Climate solutions up for Ashden Awards

Shortlist recognises 12 UK projects, four of them in energy innovation that will help accelerate net zero. 

Established in 2001, the prestigious annual awards seek to ‘supercharge’ climate innovation in the UK and Global South.

Twelve UK-based projects have been shortlisted for awards this year. Four of these are nominated for the Ashden Award for Energy Innovation. The winner, to be announced later this year, will receive a prize of £10,000. 

The four nominees are: 

• Advanced Infrastructure’s geospatial planning tool ‘LAEP+’, which supports local authorities in the UK as well as energy networks and practitioners to identify and plan viable pathways to decarbonise local areas. 
• The Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (HACT), which has originated carbon credits to unlock funds that can support UK homes in need of retrofitting. 
• tepeo’s Zero Emission Boiler (ZEB®), which is a plug-n-play replacement for existing fossil fuel boilers. It works with a hot water tank to deliver low-carbon and low-cost home heating in the UK. 
• UrbanChain, which runs a safe, transparent and unique energy market for renewables. This enables UK consumers to place an order for electricity and for generators to meet that order. 

What’s more, four UK projects have also been nominated for the Ashden Award for Future Farmers. This recognises work in developing skills and training for sustainable land management. The nominees include agriculture courses run by Bishop Burton College in East Yorkshire, which combine cutting-edge technology with climate-friendly techniques 

Another four UK projects have been nominated for the Ashden Award for Local Nature Recoverers, which celebrates inclusive, community-focused adaptation initiatives.  

In June, the four nominees in each category will be whittled down to two by the award judges. Winners will be announced at the end of the year, to coincide with the annual COP climate change conference. Infotec.news will of course bring you full details 

In the meantime, you can read the full shortlist, nominate your own project for next year’s awards, or get involved in supporting these innovative projects by visiting the Ashden Awards site. 

Awards are proving a good way to both celebrate innovation and encourage more people to get involved. For example, earlier this year the National Cyber Security Centre announced the winners of its CyberFirst Girls Competition – and the fact that 8,700 schoolchildren took part.

Photo by Seagul