UK Clean Energy Fund Reaches 46 Million People and Supports 256,000 Jobs

The UK-backed Ayrton Fund says its clean-energy work has reached 46 million people across emerging economies, while mobilising more than £3 billion in public and private finance and supporting over 256,000 green jobs.

The figures were released ahead of the Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium at the University of Oxford. The meeting is being convened by the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund with the Africa-Oxford Initiative, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership and UK Research and Innovation.

The fund’s programmes have created a research and innovation network covering 100 countries. It involves 78 universities and more than 840 innovators, academics and delivery partners. The collaborations have also produced 191 technology patent applications and contributed to more than 2,400 research papers.

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The Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium provides an important opportunity to strengthen collaboration between universities, innovators, funders and policymakers across the UK and partner countries. By bringing together global experts, the symposium will help build equitable partnerships, attract investment and accelerate the development of clean energy solutions that support economic growth and climate resilience.

Organisers said the symposium would focus on how universities, innovators, policymakers and investors can work more closely to accelerate energy access, climate resilience and sustainable economic development. Caroline Ward, a senior international funds manager at UK Research and Innovation, said the event could strengthen cooperation across the clean-energy value chain and help attract investment.

“By bringing together global experts, the symposium will help build equitable partnerships, attract investment and accelerate the development of clean energy solutions that support economic growth and climate resilience,” Ward said.

Professor Kevin Marsh, director of the Africa Oxford Initiative, said African researchers would have an increasingly important role in tackling energy poverty and supporting green transitions. He said turning research into practical impact required collaboration among research, innovation and investment.

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African researchers will play a critical role in developing solutions which tackle global challenges such as energy access and green transitions. Translating this research into impact on the ground requires interdisciplinary collaboration between research, innovation and investment.