Barclays has relaunched its Cambridge Eagle Lab with an apparently new focus on becoming a centre of excellence for climate tech start-ups.
The group says it wants to help high growth climate tech startups to connect, grow and scale.
The International Energy Agency has estimated that 35 per cent of emission reductions needed by 2050 will come from new technologies currently not on the market1. Support for new businesses is therefore vital, and climate tech businesses can also get involved in a number of dedicated pre-seed and bridge programmes, run by Barclays and leading industry partners:
- Carbon 13 Venture Launchpad: a virtual 20-week virtual programme to help pre-seed and early-stage businesses launch scalable solutions to climate related issues.
- Bridge programmes: A series of industry bridge programmes, in collaboration with Codebase, designed to connect leading corporations with startups to share knowledge and strategic thinking:
- Sustainability Bridge Programme: funded by Government (as part of the Digital Growth Grant) and focused on sustainable transport.
- Energy Transition Programme: Funded by Opportunity North East and focused on how innovation can help deliver the Energy Transition
- Rise Start-Up Academy: a 10-week digital-first programme to equip early-stage founders with skills and tools to help them get fit for market. A dedicated Climate FinTech edition will launch later this year to support companies developing exciting solutions to help the world transition to net zero.
A retrofit to reduce carbon footprintAs part of Barclays’ declared ambition to achieve net zero operations by 2050, the Cambridge Eagle Lab has been retrofitted to improve energy efficiency, in partnership with companies from its Sustainable Impact Capital portfolio and Unreasonable Impact programme, such as Save Money Cut Carbon, who consulted on the plans.
Reaching net zero means finding low-carbon ways of doing necessary activities – including electricity generation, transport, and heating. Upgrades to the building include:
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- Solar panels by Naked Energy, a hybrid solar technology that generates both heat and power, resulting in a higher energy density than alternative solar technologies
- Energy efficient double-glazed windows with solar control to prevent overheating, as well as roof and cavity wall insulation, and water reduction technologies
- A smart heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, powered by the site’s renewable energy sources, to help improve regulation of the building’s temperature
- Automatic lighting and window-blind controls have been fitted, to optimise the level and quality of light, while also improving energy consumption.
Nick Stace, Head of Sustainability, Barclays UK, said: “We want to play a leading role in supporting climate tech and sustainability-focused businesses, by giving them the tools to help them connect, grow and scale. It was crucial that the retrofit and internal redesign of the building accurately reflected the ethos of the businesses that will use it and we expect it to provide significant energy efficiency improvements, allowing us to take an important step forward in reducing our own operational emissions.
“We know that startups need more than just a space, which is why we’re also supporting businesses through our climate tech accelerator programmes from the Cambridge Eagle Lab. We hope this package of support enables businesses to scale at pace and tackle some of today’s most pressing climate tech challenges.”
To find out more, visit https://labs.uk.barclays/locations/cambridge/
