Manchester Prize Round 2: Clean Energy Systems
Awards a UK team a £1 million grand prize for AI that accelerates clean, net-zero energy.
Ten finalist teams are each supported with seed funding, compute credit, and non-financial support before one overall winner is chosen for the £1 million grand prize. The prize is delivered by Challenge Works and funded by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as the second round of the multi-year, multi-million pound Manchester Prize, which first launched in December 2023.
The prize is for UK-led AI solutions that accelerate progress towards a net zero energy system: scaling clean energy technology adoption, enabling efficient or low-cost clean energy operations, cutting energy demand, and optimizing energy usage. It targets breakthrough, cutting-edge AI applied to real energy-system problems.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see how to apply
Sign up free to see where teams trip up
Guides for this application
All guides →Grant Pitch Deck Example: Slides, Storyline, and Video Script
See a grant pitch deck example with slide outline, EIC-style pitch logic, demo-video script, and grant-vs-investor deck differences.
Find grantsHow to Find Startup Grants for Deeptech and R&D Companies
A practical grant-search workflow for deeptech founders: where to find startup grants, how to filter official portals, and how to build a shortlist before writing.
BudgetGrant Budget Template for R&D Applications
Use this grant budget template to structure R&D costs, personnel, subcontractors, equipment, indirect costs, and budget justification for startup grant applications.
More from DSIT
All grants from this funder →AI Growth Lab
🇬🇧DSIT · United Kingdom
Regulatory engagement for AI use cases in legal services.
Critical Minerals Accelerator
🇬🇧DSIT · United Kingdom
£25 million to scale up UK extraction, processing and recycling of critical minerals.
International Bilateral Fund - Call 3
🇬🇧DSIT · United Kingdom
Funding for UK-led space projects with international partners.
National Space Innovation Programme - Call 3
🇬🇧DSIT · United Kingdom
Co-funded R&D for UK space technologies, applications and services
Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund (TRIF) Pilot
🇬🇧DSIT · United Kingdom
Capital grants for large-scale UK life sciences R&D investments.
LSIMF Round 7
🇬🇧DSIT · United Kingdom
Supports United Kingdom life science manufacturing teams through LSIMF grants for facility and process innovation.
Similar grants
Browse the directory →
EIC Pathfinder Challenges
🇪🇺EIC · European Union
Funds European consortia developing breakthrough solutions across AI, climate, energy, materials, medical, and quantum fields.
UK-Singapore CRD 2026
🇬🇧Innovate UK · United Kingdom
Funding for UK-Singapore industrial research collaborations.
Venture Catalyst Challenge
🇬🇧Imperial Enterprise · United Kingdom
Funds accelerator and pitch support for deep-tech teams at Imperial College through an equity-free venture challenge.
EIC Transition Open
🇪🇺EIC · European Union
Supports European deep-tech ventures advancing laboratory research toward validated prototypes and near-market technologies.
FWF Wittgenstein Award
🇦🇹FWF · Austria
Supports internationally recognized researchers in Austria through high-impact, curiosity-driven research fellowships.
Innovation Loans Round 23
🇬🇧Innovate UK · United Kingdom
Funds United Kingdom late-stage ventures with long-term patient government loans.