Mott MacDonald delivering pioneering acceleration support to the UK Government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio

Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to provide acceleration support for up to 200 small and medium-sized enterprises as part of the UK’s £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. The appointment follows on from the firm’s role as lead technical advisor for the UK’s £505M Energy Innovation Portfolio to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes into the 2020s and 2030s.

As part of a consortium being led by the Carbon Trust, Mott MacDonald will be supporting small and medium-sized enterprises on business development advice, practical workshops, peer-to-peer learning and access to stakeholder and investor networks. The firm will help innovative companies make the most of the funding provided by the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and will enable them to commercialise at speed and scale.

Mott MacDonald is joined by an expert consortium of partners: Energy Systems Catapult, Eigen Ventures and KPMG. Specialist support will also be provided by clean tech investor, Sustainable Ventures, technical consultancy, E4tech, product development specialists, High Value Manufacturing Catapult, international patent and trademark consultancy, Novagraaf, marketing and communications experts, Greenhouse, and legal specialist, dwf.

Acceleration support complements technology development and demonstration funding by catalysing impact and helping businesses to prepare to scale. The package developed by the consortium is tailored, flexible, and agile. It has been designed to secure customers and catalyse the funding and partnerships necessary to help businesses grow and develop the clean technology solutions vital to meeting the UK’s net zero commitments.

Adina Popa, Mott MacDonald’s programme director said: “Our support for the new Net Zero Innovation Acceleration Portfolio will allow us to provide grant recipients with access to our first-class technical expertise in areas that are critical to unlocking the full potential of clean technology innovators across the UK, and to accelerate the commercialisation of the low carbon technologies required to avoid the impacts of climate change.”

The breadth of innovation finance and acceleration support services offered by the programme positions the UK at the forefront of the clean energy transition internationally, supporting decarbonisation targets and demonstrating the UK government’s desire to support innovative clean ideas, especially from small- and medium-sized enterprises.