Regional hubs
You’re in good company
A national network powering climate innovation
EarthScale brings together a growing collaborative network of university-led regional hubs, building a connected, long-term ecosystem for scaling the UK’s most promising climate tech ventures. The hubs include Imperial College (lead), Cranfield University, the University of Derby, the University of Exeter, the University of Leeds, and the University of Nottingham.
EarthScale is co-funded by the Research England Development Fund until 2028.
How the network works
Six universities have committed to providing access to in-house expertise and facilities, as well as to their regional ecosystem, through dedicated hub managers who organise bespoke support and engagement activities.
Each university coordinates tailored support and ensures founders can easily navigate the network. By connecting these hubs, EarthScale creates a joined-up national system that enables ventures to stay embedded in their region while benefiting from the collective strength of the UK.
A partnership between
Our partners
A national network
Cranfield University
World-class industrial and pilot-scale facilities, including water, clean energy, agriculture, aerospace, automotive and more.
Imperial College
A collaboration between Undaunted and the Imperial Enterprise Lab; world-class research, deep climate expertise and a thriving innovation ecosystem centred in the White City Innovation District.
University of Derby
Their Institute for Innovation and Sustainable Engineering focuses on sustainable engineering solutions, supporting innovation in design, manufacturing, product lifecycle management and more.
University of Exeter
Home to 1500 climate and sustainability experts across 34 specialist environmental institutes and centres of excellence.
University of Leeds
Their Priestley Centre for Climate Futures is a world-leading climate centre that connects its climate experts with businesses, policymakers, and communities to transform how we address climate change.
University of Nottingham
State-of-the-art facilities that support sustainable manufacturing and low-carbon innovation.
Join the network
Become a regional hub partner
The network is actively welcoming new university partners to join, grow, and strengthen this unique and impactful collaboration.
More about the network
Benefits of a national, collaborative model
EarthScale represents a step change for university-based knowledge exchange within the field of climate innovation. This joint working approach will create a community of practice, running a range of dissemination activities, events and publications, sharing insights and lessons learnt.
These activities will help build a structured network of expertise in scaling support across UK universities, bringing together strengths that no single institution could deliver alone.
Shared expertise
Each university brings its own research strengths, specialist facilities and industry relationships. EarthScale creates a UK-wide knowledge base that climate ventures can access to receive more tailored support.
Stronger regional ecosystems
Embedding each hub within its local innovation landscape enables ventures to tap into the right local expertise, supply chains, corporate partners, talent, and real-world testbeds.
Greater national influence
A collective voice has far more weight. Working together helps EarthScale shape national climate innovation agendas and engage government and industry at scale.
A truly connected innovation pipeline
Instead of isolated pockets of excellence, EarthScale builds a unified system that lets ventures stay rooted in their region while benefiting from national connections and support.
The future
Because EarthScale’s model is collaborative by design, new universities can join and strengthen the network over time, ensuring it grows more representative and impactful.
“The partner universities will build on years of collective experience in ecosystem development to provide a laser focus on creating the right environment for climate startups to thrive. Pooling their resources and expertise through EarthScale will create even more benefits.”
Phil Longhurst, Professor and Director of Theme for Transport and Energy, Cranfield University
Why universities?
Why universities at the centre
Universities are uniquely positioned to accelerate deep tech climate innovation; the network positions universities as anchor points and catalysts for innovation by combining:
Trusted, world-leading scientific expertise
Specialist labs, pilot-scale facilities and manufacturing capability
Strong relationships with, and convening spaces for industry, government and investors
Independent setting, neutrality and public purpose
The EarthScale model leverages these strengths to help ventures de-risk technology, validate products, build industrial partnerships and prepare for investment.
Beyond supporting founders, the programme strengthens the role of universities in the UK’s climate innovation landscape, building a network that will be maintained.
More EarthScale
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Programme details
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Meet the inaugural cohort
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