The excellence of the UK’s scientific output is well recognised, generating almost 12% of the world’s scientific paper citations, second only to the US [footnote 1]. And yet our record for converting fundamental science into commercial products (via, for example, patent applications) lags behind our competitors [footnote 2]. This issue has long been recognised, but the urgency of the need to develop and deploy new technology to tackle man-made climate change means that it has taken on a new relevance.
The broader work that the Carbon Trust undertakes in Insights, Solutions and other areas of our business gives us a uniquely comprehensive insight into what it will take to create a low carbon economy. We are aware that key technical hurdles – often related to cost – are holding back the development of important low carbon technologies; in many cases we believe that an appropriately-targeted collaborative research project could overcome these hurdles and thus unlock the potential of whole new industries in the UK and beyond. Thus, directed research support is more than just funding; it is a new approach to technology innovation that is designed to capitalise on the UK’s world-class researchers and leverage their achievements and capabilities to create breakthrough commercial opportunities.
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