When the Carbon Trust was founded nearly 25 years ago, one of our core challenges was how to de-risk and scale emerging low-carbon technologies—particularly those in the pre-commercial phase—with limited budgets. To address this, we applied an accelerator model: a collaborative approach that brings together government and corporate funding to invest in applied innovation, reduce technology costs, and overcome market barriers—ultimately enabling commercial adoption.

Our first accelerator focused on offshore wind, a sector that at the time faced significant cost challenges compared to more established energy sources such as gas-fired power. In 2008, we launched the Offshore Wind Accelerator, with initial pump-priming support from the UK government, alongside material contributions from several leading corporate partners.

Since then, the Offshore Wind Accelerator has developed into a large scale research, development and demonstration (RD&D) programme, which has delivered substantial impact—investing over £100 million in innovation, helping to reduce the levelized cost of offshore wind by approximately 15%, and generating an estimated £34 billion in savings against 2030 growth targets.
 

Growing the offshore wind market through industry collaboration    

The Offshore Wind Accelerator can be seen as a blueprint for what’s possible when business sectors collaborate to address shared challenges and common goals. By highlighting our learnings and the enablers of success, we hope to spark new conversations, partnerships and encourage more organisations to explore accelerator models that can drive meaningful progress toward Net Zero, as well as unlock significant commercial opportunity.  

Why the programme worked:  

1. A clear commercial opportunity

The North Sea’s high-quality wind resource presented a compelling market opportunity. Industry partners recognised the significant potential for offshore wind across the UK and EU, while government saw a chance to position the UK as a global leader—unlocking growth, enhancing energy security, and advancing climate goals.
 

2. A well-defined problem to solve

The challenge was clear - to reduce the levelized cost of offshore wind to make it more competitive than gas. This clarity helped focus innovation efforts and align stakeholders around a common goal.  
 

3. Aligned incentives and policy support  

Success also required strategic alignment in terms of innovation funding and the policy framework to help accelerate market development.  

• Government investment was catalytic, leveraging £2 of private investment for every £1 of public money.
• Industry partners saw up to £13 of innovation leverage per £1 invested.  
• Long-term policy commitments – such as capacity targets and evolving commercial mechanisms (e.g. Contracts for Difference in the UK) – provided confidence and continuity to drive material investment.
   

4. Pooled resources

Pooling resources was central to the programme’s success, enabling both public and private sectors to amplify their impact.  

• The funding model involved two pots: one for applied R&D and a larger one for demonstration projects.  
• All partners contributed annually to the R&D pot; for demonstrations, partners could opt in selectively.  
   

5. Shared risk

The programme’s structure was designed to de-risk innovation and investment:

• Government support was concentrated in the early years, reducing initial risk for industry.
• Innovation challenges were collaboratively defined, ensuring relevance and shared ownership.
• Demonstration funding allowed technologies to be tested at scale in real-world conditions.
• Only contributing partners accessed demonstration learnings, allowing tailored risk-taking.
   

6. Scaled impact

The accelerator model created a scalable pathway for sector-wide transformation:

• Innovators retained IP and got access to funding to build and deploy their technologies, encouraging market-driven solutions and broader participation.
• The programme signalled strong commitment from government and industry, creating a ready market for successful innovation.  
• It has also sparked the development of other offshore wind, joint industry programmes and collaboration initiatives such as the Integrator programme, which aims to maximise the contribution of offshore wind to a low cost, predictable and low carbon energy future.

Looking ahead

In the current geopolitical and economic environment, with business leaders under pressure to meet short-term needs while staying focused on long-term climate goals, Net Zero collaboration offers a powerful path forward. By sharing cost and risks, companies can develop solutions that are more resilient, cost-effective, and impactful – enabling businesses to address the climate crisis through coordinated industry-wide action, while also unlocking growth and economic opportunity.  

To turn climate ambition into action, we’re currently developing targeted accelerators for hydrogen, coal transition, energy access, and food and agriculture sectors. These will be successful if organisations work together across the Net Zero transition. By continuing to pool industry expertise and resources, we can de-risk innovation, scale climate solutions and accelerate Net Zero progress and economic opportunity - together.