The Manchester Prize has returned for its second year as the British government hopes to incentivise AI innovation in the clean tech sector with £2m of prizes. 

First announced by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt during the 2023 Spring Budget speech, the Manchester Prize is an annual competition for AI developers in the UK managed by the government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Challenge Works, part of the registered charity Nesta. 

A £2m pot of prize money has been set aside for up to 10 submitted projects that use AI to accelerate decarbonising the electricity grid. The government has pledged to deliver fully green power by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. 

“AI is already having a positive impact on so many aspects of our lives, but there’s much more waiting to be tapped into,” said Minister for AI Feryal Clark. 

“The second round of the Manchester Prize will bring brilliant British innovation to bear to deliver a clean, secure energy future for the UK. Whether in energy, healthcare, or beyond, we’re backing AI innovations to deliver real and lasting change across the country.”    

Entries to the competition will have to demonstrate how AI can enable low-cost operations of clean energy technology at scale or reduce total demands through optimisation of energy use.   

“The greatest long-term challenge we face is the climate and nature crisis: that’s why we have our world-leading targets to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050,” said Prof Paul Monks, chief scientific adviser at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. 

“We need an ambitious approach to using artificial intelligence across the development, engineering and operation of our energy systems and so I am pleased to see the Manchester Prize recognising that with its dedicated new round on decarbonisation.”   

The prize is restricted to UK-led teams but individual projects may include international partners. Entrants must apply before midday on 17 January 2025. 

Finalists of the first Manchester Prize – named in honour of the location of the pioneering supercomputer Atlas – included AI digital twin project Aiolus, infrastructure defect management system AssetScan and waste-detecting tool Greyparrot Insight. 

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