The UK government yesterday announced £126 million of new scale-up funding for the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform as part of a package of support for an inclusive and just transition revealed during Energy Day at COP26 in Glasgow.
This latest commitment will help build on the impact that TEA, a research and innovation platform that supports the technologies, business models and skills needed to enable an inclusive clean energy transition, has had since it was created in 2016.
To-date, TEA has delivered improved access to energy for 9.5 million people, created almost 75,000 sustainable long-term jobs, mobilised £599 million of private and public funding for clean energy technology research and development, and supported the prototyping and development of 349 new clean energy access technologies, avoiding nearly 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions in the process.
This new investment to scale up the TEA platform will build on this strong foundation to help reach 25 million people with improved clean energy access by 2026, leverage £1.3 billion of investment and create 170,000 new long-term green jobs by supporting clean energy access solutions in Asia and Africa.
To deliver on ambitious climate commitments, access to clean energy is crucial. Consigning coal to history is critical, and it is also essential that investment at-scale is leveraged to support the development of clean energy solutions, to support economic development, job creation and a just transition. Today marks an important milestone for the Transforming Energy Access platform in its efforts to improve the lives of millions of people through access to clean energy.