UK invests $340 million in clean tech for air travel

PARIS (Reuters) -Britain said it would invest 250 million pounds ($340 million) in technology to make air travel greener, backing research into zero-emission flying, laser-beam manufacturing and cutting aircraft drag, to help boost the country's aerospace industry. 

Britain said the funding for research and development projects led by Airbus, Rolls-Royce and a number of smaller companies and academic partnerships, would attract more private investment into the sector and add new jobs. 

Industry Minister Sarah Jones is due to announce the new funding at the Paris Airshow on Tuesday, backing a number of projects which include the development of infrastructure for testing liquid hydrogen systems, fuel cell systems and developing lightweight materials. 

The funding announcement came ahead of the government's industrial strategy, expected to be published later this month, and which will aim to help grow the country's defence and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Jones said supporting the major contractors was "incredibly important", but the government also wanted to encourage more start-ups in the sector.

"Getting the supply chain of smaller businesses ready is the challenge, and that's what we want to build up in the UK," she said in an interview.

Airbus UK chairman John Harrison said the funding gave the industry the confidence and stability needed to fuel innovation.

"It's initiatives like these that are absolutely critical to accelerating our decarbonisation journey and advancing sustainable, cutting-edge manufacturing," he said. 

($1 = 0.7351 pounds)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle, writing by Sarah Young, editing by William James)