UK extends Ayrton fund, boosts energy access with £88m

The United Kingdom is extending its commitment to clean energy access by prolonging the Ayrton Fund until 2030. An additional £88 million investment will bolster the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform, a flagship initiative designed to broaden access to clean energy and strengthen international cooperation.

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energy remains central to global development, security and climate goals.

The announcement came during the opening of London Climate Action Week, coinciding with the release of the UK's fourth International Climate Finance (ICF) strategy. The new phase of the Ayrton Fund will focus on deepening global collaboration while simultaneously supporting innovation, job creation, and economic resilience in both the UK and partner nations.

Launched in 2021, the Ayrton Fund oversees the UK's clean energy research, development, and demonstration programs across multiple government departments. It currently supports projects in over 100 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Indo-Pacific. To date, the initiative has demonstrably improved clean energy access for 46 million people, attracted £3 billion in public and private investment, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 14 million tonnes, and generated more than 256,000 green jobs worldwide.

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Ayrton exemplifies this, the UK working as an international partner, moving ideas from research into real-world impact by bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, governments, investors and multilateral institutions.

John Edmunds, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), emphasized energy's critical role in global development, security, and climate objectives. He highlighted the Ayrton Fund as a model for combining innovation and investment to achieve sustainable and inclusive finance flows. "Ayrton exemplifies this, the UK working as an international partner, moving ideas from research into real-world impact by bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, governments, investors and multilateral institutions," Edmunds stated. He further noted that energy is a pivotal issue influencing security, development, climate, and equality in a complex global landscape.

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In an uncertain and contested world, energy is the pivot issue on which so much rides, security, development, climate and equality.

The expanded TEA platform's funding is anticipated to support the testing and scaling of clean energy technologies and business models, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific. This investment will also focus on building local expertise essential for a just energy transition, ensuring that the shift to cleaner energy sources is equitable and benefits communities directly.

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a cleaner, fairer, healthier future for all.