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Shell Foundation and the FCDO

Shell Foundation’s partnership with the FCDO

A partnership for impact

Powering clean energy and economic growth: a partnership for global impact

Shell Foundation has been proud to partner with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) since 2012. 

This partnership has been built on a strong foundation of mutual collaboration, a shared strategic objective to drive the clean energy transition while raising incomes and an ability to co-fund impactful programmes. 

The partnership currently supports two jointly funded programmes under the FCDO’s Research and Evidence Directorate: Transforming Energy Access (TEA) and Catalysing Agriculture by Scaling Energy Ecosystems (CASEE). Both programmes are part of the Ayrton Fund, a UK Government commitment to invest up to £1 billion in Research and Development for clean energy technologies and business models in developing countries. 

We are proud of the long-standing clean energy and agriculture partnerships between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Shell Foundation. Our partnership has been key to enabling us to provide patient development research funding, that is so critical to catalysing innovation that delivers impact at scale for the world’s poorest.”

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Charlotte Watts, Chief Scientific Adviser and Director for Research and Evidence

Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
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Transforming Energy Access
Shell Foundation is a leading partner and funder of the TEA platform – a research and innovation platform supporting early-stage testing and scale-up of innovative technologies and business models that accelerate access to affordable, clean energy. It helps poor households, enterprises, and social institutions in developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific.
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Catalysing Agriculture by Scaling Energy Ecosystems
Shell Foundation has an eight-year partnership with the FCDO’s CASEE programme. This research and innovation programme was launched in 2019 to support innovative energy and agricultural technology businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It has strengthened energy, agriculture, and food systems. It has also boosted the productivity, income, and resilience of smallholder farmers.
Ayrton Fund Logo
Ayrton Fund
The Ayrton Fund is a UK Government commitment to invest up to £1 billion on Research and Development for clean energy technologies and business models in developing countries.

Shell Foundation’s lead role on the Transforming Energy Access platform

“Shell Foundation take the lead on venture building and market building and have great expertise and market knowledge.  They work directly with ventures – early stage and mid-stage – helping them to get to the point where they can access commercial capital or scale capital.”

Steven Hunt, Senior Energy Innovation Advisor, FCDO