We work with four Incubator Partners providing incubator services: Angle Technology plc, Imperial Innovations Ltd, Isis Innovation Ltd, and TTP plc. The Carbon Trust can refer potential candidates, who have real commercial and technical promise, to our Incubator Partners. Potential candidates can also apply directly to our Incubator Partners.
Whether you are a start-up or a spin-out (either from academia or a large company), the incubator provides strategic and business development consultancy, advice on corporate finance, management team recruitment and mentoring, market research and engagement and guidance on intellectual property protection. Support is flexible, and tailored to address the needs of your business.
The Carbon Trust provides up to £70K of advisory support per accepted start-up/spin-out company, paid directly to our incubator partners for services provided to the company being incubated. The incubator operates on a virtual basis – there is no physical space – and we work with companies across the UK. The incubator also has two professional services partners who will provide unpaid legal and business/financial advice up to an agreed number of hours (typically 4-8) to incubate companies.
The selection process is competitive and rigorous, and has both entrance and exit criteria; success is determined by meeting designated milestones over time. We use set criteria, including commercial, technical and management team criteria, to screen candidates for entry into the incubator and to manage the number of companies receiving support. There are also criteria for exit from the incubator, and companies are expected to make continual progress whilst in the incubator, and to work with the incubator partner to meet agreed milestones. Companies typically spend 12-18 months in the incubator.
"The Carbon Trust Incubator provides credible and novel technologies a real commercial path to success."
Michael Rea, Chief Operating Officer
As with all of the Carbon Trust's investments, priority will be given to novel solutions that fall into the 'focus' and 'consider' areas of the Low Carbon Technology Assessment LCTA. For enabling technologies a case must be made based on the emissions reduction which they make possible, for instance if electrical energy storage enables additional generation from renewable energy sources.
Companies interested in applying for incubator support should contact our Incubator Partners directly.
The Carbon Trust incubator also runs an annual Investment Readiness Workshop which runs over four days for selected companies.
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