UK climate tech has gained a new funding opportunity. The Royal Academy of Engineering has introduced its Green Future Fellowships, a £150M program aimed at funding innovative climate solutions. Over the next five years, the initiative will award at least 50 Green Future Fellows with up to £3M each. These fellows will receive the financial backing and support needed to transform their climate-focused ideas into commercially viable projects, contributing to the UK’s efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change.
Empowering UK climate tech innovators with long-term funding
The Green Future Fellowships target innovators, scientists, researchers, and engineers who are developing technologies and solutions critical to tackling the climate crisis. The program offers long-term, flexible funding to help scale these initiatives, with the goal of making a lasting, positive impact. The selected fellows will receive up to £3M each, along with non-financial support such as training, mentorship, and access to a network of experts.
According to a recent survey by Opinium, nearly two-thirds of the UK public believe more needs to be done to scale existing climate solutions, with 70% agreeing that engineers play a crucial role in this effort. The survey also revealed that the top areas where the public sees the most impact include generating clean electricity, recycling materials more efficiently, and recovering wasted energy.
A commitment to long-term climate tech solutions
The Green Future Fellowships aim to provide innovators with the space and time needed to develop and commercialise their UK climate tech solutions. Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, emphasised the importance of supporting scalable, commercially viable solutions to address the climate crisis. “The climate and sustainability crisis is the challenge of our generation, requiring era-defining solutions to be developed and deployed at scale and with urgency. The Green Future Fellowships programme provides a new opportunity to do just that, providing the flexible, long-term support required to accelerate scalable and commercially viable climate innovations at all stages of development.”
She continued, “We are delighted to have this opportunity to tap into the immense creativity in our research and innovation community, and excited to see the proposals that come forward. Green Future Fellowships represent a significant new contribution to efforts to harness innovation to tackle the climate challenge, which is a cornerstone of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s mission to harness the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.”
Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair of the Green Future Fellowship Steering Group, highlighted that many of the solutions to the climate crisis may come from individuals who do not see themselves as engineers.
“Many innovators, scientists and researchers do not see themselves as engineers yet may hold the key to tackling the climate crisis. An engineer is anyone that brings, creates and practically implements ideas into the systems and structures that uphold our world. Too often, short-term decision-making by global funders prioritises immediate solutions and so does not always support the creativity and progress needed to enable innovators to turn complementary or long-term climate ideas into action. These additional solutions exist, but they need the space and the time to commercialise and scale up for lasting impact. We risk letting high-impact long-term solutions to the climate crisis slip through our fingers if we do not nurture and scale them now.”
UK government support
The UK government has provided £150M to the Royal Academy of Engineering to fund the fellowships, with the goal of helping the UK reach its net zero targets and establish itself as a clean energy leader.
Science Minister Lord Vallance of Balham praised the initiative, emphasising its potential to back world-leading scientists and innovators in scaling breakthrough climate technologies stating, “With Government’s investment in the Green Future Fellowships, we are backing our world-leading scientists, engineers and innovators as they invent and scale-up the breakthrough technologies that will help the UK reach net zero and fulfil our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Investing in innovation at every stage will give some of our most impressive researchers the support they need to help the UK tackle global issues like climate change, generate prosperity and improve the lives of hard-working people, across the UK, for many years to come.”
Applicants for the Green Future Fellowships can come from any country but must carry out their work in the UK and ensure that it benefits both the UK and the global community. In addition to financial support, fellows will also receive mentorship, access to training programs, and membership in the Academy’s Awardee Excellence Community.
Applications for the first cohort of Green Future Fellows close on November 5, 2024, with the program providing a 10-year duration of support for successful applicants. Through this initiative, the Royal Academy of Engineering is reinforcing its mission to harness the power of engineering to build a sustainable, inclusive future.
