The UK government has launched a funding opportunity for innovators in Africa, Asia and the Indo-Pacific regions to develop and demonstrate clean energy solutions, as part of its efforts to combat climate change and improve energy access.
The funding is provided by the UK government’s Ayrton Fund for clean energy innovation, which was announced at COP 26 in Glasgow. The funding is part of Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst Round 9 and 10 funding cycles, which aim to create and demonstrate new technologies and business models delivering a just and inclusive clean energy transition.
The funding is open to organizations working to create new or improved clean energy solutions for target regions, and each collaborative project can apply for up to £5m in project costs. The applicants can be from anywhere in the world, provided a project admin lead is based in the UK and projects focus on a technology or a business model which is affordable, reliable and low carbon.
The funding will help combat climate change and improve energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Indo-Pacific regions, where millions of people lack access to modern energy services. The funding will also help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and support the UK’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2050 and to increase its renewable energy share to 40% by 2030.
The funding will also help create strategic partnerships, channel knowledge and insights and develop business models to commercialize the solutions that will improve lives. The funding was launched on May 19, 2023 and the deadline for applications is July 28, 2023.
The funding is expected to support around 80 projects across the two rounds, with the first round focusing on early-stage innovations and the second round focusing on mid-stage and late-stage innovations. The funding is supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
The funding is also supported by the Transforming Energy Access platform, which is a program that has helped innovative businesses deliver clean energy access to more than 16 million people and leverage over £890m in further investment since 2016. The funding is one of the UK’s biggest energy access focused grant funding initiatives, which has improved energy access in 34 countries and supported 566 organizations since 2014.
The funding is part of the UK’s efforts to deliver on the Glasgow Breakthroughs, the commitments made at COP 26 to ensure clean technologies are the cheapest and best choice for all globally. The funding is also part of the UK’s efforts to strengthen its partnership with emerging economies and to help them access the clean and affordable energy they need.
