Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has joined forces with ENGIE to discover and fund innovative projects that can speed up the development of solutions to decarbonise, digitise and decentralise energy and help achieve a sustainable energy transition.
A £4m competition will link government grants from Innovate UK, awarded alongside and simultaneously with private sector investment from ENGIE.
It’s the first time an Innovate UK programme has private funding from overseas.
ENGIE, a French energy and services company, will work with Innovate UK to make joint investments and the competition’s aim is to allow organisations to form investment partnerships at an early stage.
To do this, ENGIE and Innovate UK are bringing together Innovate UK’s expertise in identifying promising innovations and using funding to materially change their risk profiles as well as ENGIE’s expertise in the commercial sector.
Ian Meikle, director of clean growth and infrastructure at Innovate UK, said: ‘We are seeking the very best of British ideas in clean growth innovation.
‘By teaming up with ENGIE we can multiply our funding and do even more to grow the industries, businesses and jobs of tomorrow by bringing in the private sector at an earlier stage through this investment accelerator programme.”
Nicola Lovett, CEO of ENGIE UK & Ireland, added: ‘We are delighted to be working with both Innovate UK and ENGIE’s Paris-based New Ventures team to directly assist innovative UK companies in the clean growth sector – in areas such as renewables, energy services and e-mobility.
‘This initiative also supports our own ambition to be a leader in making zero-carbon transition possible for businesses and local authorities.’
The first round of the competition closes on August 14.