Barclays Eagle Labs and Sustainable Ventures launch National Climate Tech Accelerator to supercharge UK’s green innovation economy
The UK’s climate tech sector is set for a major boost as Barclays Eagle Labs and Sustainable Ventures officially launch the National Climate Tech Accelerator (NCTA) — a nationwide programme designed to fast-track the growth of the UK’s most promising climate and sustainability startups.
Applications opened in early November, and more than 80 high-potential climate tech founders from across the UK have already applied, underscoring the demand for funding, technical support and market access at a crucial moment for the sector.
The NCTA brings together one of the UK’s largest entrepreneurial ecosystems, Barclays Eagle Labs, with Sustainable Ventures’ proven track record as Europe’s leading climate-tech growth platform. The result is one of the most ambitious support programmes ever aimed at scaling British climate innovators.
Barclays customers will unlock an enhanced set of tools designed to accelerate market readiness, fundraising capability and scale-up planning.
Sustainable Ventures, founded in 2011, has backed 1,000+ startups, supported the creation of 7,000 green jobs, and enabled over £1.2bn in funding. Its portfolio companies enjoy an impressive 80% success rate, far above the industry average.
Barclays, meanwhile, has committed up to £500m in climate-tech investment by 2027 through its Climate Ventures division alongside its existing Climate Tech Escalator, designed to support founders from “idea to IPO”.
Andrew Wordsworth, CEO and founder of Sustainable Ventures, said the partnership will dramatically accelerate the UK’s transition economy: “This programme will provide hundreds of climate-tech companies with advice and support, giving them an unfair business advantage that will help them scale faster from idea to exit. These businesses will play a vital role in helping the UK meet its net zero targets.”
Abdul Qureshi, Head of Business Banking at Barclays, said the accelerator is essential to building a thriving domestic climate-tech sector: “Scaling climate tech requires integrated support that brings capital and expertise together. By partnering with Sustainable Ventures, we’re creating a platform that helps ambitious UK climate start-ups overcome the barriers to growth and become the market-leading businesses the transition demands.”
Founders from across the climate-tech spectrum — from lightweight electric vehicle manufacturing to green workforce training — are already joining the programme.
Mat Illic, CEO of Greenworkx, said the accelerator will support its mission to train 10 million people for green jobs over the next decade: “The digital support, network and tech credits will all help us on our growth journey to meet this crucial mission.”
Mark Tapscott, Co-founder of Longbow, developing ultra-lightweight electric sports cars, added: “Through NCTA we look forward to collaborating with other forward-thinking innovators and accelerating our programme.”
Showpower, Prima Materia, and Vida Vodka also highlighted the value of NCTA’s specialised climate-tech community and structured growth pathways.
The accelerator arrives at a pivotal time. The UK climate-tech sector faces fierce competition from the US and EU — both funneling billions into clean-tech industrial policy — while domestic investors continue to call for greater scale-up support.
By combining growth capital, expert guidance and national infrastructure, NCTA aims to establish the UK as a global launchpad for climate technologies ranging from clean energy to circular manufacturing.