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Smart, affordable global energy systems: apply for funding

Organisations can apply for a share of up to £22 million to help provide clean, affordable and secure energy in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Solar panel on a rural farm.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp UK has committed to helping 3.2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa access household electricity for the first time.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp UK has committed to helping 3.2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa access household electricity for the first time by 2021.

Innovate UK has up to £22 million to invest in innovative, market-focused energy technologies for sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, through the Energy Catalyst funding programme.

Round 7 of the Energy Catalyst will encourage the development of products and services that help poorer households and enterprises in the regions to access secure, low cost and low carbon energy.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp Energy Catalyst is run by Innovate UK (part of UK Research and Innovation) and co-funded by partners including the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It is part of the and .

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp ‘Energy Trilemmaâ€�

Successful projects will address the :

  • cost â€� reducing prices to make energy accessible to everyone
  • emissions â€� generating cleaner energy with lower emissions to protect the environment
  • security of supply â€� putting reliable infrastructure in place to keep energy flowing without disruption or shortage

Funding for different project stages

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp competition offers 3 strands for projects in different stages of development:

  • early stage â€� for feasibility studies exploring an idea’s technical potential
  • mid-stage â€� funds research and development
  • late stage â€� supports projects undertaking prototyping and pilot testing

To apply for mid-stage or late-stage funding some of the research, testing or demonstration must be carried out in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia by either a UK or international partner.

Competition information

  • the competition opens on 17 June 2019
  • a briefing event will take place in London on 13 June 2019
  • the competition closes on 18 September 2019
  • early stage projects can have total costs of £50,000 and £300,000, and last up to 12 months
  • for mid stage projects, costs can be from £50,000 to £1.5 million, lasting 12 to 24 months
  • for late stage projects, costs can be £50,000 to £5 million, lasting between 12 and 36 months
  • projects must be led by a UK based business
  • projects must start by 1 April 2020 and end by 31 March 2023

Updates to this page

Published 3 June 2019