EIR/202500495807 · FOI/EIR · unclear
Just Transition Fund application data: EIR release
Information requested
Since the fund opened:
1. How many applications have been accepted? Please provide as much detail as possible on each bid.
2. How many applications have been rejected?
3. What kind of scorecard/criteria is used to decide if applications are accepted/rejected?
Response
Q1) A total of 29 applications have been successful since the Just Transition Fund was established in 2022. Please see the table below for detailed information on each project that has received funding to date:
Successful Applications Fund Recipient / Organisation Project Description Funding Year Total Award Just Transition Fund Robert Gordon University Digital Innovation Lab Digital Innovation Lab initially supporting the construction sector to decarbonise before addressing challenges across a range of sectors. 2022 - 2024 £1.34 million Just Transition Fund The James Hutton Institute HydroGlen Green hydrogen farming pilot to acquire new knowledge to switch from increasingly high levels of fuel poverty to self-reliant, net-zero carbon energy producers in rural communities. 2022 - 2026 £6,968,203.94 Just Transition Fund The James Hutton Institute Just Transition Hub Net zero innovation hub with a land-use and agriculture focus, located within the grounds of the James Hutton Institute (Hutton) campus in Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen. 2022 - 2025 £7.192 million Just Transition Fund Moray Council Just Transition Masterplan – Moray Council Five interlinked projects to support Moray’s journey away from fossil fuels, including projects to support offshore renewables, creation of a local hydrogen economy, natural capital approach to offsetting, and redeveloping derelict land and premises. 2022 - 2024 £881 k Just Transition Fund Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray Councils NESS Carbon Capture Feasibility Study Study to determine if there is a viable project to retrofit carbon capture systems to the NESS energy facility. 2022 - 2023 £100 k Just - Transition Fund The Food Hub (NES) SeedPod Seedpod aims to be the go to centre for innovation and growth in the net zero food & drink industry. The Just Transition Fund has contributed £3.1m towards the cost of building and fitting out the £27 million project. 2022 - 2024 £3.1 million Just Transition Fund Social Investment Scotland Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund Delivery of a blended finance approach(part loan/part grant) focused on supporting charities and social enterprises to transition to net zero. 2022 - 2024 £1.5 million Just Transition Fund Energy Transition Zone Ltd Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund Supporting companies to enter new energy markets, and delivering capital investment grants to help energy supply chain companies take advantage of low carbon sector opportunities. 2022 - 2026 £9.8 million Just Transition Fund Energy Transition Zone Ltd Energy Transition Skills Hub (formerly Advanced Manufacturing Skills Hub) The Skills Hub will be a focal point of the Energy Transition Zone Skills Campus and will aim to deliver the skills and training needed to support net zero transition. 2022 - 2024 £4.5 million Just Transition Fund VSA Easter Anguston Farm Feasibility study setting out plans for a centre of excellence focusing on 4 areas: STEM, Farm-to-Fork, woodland adventures and linking people to services to help their health and wellbeing. 2022 - 2023 £504,447 Just Transition Fund OPITO Energy Skills Passport Development and deployment of a digital offshore energy skills passport to support the transition of skills and jobs across the rapidly changing industry. 2022 - 2024 £4,996,100 Just Transition Fund National Energy Skills Accelerator (NESA) Pilot Energy Transition Skills Assessing the net zero energy transition skills landscape from now until 2030, identifying gaps/ demand and designing and delivering pilot training to address these. 2022 - 2024 £1 million Just Transition Fund University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI Moray) Moray Net Zero Bottlenecks Collaborative study focused on the current and future skills requirements and labour supply chain bottlenecks in Moray as it transitions to Net Zero. 2022 - 2024 £210,000 Just Transition Fund Net Zero Technology Centre Hydrogen Offshore Production (HOP2) Project to demonstrate that offshore hydrogen production and storage is feasible through the repurposing of existing assets to produce green hydrogen. 2022 - 2026 £2.12 million Just Transition Fund Ripcell Sustainable Solvent Recovery/EV Battery Recycling Pilot to test technology using pot ale (whisky waste product) to deploy a “green solvent” to be used in recycling batteries. 