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.

»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 � reducing prices to make energy accessible to everyone
- emissions � generating cleaner energy with lower emissions to protect the environment
- security of supply � 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 � for feasibility studies exploring an idea’s technical potential
- mid-stage � funds research and development
- late stage � 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