Global clean energy experts meet in Oxford to strengthen research partnerships

 By Ojoma Akor

Oxford, UK — Leading researchers, policymakers, industry experts, and clean energy innovators from the UK, Africa, and other emerging economies are meeting at the University of Oxford to strengthen international research partnerships, accelerate clean energy innovation, expand energy access, and tackle climate challenges.

The experts are attending the Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium, convened by the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund, the Africa-Oxford Initiative (AfOx), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership (TEA LP) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The symposium is focusing on how stronger international and interdisciplinary research partnerships can generate evidence, knowledge and innovations capable of driving sustainable economic growth, strengthening climate resilience and expanding access to affordable and reliable energy.

The gathering comes as countries worldwide seek faster pathways to energy transition while also addressing energy access, energy security and economic development.

According to the organizers, Ayrton-supported innovations have so far improved access to clean energy for 46 million people across emerging economies, leveraged more than £3 billion in public and private finance, and supported over 256,000 green jobs.

The wider Ayrton network now spans 100 countries, bringing together 78 universities and more than 840 innovators, academics and delivery partners. The collaborations have generated 191 technology patent applications and contributed to more than 2,400 research papers.

The symposium will examine how universities, researchers, innovators, policymakers and investors in the UK and partner countries can work more effectively together to translate research into scalable solutions.

It will also explore ways to strengthen locally led research, build institutional capacity, and create more equitable partnerships between institutions in developed and emerging economies.

The event will open with a keynote address by Professor Sir John Edmunds, Chief Scientific Adviser at the FCDO, who is expected to highlight the Ayrton Fund’s role in building research partnerships that combine UK expertise with locally led knowledge, innovation and experience.

He is also expected to emphasize the need for stronger international collaboration to generate the evidence, partnerships and institutional capacity required to support equitable energy transitions and long-term sustainable development.

A key component of the Ayrton portfolio is the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership (TEA-LP), which brings together more than 30 universities across Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands to strengthen clean energy research and develop the next generation of energy leaders.

The TEA@SUNRISE network connects more than 400 members across 40 countries and 80 universities in the UK, Africa and Asia, supporting collaborative research into innovative clean energy technologies.

The Faraday Institution is also expanding global expertise in energy storage through battery research programs and its Battery Ambassadors network across seven African countries.

Other Ayrton-supported initiatives, including Climate Compatible Growth, Energy Catalyst and ZE-Gen, are supporting the development of open-source modeling tools, datasets and research while helping universities, innovators and industry partners translate promising technologies into practical applications.

Caroline Ward, Senior International Funds Manager at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said the symposium offered an opportunity to deepen collaboration among universities, innovators, funders and policymakers.

“By bringing together global experts, the symposium will help build equitable partnerships, attract investment and accelerate the development of clean energy solutions that support economic growth and climate resilience,” she said.

Professor Kevin Marsh, Director of the Africa Oxford Initiative, said African researchers would be central to developing solutions to global challenges including energy access and the transition to greener economies.

“Translating this research into impact on the ground requires interdisciplinary collaboration between research, innovation and investment,” Marsh said.

He said the approach reflected AfOx’s work over the past decade supporting hundreds of African researchers, scholars and innovators.

For Jiska de Groot, Project Lead at TEA-LP, equitable research partnerships must place researchers in Africa, Asia and the Indo-Pacific at the center of decisions about their own research priorities.

She said, “Equitable partnership means African, Asian and Indo-Pacific researchers leading their own, locally relevant research agendas, training the next generation of energy leaders inside their own institutions, and shaping how clean energy solutions get designed and implemented.”

The impact of such partnerships is already being seen in Nigeria.

Prof. Misbahu Ladan Mohammed of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said his involvement with TEA-LP had helped strengthen the university’s MSc Renewable Energy Program through the introduction of practical courses focused on local energy challenges.

He said the program had introduced courses including Local Solutions for Energy Access and Appliances for Off-Grid Communities, giving students practical exposure to technologies and solutions relevant to Nigeria’s energy needs.

“Partnerships like TEA-LP can catalyze curriculum reform faster than traditional university processes,” Mohammed said, adding that external collaboration and targeted funding could drive meaningful educational change where institutions were willing to embrace innovation.

He said the partnership had also expanded his research networks and improved his capacity to secure research funding.

Mohammed described the program’s emphasis on locally relevant education as particularly important for Nigeria’s transition to cleaner energy.

“African universities must be active partners — not just recipients — in shaping energy education,” he said.

He expressed hope that the partnership would serve as a model for other African institutions, showing how strategic international collaboration and targeted funding could strengthen local capacity and support a just energy transition.

The Oxford symposium is expected to further discussions on how international research partnerships can move beyond knowledge exchange to deliver practical, locally driven clean energy solutions with measurable social, economic, and climate benefits.