£22 million has been released in a new round of funding for innovation projects to support countries in sub-Saharan African and South Asia access secure, low cost and low carbon energy.
Energy Catalyst Round 7 is part of the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) Programme and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), investment from Innovate UK, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID).
The funding is aimed at projects that address the energy trilemma: issues of cost, emissions and security of supply and energy access. Three strands for funding applications will run in parallel, depending on the maturity of the project. They are:
- early-stage for feasibility studies
- mid-stage for industrial research
- late-stage for experimental development
To be eligible for funding for mid and late stage, at least some of the research and development, testing or demonstration activities must be carried out in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia, as well as having a partner with a legal entity in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.
The funding is targeted to support highly innovative, market-focussed energy solutions in any technology, sector, or international market, as long as they address the needs of poor households, businesses and services in the sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia. They must target people who are unable to afford or access existing solutions, or who lack the time and expertise to successfully use these solutions.
Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is running several briefing and brokerage events to outline the competition scope in detail:
- Glasgow, 11 June (as part of the Clean Growth and Infrastructure Innovation Event)
- London, 13 June
- Webinar, 13 June
- Birmingham, 20 June
- Newcastle, 24 June
- St Asaph, 28 June
To book, click on the relevant date and location to go to the registration page.
Energy Catalyst Round 7 overseas missions
Three energy catalyst missions are taking place in Burma, Ethiopia and Kenya in July to support the Round 7 funding and will offer potential applications a unique opportunity to gain greater understanding of the in situ energy access issues and foster links with potential partners.
More information – application forms and important dates.
Online partnering
KTN is providing an online partnering platform, Meeting Mojo, to support potential UK and international applicants in finding partners. Meeting Mojo allows you to search for and message potential partners to form a consortium for this competition.