The UK’s Division of Science, Innovation and Know-how is asking on cutting-edge innovators to enter the second Manchester Prize. This 12 months, the Manchester Prize is rewarding UK-led breakthroughs in synthetic intelligence that may speed up motion in the direction of the UK’s world-leading goal to decarbonise the electrical energy grid to ship inexperienced energy by 2030 and attain web zero by 2050.
Final 12 months’s occasion centered on overcoming challenges within the fields of vitality, setting and infrastructure (learn concerning the ten finalists right here).
As much as 10 of probably the most promising options will every be supported with £100,000 in seed funding, £60,000 in compute credit, and extra non-financial help to develop options able to profitable the £1 million grand prize in spring 2026. The profitable answer will reveal not solely technical innovation but additionally an evidenced street map to near-term (2030) adoption, scale and affect.
The Manchester Prize is a multi-million-pound problem prize to reward UK-led breakthroughs in synthetic intelligence for public good. Yearly for a decade, it’s going to reward improvements that may assist to rework the lives of individuals throughout the UK and proceed to safe the UK’s place as a world chief in innovation.
Minister for AI, Feryal Clark mentioned:
“AI can rework our public providers, make us extra productive and deal with among the greatest shared challenges in society. AI is already having a constructive affect on so many facets of our lives, however there’s far more ready to be tapped into.
“The second spherical of the Manchester Prize will convey sensible British innovation to bear to ship a clear, safe vitality future for the UK. Whether or not in vitality, healthcare, or past, we’re backing AI improvements to ship actual and lasting change throughout the nation.”
Chief Scientific Adviser on the Division for Power Safety and Web Zero, Professor Paul Monks mentioned:
“The best long-term problem we face is the local weather and nature disaster: that’s why we’ve our world main targets to decarbonise the electrical energy grid by 2030 and to succeed in web zero by 2050.
“We want an bold strategy to utilizing synthetic intelligence throughout the event, engineering and operation of our vitality methods and so I’m happy to see the Manchester Prize recognising that with its devoted new spherical on decarbonisation.”
The Manchester Prize is encouraging groups of innovators, lecturers, scientists, engineers, start-ups and entrepreneurs to submit their options.
Entries to the second Manchester Prize ought to reveal a use of AI that accelerates the UK’s adoption of fresh vitality applied sciences at scale; allows environment friendly or low-cost operations of fresh vitality methods; and/or considerably reduces vitality demand or optimises vitality utilization.
Purposes of AI in clear vitality methods might embody growing energy outputs from wind and photo voltaic farms; co-ordinating the reliability of a decentralised vitality community; predicting and integrating dynamic energy provides; growing vitality effectivity throughout industries and in our houses, and; growing the resilience of current infrastructure in a altering local weather.
The Manchester Prize is funded by the Division for Science, Innovation and Know-how and is being delivered by Problem Works – a Nesta enterprise.
Tris Dyson, Managing Director, Problem Works mentioned:
“Science and expertise makes its biggest advances when a number of concepts from various views are utilized to fixing the identical drawback. Problem prizes help open innovation with a stage enjoying area for established and beforehand untested innovators alike, enabling probably the most promising concepts to progress with funding and skilled capability constructing help.”
Entries to the Manchester Prize should be UK-led, nevertheless, the groups can embody innovators and companions from all over the world. To search out out extra concerning the Manchester Prize and to enter earlier than 1200 GMT on 17 January 2025, go to manchesterprize.org
