Research Hub Funding
Since 1st January 2019, all Scheme participants have been required to pay a Research Fee as part of their annual certification fee under CCS or BCS. At initial application or renewal, Scheme participants will receive an invoice for the Research Fee from their Certification Body, as well as an invoice for certification services. REAL recovers the Research Fee from the Certification Body. The Research Fees collected are ringfenced for use by the Research Hub.
The Research Hub is managed independently from the CCS and BCS. Each year, REAL issues an Annual Report providing a summary of Research Hub developments and an update on the accounts.
Research Fees
The Research Fee charged to each operator is relative to the annual input tonnage (tpa) of their plant. The fees are reviewed on a regular basis.
The table below presents CCS and BCS groups according to scheme participants’ annual input tonnage and the corresponding Research Fee for each group.
| Groups | CCS Input (tpa) | BCS Input (tpa) | Annual research fee (VAT excl.) |
| I | 0-3,000 | 0-6,000 | £100 |
| II | 3,001-6,000 | 6,001-15,000 | £300 |
| III | 6,001-12,000 | 15,001-25,000 | £600 |
| IV | 12,001-20,000 | 25,001-50,000 | £800 |
| V | 20,001-50,000 | 50,001-75,000 | £1,200 |
| VI | >50,000 | >75,000 | £1,500 |
How Research Fees are Used
From 2020, at least 70% of the Research Hub’s annual income is available for research projects.
REAL charges a 10% administration fee from the Research Hub’s annual income to cover the management of the Hub, as well as marketing, communication, and IT costs.
In addition, 10% of the Hub's annual income is set aside for project management, and a further 10% may be allocated to assist the industry in developing research project proposals, for technical support, and for project appraisal.