Leading figures from academia, industry and government gathered at the University of Oxford to strengthen a UK-backed global network dedicated to advancing clean energy innovation and tackle some of the world’s most pressing energy and climate challenges.
Convened by the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund, the Africa-Oxford Initiative (AfOx), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership (TEA LP) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium brought together experts from across the clean energy ecosystem, drawing on international expertise and interdisciplinary research to explore how stronger global learning partnerships generating evidence, insights, and innovations can drive sustainable economic growth, strengthen climate resilience and expand access to affordable, reliable energy.
To date, Ayrton-supported innovations have improved access to clean energy for 46 million people across emerging economies, leveraged more than £3 billion in public and private finance and supported more than 256,000 green jobs.
The wider Ayrton network now spans 100 countries and includes 78 universities, alongside more than 840 innovators, academics and delivery partners working to accelerate clean energy progress worldwide. Together, these collaborations have generated 191 technology patent applications and contributed to more than 2,400 research papers, helping transform scientific knowledge into practical solutions with real-world impact.
At a time when countries are seeking faster energy transition pathways to drive energy access and security and economic development, international collaboration is becoming increasingly important in translating research into scalable action. The symposium examined how both in the UK and overseas, universities, innovators, policymakers and investors can work more effectively together to overcome shared challenges, unlock greater impact and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive energy future.
The symposium opened with a keynote address from Professor Sir John Edmunds, Chief Scientific Adviser at the FCDO, highlighting how the Ayrton Fund has fostered a growing network of research partnerships that combine UK expertise with locally-led knowledge, innovation and experience to deliver lasting impact. He emphasised the importance of further strengthening international collaboration to generate the evidence, insights and partnerships needed to support equitable energy transitions, accelerate innovation and build the institutional capacity required for long-term, sustainable change.
A diverse portfolio of Ayrton-supported programmes are advancing research, building institutional capacity and accelerating innovation. Through the Transforming Energy Access-Learning Partnership (TEA-LP), more than 30 universities across Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands are helping to develop the next generation of clean energy leaders, strengthening research capability and expanding opportunities for international knowledge exchange. The TEA@SUNRISE network is driving the development and deployment of innovative clean energy technologies through collaborative research connecting more than 400 members across 40 countries and 80 universities in the UK, Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Faraday Institution is enhancing global expertise in energy storage, connecting researchers and future leaders through its world-leading battery research programmes and Battery Ambassadors network across 7 African Countries. Across the wider Ayrton Fund portfolio, programmes such as Climate Compatible Growth have built an ecosystem of open-source modelling tools, datasets and lecture materials which have been used by more than 50 universities, while Energy Catalyst and ZE-Gen programmes are helping to translate research into practice by connecting universities, clean energy innovators and industry partners to scale promising technologies with the potential to unlock social and economic benefits across essential sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and transport.
Speaking at the event, Professor Sir John Edmunds, Chief Scientific Adviser at the FCDO, said: “There are huge challenges associated with climate change and with clean energy transition but there are also massive opportunities for the same thing. The UK Government is investing a huge amount in this area for research, development and scaling so that’s what the Ayrton Fund is all about. No one organisation can possibly do all of that on its own, and that is why we need partnerships.
“The purpose of the Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium is to bring academic researchers and other innovators together to form collaborations across countries. By drawing upon expertise in the UK, Africa and elsewhere, we can accelerate the development of solutions to the major problems that all of us face.
“We hope to generate robust and equitable partnerships that will stand the test of time and be available to address the next set of questions.”
Angus Vantoch-Wood, Programme Manager at the Carbon Trust, for FCDO funded Transforming Energy Access (TEA), said: “What stood out was the shared commitment to turning knowledge into action. Through the Carbon Trust’s work with the Ayrton Fund, we have seen how collaboration between UK and international researchers, innovators, businesses and policymakers can help transform ideas into solutions that improve lives, strengthen economies and expand access to clean energy. The challenge now is to build on these partnerships and accelerate the impact they can deliver in the years ahead.”
Professor Kevin Marsh, Director of the Africa Oxford Initiative, said: “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. This approach underpins the work the Africa Oxford Initiative has done over the past ten years supporting hundreds of outstanding African researchers, scholars and innovators.”