Thousands of businesses are being offered help to cut their gas and electricity use through a new £24 million scheme.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, have launched the Government-funded Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS) pilot scheme.
The region's large advanced manufacturing sector means the West Midlands has a higher proportion of energy-exposed businesses than any other part of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
As a result, the West Midlands Combined Authority said it was working with local SMEs to help identify and fund new ways of working that used less energy and supported the region's transition to net zero.
Businesses can get a free energy audit and then apply for up to £100,000 of match funding towards the cost of all or some of the recommended measures.
This could include investment in new machinery and equipment, improved manufacturing processes or LED lighting and insulation.
Mr Street and Lord Callanan launched the new initiative at Wednesbury-based automotive component manufacturer Alucast which is one of the 500 local businesses to have already signed up.
Alucast employs 126 people at its foundry but, with 30 furnaces in operation, the company uses 2.5 million kWh of electricity and 7.5m kWh of gas every year, costing £1 million.
Chairman Tony Sartorius said: "The casting industry supports many other sectors in the economy. This is why it is described as a foundation industry and is so important in most modern economies. Its major costs are labour, materials and energy, in that order.
"These costs are critical and are often outside the control of many businesses as inflation and world commodity prices have surged in the last two years.
"Our goal is to reduce energy consumption through micro-management by installing sub-metering, investing in more efficient furnaces and educating our workforce on our energy savings and net zero goals.
"We believe BEAS will help us achieve our targets and is a real and proactive mechanism to reduce carbon emissions."
Mr Street added: "Businesses right across our region like Alucast appreciate our net zero commitment but for many the impact of high energy costs will mean they have struggled to see how they can finance their own investments in improving energy efficiency.
"It's really good news that the £24 million of Government money we've secured will help businesses in all sectors and of all sizes to identify how to reduce their energy usage and support investment in long-term measures that will also result in lower energy costs in the future."
