African Universities Expand Clean Energy Research

African universities are gaining greater access to clean energy research partnerships through programmes connecting institutions across Africa, Asia and the UK, as researchers met at the University of Oxford on September 7, 2026, to develop practical solutions for energy access and reliable power.

The gathering witnessed researchers and experts who examined how research can reach people through technologies suited to local needs.

The Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium was convened by the UK Government's Ayrton Fund, the Africa-Oxford Initiative, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership and UK Research and Innovation.

For Africa, the partnership included more than 30 universities involved in clean energy research and training through the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership.

The programme also gave African researchers the opportunity to discuss the priorities that shape energy research and the development of new technologies.

Research tied to African energy needs

Jiska de Groot, Project Lead at the Transforming Energy Access-Learning Partnership, said researchers in Africa, Asia and the Indo-Pacific should have a greater role in deciding research priorities and developing energy solutions.

The partnership covers universities working on clean energy research and training across Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Professor Kevin Marsh, Director of the Africa Oxford Initiative, said African researchers would have an important part in developing solutions to energy access and green transition challenges.

“African researchers will play a critical role in developing solutions which tackle global challenges such as energy access and green transitions,” Marsh said.

The work also includes research into energy storage, an area that is important to clean power systems because electricity can be stored for use when generation is low.

The Faraday Institution supports international research in energy storage through its Battery Ambassadors network, which covers seven African countries.

The network gives African countries a place within international research on battery technology and energy storage.

Another Nigerian example comes from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

Prof Misbahu Ladan Mohammed of the university said the partnership had helped strengthen its MSc Renewable Energy Programme.

The programme introduced courses focused on local energy solutions and off-grid communities.

That work connects research and training with places where electricity supply can require solutions outside the main power grid.

The symposium is examining how universities, researchers, policymakers, investors and clean energy companies can take research developed in laboratories and turn it into practical applications.

Africa's research network expands

The scale of the wider Ayrton network gives the African partnerships access to a large international research base.

The network covers 100 countries and includes 78 universities and more than 840 innovators, researchers and delivery partners.

Its work has produced 191 technology patent applications and more than 2,400 research papers.

Ayrton-supported innovations have also improved clean energy access for 46 million people in emerging economies. The programmes have attracted more than £3 billion in public and private finance and supported more than 256,000 green jobs.

Several programmes sit under the Ayrton Fund's clean energy work.

Climate Compatible Growth supports research and data development, while Energy Catalyst and ZE-Gen support research and the commercialisation of clean energy technologies.

The TEA@SUNRISE network has more than 400 members in 40 countries and 80 universities across the UK, Africa and Asia. It supports clean energy technology development.

Caroline Ward, Senior International Funds Manager at UK Research and Innovation, said the Oxford meeting would strengthen cooperation among universities, innovators, funders and policymakers.

“The Ayrton-Oxford Academic Symposium provides an important opportunity to strengthen collaboration between universities, innovators, funders and policymakers across the UK and partner countries,” Ward said.

The symposium will open with a keynote address by Professor Sir John Edmunds, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The meeting comes as the participating programmes continue work on clean energy research, skills and technology development.

The partnership, for African universities, includes research training, energy storage work and courses designed around local energy needs, including off-grid systems in Nigeria.