{
  "id": 6136157,
  "title": "UK clean energy fund reaches 46 people, supports 256,000 jobs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/uk-clean-energy-fund-reaches-46-people-supports-256-000-jobs-6136157",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-07T13:20:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/uk-clean-energy-fund-reaches-46-people-supports-256000-jobs/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ayrton Fund, backed by the United Kingdom, has enhanced access to clean energy for 46 million people in emerging economies, mobilized over £3 billion in public and private financing, and generated more than 256,000 green jobs, underscoring the substantial economic impact of international investment in clean energy innovation. The Ayrton Fund's initiatives are part of a broader effort to build a global research and innovation ecosystem involving 78 universities and over 840 innovators, academics, and delivery partners across 100 countries. The fund's collaborations have resulted in 191 technology patent applications and contributed to more than 2,400 research papers. At the Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium, set to take place at the University of Oxford, the focus will be on enhancing collaboration among universities, innovators, policymakers, and investors to expedite energy access, climate resilience, and sustainable economic development. Caroline Ward, a Senior International Funds Manager at UK Research and Innovation, highlighted that the symposium would strengthen collaboration across the clean energy value chain, enabling equitable partnerships, investment attraction, and the accelerated development of clean energy solutions. Professor Kevin Marsh, the Director of the Africa Oxford Initiative, emphasized the critical role African researchers will play in developing solutions to global challenges, including energy poverty and green transitions, stressing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between research, innovation, and investment. Nigerian academic Professor Misbahu Mohammed from Usmanu Danfodiyo University discussed how the fund's support through the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership (TEA-LP) has restructured renewable energy education at his institution, introducing practical courses focused on local energy access solutions and appliances for off-grid communities. He stressed the importance of African universities becoming active partners in shaping their energy education and innovation strategies, rather than passive recipients. The Ayrton Fund's first phase, which ran from 2021 to 2026, involved 40 UK-funded programmes with over 1,000 partners globally, and its second phase is now ongoing until 2030. This development is timely as African countries, including Nigeria, strive to implement decentralized renewable energy solutions to tackle persistent electricity access issues, especially in rural and off-grid areas.",
  "summary": "The UK-backed Ayrton Fund has provided clean energy access to 46 million people, mobilised £3bn, and supported 256,000 green jobs in emerging economies. Read More: https://punchng.com/uk-clean-energy-fund-reaches-46-people-supports-256000-jobs/",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "UK clean energy fund reaches 46 people, supports 256,000 jobs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/uk-clean-energy-fund-reaches-46-people-supports-256-000-jobs",
        "published": "2026-09-07T13:14:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}