Results

Energy Catalyst, led by Innovate UK, is a well-established open call grant funding programme that runs in regular tranches to support innovators to develop new technologies and business models that can improve lives in Africa and Asia. Energy Catalyst accelerates the innovation needed to end energy poverty through both financial and advisory (incubation) support, and by building strategic partnerships and uncovering new insights. Energy Catalyst is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Five-year regional programme focused on priority countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that includes a £50m contribution to the High Impact Partnership for Climate Action (HIPCA) – managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with an estimate of at least £25m for clean energy innovation/demonstration. The objective of HIPCA is to unleash investments and solutions that reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen resilience, including through clean energy innovations. This programme is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (PREO) is a demand-led, productive use of renewable energy (PURE) programme which stimulates partnerships, innovation and learning to address needs and improve livelihoods of sub-Saharan African communities. PREO has three key service functions: Action Learning Projects, Partnership Services, and Technical Assistance. These functions induce and support innovations that address current industry needs, consolidate fragmented efforts, and disseminate knowledge and learnings for the betterment of rural sub-Saharan African communities. PREO aims to grant-fund around 30 Action Learning Projects through open calls, seeking to create 3,500 jobs and benefiting more than 11,000 rural households.

Organisations wishing to be kept up to date on future rounds of PREO grant funding should visit the website to subscribe to the PREO newsletter. PREO is part of the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform.

The Pioneer Energy Investing Initiative: Powering Livelihoods Using Solar (known as PEII+) is a multi-million dollar, 5-year initiative led by Acumen and supported by the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform. PEII+ invests early-stage capital in enterprises that provide renewable energy-powered productive use of energy (PUE) solutions. PEII+ also provides post-investment support in the form of impact measurement and technical assistance (TA) grants. Local entrepreneur accelerators also supports locally-led enterprises in India and East Africa, as well as insight and thought leadership, drawing key lessons for deploying new investment vehicles.

The Efficiency for Access R&D fund invests in R&D projects with the aim of accelerating the availability, affordability, efficiency and performance of a range of low energy inclusive appliances that are particularly suited to developing country contexts and promote social inclusion. This project is supported by the Low Energy Inclusive Appliances (LEIA) programme.

The Global Distributors Collective (GDC) is a collective of over 200 last mile distribution companies, hosted by Practical Action and supported by the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform. During its current phase, GDC is testing new approaches to further enable energy access at the last mile through the following actions:
– Identifying and accelerating innovation within the last mile distributor ecosystem
– Embedding best practices within last mile distributors
– Undertaking market intelligence and research
– All underpinned by essential member engagement activities.

Crowd Power seeks to grow the debt and equity energy access crowdfunding sector to become commercially sustainable and enable early and growth stage businesses to access crowdfunding. Crowd Power does this through: platform support (campaigns, de-risking and investor outreach); partnerships with lead fund investors (e.g. Charm Impact); oversight of the Energise Africa platform; and research and dissemination of learnings. Crowd Power is led by Mercy Corps Energy 4 Impact (E4I) and supported by the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform.

The Innovation Lab develops new cost-reducing innovations with the potential to significantly reduce mini-grid levelised cost of energy (LCOE). It seeks to demonstrate the impact of these innovations in the real world and raise funding for the innovations to achieve national scale impact. The Innovation Lab is delivered by CrossBoundary and supported by the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform.

An evolution of Lighting Global Quality Assurance, VeraSol strives to make safe, affordable, and durable products the default option in the market. VeraSol builds upon the strong foundation for quality assurance laid by the World Bank Group and expands the quality assurance framework to encompass appliances and productive use equipment. This project is supported by the Low Energy Inclusive Appliances (LEIA) programme.

The Global LEAP Awards is an international competition that identifies and promotes the world’s best, most energy-efficient appliances and equipment intended for use in energy-constrained settings. The Global LEAP Awards have evolved into a trusted global brand that serves as the de facto source of accurate, actionable information about the quality and energy performance of appliances designed for use with off-grid solar energy systems, mini-grid and areas with inconsistent grid connection. Since 2014, Global LEAP Awards has run several competitions and challenges for high-impact and emerging technologies, most recently for walk-in cold storage units, solar water pumps and electric pressure cookers. This project is supported by the Low Energy Inclusive Appliances (LEIA) programme.