The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Manchester Prize Round 2

The Manchester Prize is an initiative of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which focuses on accelerating innovation, investment, and productivity. Now in its second year, the Manchester Prize will award the most innovative and impactful AI solution enabling the UK to progress towards a Net Zero energy system. 

The winning solution should demonstrate use of AI that: 

• Accelerates the UK’s adoption of clean energy technologies at scale. 

• Enables efficient or low-cost operations of clean energy systems. 

• Significantly reduces energy demand or optimises energy usage. 

 Other Considerations

Up to 10 of the most promising solutions will each be supported with £100,000 in seed funding and up to £60,000 of compute credit to develop products and services capable of winning the £1 million grand prize in spring 2026.  

The Manchester Prize will conclude in January 2026. Entrants should consider that they will be expected to have at minimum a working prototype that can be demonstrated by this point.  

Furthermore, finalists competing for the grand prize will need to quantify their submission and will be evaluated based on the potential impact of greenhouse gas emissions saved by 2030, as well as in the long term.