Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £2 million in supporting innovation projects. These innovation projects will develop solutions that enable private investors to invest in nature positive projects. Applications open on 12th February 2024.
This funding is from Innovate UK and is part of a £7 million Integrating Finance and Biodiversity for a Nature Positive Future (IFB) programme led by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
The aim of this competition is to mobilise significant private investment to scale nature positive solutions. The competition will enable the development, acceleration and commercialisation of innovative solutions. These solutions must enable private investors to confidently invest in nature positive projects.
Projects must focus on one or more of the following themes:
- data, tools, models and metrics, including decision making tools,
- environmental monitoring and verification of investments, over time, cost effectively,
- insurance or insurability of projects, and
- solutions that help aggregate projects to attract finance.
Projects must address and overcome, previously identified barriers to private investment in nature, including but not limited to:
- limited sources of revenue from nature to fund investment,
- high-transaction costs and significant disincentives for investment in nature based projects,
- insufficient certainty to price long term risk, due to a lack of standards and accreditation, and
- limited project pipeline and scale and an under-developed supply chain.
Closing date is Wednesday 10th April 2024. Full details are available on the Government's Innovation Funding Service website.
Details of the Partnering Event on 7th March have been released.