The Foundation supports education and skills development for non-profit organisations and social enterprises in the regions where it operates and runs two grant cycles a year. Today Drax has announced that £323,000 of funding has been awarded across the UK, US and Canada as part of the first round of grants since the Foundation was launched in March 2023.
Shona King, Drax Head of Community, said: “We are passionate about giving back to the communities we operate in and earlier this year we launched the Drax Foundation as part of an exciting new chapter in how we deliver positive social impact. We are pleased to announce that our initial £323,000 grant awards will support 13 projects across the UK and North America which work to support STEM education or to enhance green spaces and biodiversity.”
Drax Foundation is focused on funding initiatives that support education and skills development in Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM), as well as those that improve green spaces and enhance biodiversity within local communities. Funding is available for organisations ranging from smaller community-led projects to larger grants of £50,000 for established non-profit organizations.
Priority is given to organisations that deliver programmes for under-served and under-represented groups, advance gender equality and support indigenous communities.
Of the total, almost £90,000 has been split between three different organisations near to Drax Power Station in Yorkshire and the Humber;
- NYBEP (North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership) who work with schools and businesses to develop STEM programmes
- Don Catchment Rivers Trust which offers Community-led conservation and nature-based STEM education for children
- Toranj Tuition, a Hull-based organisation established to stimulate social mobility and to facilitate equal opportunities for adults and children through our educational programmes.
£50,000 has been awarded to two different projects near to Drax’s hydro operations in Scotland;
- Argyll and the Isles Coast Countryside Trust (ACT) to expand outdoor STEM learning for primary school children in Argyll
- Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium to improve access to STEM education for rural populations in Southwest Scotland.
£10,000 has been awarded to Speakers for Schools which offers STEM programming focussed on ‘green skills’ for the future in Northampton and Ipswich where Drax’s two energy supply businesses Opus Energy and Drax Energy Solutions are based.
Over US $100,000 has been awarded to four different projects in the US where Drax owns several pellet plants and has recently opened its BECCS headquarters;
- Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering to expand their STEM programmes to minority communities in East Texas
- Galveston Bay Foundation in Texas to engage children in conservation through STEM education and hands-on learning
- Houston Audubon to launch a pilot project engaging schools and families in nature Programmes
- Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism & Sustainability to develop a native plant nursery and implement a habitat restoration programme on Gulf Shores, Alabama
Over CAD $150,000 has been awarded to three different projects near to Drax’s pellet operations in Canada;
- Scientists in School to expand STEM education to students in BC and Alberta
- The Exploration Place to develop a STEM outreach program in schools and among First Nations communities in the Prince George region
- Connected North to offer STEM learning for First Nations communities across Yukon, Northwest Territories, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario
Organisations and initiatives that meet Drax’s funding and selection criteria are encouraged to visit www.drax.com/community to learn more about the Foundation and submit an initial expression of interest.
The Drax Foundation is a donor advised fund administered by the Charities Trust (an independently registered charity with the UK Charity Commission, charity no. 327489)
ENDS
Pic caption 1: Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism & Sustainability
Pic caption 2: Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium offers fun and interactive STEM activities for young people
Pic caption 3: Galveston Bay Foundation volunteers taking part in a river clean-up
Media contacts:
Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4 million tonnes of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 19 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year.
Drax is targeting 8 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3 million tonnes of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
Customers:
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK businesses, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
To find out more go to the website energy.drax.com