2022 - 2024 £626,734 Just Transition Fund Shine Engineering Tidal Rotor Generator Pilot to develop tidal rotor generators to create a source of green energy in the region. 2022 - 2024 £167,200 Just Transition Fund Seaweed Energy Wave Energy Converter Pilot to develop wave energy converters to create a source of green energy in the region. 2022 - 2024 £100,100 Just Transition Fund North East Scotland Climate Action Network (NESCAN) Hub Just Transition Communities Project This pilot study aims to address the question of how communities can be involved in and help to drive the process of designing, creating and delivering a Just Transition through a range of participative approaches, including Climate Assemblies. 2022 - 2025 £386,152 Just Transition Fund Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce/Campaign for North East Rail (CNER) Buchan Sustainable Transport Study Study to examine possible travel interventions in Dyce, Ellon, Peterhead, and Fraserburgh to accelerate the region’s transition to net zero. 2022 - 2024 £250K Just Transition Fund Park Ecovillage Trust and Findhorn Innovation Research and Education Findhorn Ecovillage Four feasibility studies looking at shifting from conventional housing to net zero housing and transportation within the context of the ecovillage and beyond. 2022 - 2023 £226,775 Just Transition Fund Findhorn, Nairn, and Lossie Rivers Trust Findhorn Watershed Riverwoods Pilot Habitat restoration of the Findhorn watershed, beginning with an unbroken network of riparian woodland along its riverbanks, supporting the restoration of Wild Atlantic Salmon populations. 2022 - 2025 £969,972 Just Transition Fund tsiMoray, Aberdeen Council of Voluntary Organisations, Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action, NESCAN Hub and Money4Moray Just Transition Participatory Budgeting £1 million of the Fund will be allocated to participatory budgeting every year over the lifetime of this parliament. 2022 - 2025 £4.21 million Just Transition Fund Opportunity North East North East Adventure Tourism Project to transform the region into a world class destination for adventure tourism by facilitating the development of high quality, sustainable facilities and low carbon infrastructure. 2022 - 2024 £2.097 million Just Transition Fund The Cabrach Trust The Cabrach Distillery Development of distillery, a Community Interest Company for the Cabrach region that will use its revenues for rural regeneration and a community led regeneration master plan. 2022 - 2023 £361,767 Just Transition Fund North East Scotland Climate Action Network (NESCAN) Hub Capacity Support Staff resource costs to support delivery of the Just Transition Communities Project. 2022 - 2025 £167,387 Just Transition Fund ORE Catapult Large Scale Synthetic Mooring Line Test Rig Build and design of large scale synthetic mooring line test rig. 2025 - 2026 £500,000 Just Transition Fund Maritime Developments Ltd Cable Handling Facility Purchase and installation of 10,000 tonne offshore carousel and product highway package to support OW industry. 2025 - 2026 £2,914,916 Just Transition Fund Verlume Ltd Orah Assembly and Deployment Subsea battery storge and energy management system. 2025 - 2026 £2,593,400 Just Transition Fund Fraserburgh Harbour Commissioners Enabling Renewable Energy Infrastructure Support the Ground Investigation required to unlock Phase 1 (North Breakwater Extension) of the Fraserburgh Harbour Development. 2025 - 2026 £2,471,711.60
Q2) When the Just Transition Fund first opened in 2022, it received a total of 102 applications. Of these, 25 bids were approved for funding, meaning 79 applications were not successful and were therefore rejected. In the 2025–26 funding round, the Fund received a total of 65 applications. With 4 bids awarded funding therefore 61 applications were rejected.
Q3) Applications are accepted or rejected based on a structured scorecard that considers:
Alignment with Just Transition Outcomes (including the mandatory Jobs, Skills & Economic Opportunities outcome) Environmental and social benefits Quality of project planning and delivery Compliance with Fair Work First commitments Demonstrated funding need and value for money Suitable co-funding levels or intervention rate.
These criteria form the basis for funding recommendations and are assessed by a review panel using the published weighting framework. Bids are reviewed and scored against these criteria by the Scottish Government, with guidance from relevant internal experts.
More detailed information can be found on our official funding round website: What you can apply for - Just Transition Fund: application form and guidance - gov.scot
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