Fund details
To be in scope for Energy Catalyst round 10 your project must address both energy access and clean energy.
1. Energy access
Your project must aim to speed up access to affordable, clean energy services for poor households, enterprises and social institutions in official development assistance (ODA) eligible countries in sub-Saharan -Africa, the Indo-Pacific region, or South Asia. It must do this by supporting the development, testing or scale-up of innovative technologies or business models.
A clear social or economic benefit in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or the Indo-Pacific Region is required.
This can include:
- creating new energy access in unserved regions
- improving existing access to provide a more reliable service
Your project must target one or more of the following eligible countries:
Sub-Saharan Africa:
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Eritrea
- Eswatini (Swaziland)
- Ethiopia
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe (may be ineligible from 13 December 2024)
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
South Asia:
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- India (only as part of multi-country projects)
- Maldives
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
Indo-Pacific (ODA eligible ASEAN):
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste (not officially part of ASEAN)
- Vietnam
Indo-Pacific (Pacific Islands):
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Marshall islands
- Papua New Guinea (PNG)
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
2. Clean Energy
Your technology or business model must create clean energy which is:
- Affordable
- Reliable
- Low carbon
While any technology which meets the above criteria is in scope, priority will be given to the following Ayrton Challenge priority areas:
- next-generation solar technologies and business models: enabling new, locally manufacturable, cost-effective alternatives
- smart green grids: including mini and main grid-related technologies
- energy storage: enabling higher intermittent renewable energy penetrations on the grid, and improving access in areas unserved, or poorly served, by the grid
- green hydrogen: developing relevant technologies and value chains to bring forward zero-carbon hydrogen fuels
- modern cooking: unlocking the transition from biomass to genuinely clean cooking, delivering major health and environmental benefits
- low energy inclusive appliances: improving the efficiency, performance, availability, and affordability of end-use domestic and productive appliances adapted to developing country needs
- leave no one behind, specifically technologies and business models: ensuring the benefits of the clean energy revolution reach the poorest and most marginalised, including women, those with disabilities, people in humanitarian contexts, and those accessing healthcare in unelectrified clinics
- sustainable cooling: to help meet growing global cooling demand in a warming world, in a sustainable way
Over 50% of your project must focus on energy access and energy innovation to be in scope. This is determined by your project costing and work packages.
Eligibility
Early-stage
Your project must:
- have total costs between £50,000 and £300,000
- start on or after 1 April 2024
- end by 31 March 2027
- last between 3 months and 12 months
- help deliver clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or the Indo-Pacific
- include a UK registered administrative lead
- if you are an international organisation, partner with a UK administrative lead
- involve at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), from anywhere in the world
Mid-stage
Your project must:
- have total costs between £50,000 and £1.5 million
- start on or after 1 April 2024
- end by 31st March 2027
- last between 6 months and 24 months
- help deliver clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or the Indo-Pacific
- involve at least one partner with a legal entity in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or the Indo-Pacific region, this can include in-country offices
- involve testing and or demonstration work in anUK-registered country
- include a UK registered administrative lead
- if you are an international organisation, partner with a UK administrative lead
- involve at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), from anywhere in the world
- involve at least one legally separate collaborator
Late-stage
Your project must:
- have total costs between £50,000 and £5 million
- start on 1 April 2024
- end by 31st March 2027
- last between 6 months and 36 months
- help deliver clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or the Indo-Pacific
- involve at least one partner with a legal entity in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or the Indo-Pacific region, this can include in-country offices
- Involve testing and or demonstration work in an eligible ODA country
- include a UK registered administrative lead
- if you are an international organisation, partner with a UK administrative lead
- involve at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), from anywhere in the world
- involve at least one legally separate collaborator
Lead organisation
There are two types of leads in the energy catalyst programme, an administrative lead, who will complete the application and a technology lead.
An administrative lead is there to act as the recipient of the award and will distribute funding to all other partners. This is known as a ‘hub and spoke’ model. The administrative lead will manage and be accountable for the finances of the project by the terms and conditions of the award.
The administrative lead must:
- be a UK-registered business of any size
- claim grant funding through this competition
A technology lead will lead the development of the scope, work packages and any other technical work.
The technology lead:
- can be a business of any size
- can be from anywhere in the world
- must claim grant funding through this competition
UK registered organisations can be both the administrative and technology lead if the criteria is met for both types of leads.
Project team:
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following:
- business of any size
- academic institution
- charity
- not for profit
- non-government organisation (NGO)
- research and technology organisation (RTO)
Talk to us today if you would like to apply for this opportunity.
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