By Obas Esiedesa
The United Kingdom has extended its Ayrton Fund to 2030 and announced an additional £88 million investment to scale up its flagship Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform, aimed at expanding clean energy access and strengthening global partnerships.
A statement from the Ayrton Forum said the announcement was made on Monday at the opening of London Climate Action Week, alongside the release of the UK’s fourth International Climate Finance (ICF) strategy.
The UK government said the new phase of the programme would deepen international collaboration while supporting innovation, job creation and economic resilience in both Britain and developing countries.
Launched in 2021, the Ayrton Fund coordinates the UK’s clean energy research, development and demonstration programmes across the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The fund currently supports projects in more than 100 countries across Africa, Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
According to the statement, the initiative has so far improved access to clean energy for 46 million people, mobilised £3 billion in additional public and private investment, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 14 million tonnes, and created over 256,000 green jobs globally.
Speaking at the forum, Chief Scientific Adviser at the FCDO, John Edmunds, said energy remains central to global development, security and climate goals.
He noted that the future of development depends on combining innovation and investment to deliver more 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,” he said.
“In an uncertain and contested world, energy is the pivot issue on which so much rides—security, development, climate and equality.”
He added that the UK was proud to contribute to building “a cleaner, fairer, healthier future for all.”
The UK government said more than 300 leaders from business, finance, government, academia and civil society are participating in the Ayrton Forum to discuss ways of accelerating clean energy transitions ahead of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
It added that over 300 UK-based organisations and more than 1,000 jobs have already benefited from the programme.
Innovations supported under the fund include solar-powered irrigation systems, zero-emission generators, sustainable cold-chain technologies, smart grids, green fertilisers and advanced energy storage solutions.
The £88 million expansion of the TEA platform is expected to support the testing and scaling of clean energy technologies and business models across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, while also building local skills needed for a just energy transition.
