing research in sustainable energy and has committed to funding CASE in this second phase. This R&D is particularly important in light of the links between decarbonising the energy system and reducing the impact of climate change."

Chair of CASE, Trevor Haslett, added: "Our ambitions are to capitalise on the positive R&D outcomes from our collaborative projects to date and to maximise the benefits for our industrial members."

CASE will give insight into their future plans at the 'Innovating to secure a zero carbon energy future conference' at Riddel Hall, Belfast today, Thursday 16 January 2020.