Innovate UK and French energy giant Engie have teamed up to launch a £4 million competition to help fund projects at the forefront of the energy transition.
The competition is to link government grants from Innovate UK with private sector investment from Engie, the first time an Innovate UK programme has sourced private funding from overseas.
The two parties will work together to make joint investments, forming investment partnerships under a ‘Clean Growth innovation Fund’ which will support innovative projects.
Ian Meikle, director of clean growth and infrastructure at Innovate UK, said the competition was looking to uncover 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,” he said.
Funding will come in the form of grants and support projects with total eligible costs of between £100,000 and £1.2 million, however one project with costs of up to £1.5 million may also be considered.
The application window is open now and the first round of the rolling programme closes 14 August 2019.
The competition’s launch comes on the back of a particular busy spell for Engie, which this week has revealed a hat-trick of announcements in the UK market.
Having started the week by acquiring EV charging firm ChargePoint Services, Engie then sealed a major EV-related partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles before participating in a funding round by energy storage specialist Connected Energy.
Nicola Lovett, chief executive at Engie UK & Ireland, said: “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.”