Government launches AI-focused green innovation programme

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is launching a £1.5m synthetic intelligence (AI) innovation programme that may see the know-how put to make use of to curb the UK’s carbon emissions.

The AI for Decarbonisaton Programme, as it’s recognized, kinds a part of the federal government’s broader £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which was introduced in March 2021 to offer funding for low-carbon applied sciences to assist carry them to market faster.  

The programme is made up of two separate streams for grant funding, which might be launched in phases.

The first, value as much as £500,000, might be used to co-fund a digital centre of excellence on AI innovation and decarbonisation by to March 2025. The second, in the meantime, is value as much as £1m and is designed to fund initiatives that may speed up the event of AI applied sciences that allow decarbonisation.

In a press release, BEIS stated it was particularly seeking to fund initiatives the place AI is getting used to speed up the UK’s renewable power transition, ones targeted on enhancing power productiveness and gasoline switching, and people that may assist the agricultural sector minimize its emissions.

BEIS stated it additionally intends to observe this programme subsequent 12 months with further funding that might be used to assist “priority areas in AI innovation” recognized by the digital centre of excellence as being “critical for achieving net-zero”.

As properly as serving to to decarbonise the economic system, BEIS additional claims the programme has the potential to extend the AI know-how’s market development within the UK, in addition to minimize the price of power for a extra aggressive UK business.

George Freeman, minister for science, analysis and innovation, stated the UK is residence to one of many world’s “most advanced AI economies”, and that the know-how is pervasive all through society already, however there are nonetheless new use instances to be uncovered for it. 

“The AI for Decarbonisation programme offers an exciting opportunity to leverage and develop the UK’s outstanding expertise in the field,” he stated.

“Putting this rapidly evolving technology into action will enable us to save energy costs for businesses and households, create high-value, skilled jobs and kickstart millions of pounds of private investment while supporting our net-zero targets.”

The programme’s launch follows the publication of the 2021 National AI technique, which set out ways in which AI may very well be used to assist the UK meet its net-zero targets.  

The programme is accepting purposes now and is because of shut on 19 January 2023.