Manchester Prize
A landmark challenge prize representing a decade-long UK commitment to AI for public good innovation.
Documents
Details
Manchester Prize (image generated by AI).
The Manchester Prize is an initiative of the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Established in 2023, the Prize represents a decade-long commitment by government to support cutting edge innovations which use AI for the public good and tackle some of society’s biggest shared challenges.
Manchester Prize: round 2
The second Manchester Prize will focus on AI for Clean Energy Systems.
Up to 10 finalist teams will receive:
- £100,000 each
- a generous package of non-financial support
- £60,000 in compute credit to develop their innovations
One finalist team will win the £1 million grand prize in early 2026.
Round 2: how to enter
Round two is open from 19 November to 17 January 2025. To enter and for more information visit www.manchesterprize.org.
Round 2: the challenge statement
The second Manchester Prize will be awarded to the most innovative and impactful AI solution enabling the UK to accelerate progress towards a net zero energy system.
Solutions should demonstrate use of AI that:
- accelerates the UK’s adoption of clean energy technologies at scale;
- enable efficient or low-cost operations of clean energy systems;
- and/or significantly reduce energy demand or optimise energy usage.
The winning solution will demonstrate not only technical innovation but also an evidenced road map to near-term (2030) adoption and scale.
Solutions could include:
- predicting supply and demand to support smart load management in the grid, allowing for better integration of renewables while minimising transmission constraints
- optimising energy consumption in commercial spaces, for example, through semi-autonomous control of data centres
- maximising renewable energy capture and storage, by leveraging AI to discover new materials and design superior solar panels and wind turbines
- ensuring a stable and resilient energy supply, and easing grid stress, by using AI to optimise and coordinate local energy assets, such as heat pumps and batteries
- accelerating energy infrastructure projects while minimising environmental and societal impact through AI solutions that support feasibility studies or site plan development
- empowering people in their energy transition with solutions that provide AI-powered insights, and tailored interventions and support
We encourage solutions that demonstrate advances in technical capabilities such as:
- generalisation
- uncertainty quantification
- interpretability
- data-efficient
- AI
- physics-based AI
Winners will be judged according to the criteria of innovation, impact, long-term viability, feasibility, and safety ethics, and sustainability.
Round one
The first Manchester Prize, that runs from December 2023 to March 2025, sought innovation from UK-led teams with breakthrough ideas for overcoming challenges in the fields of energy, environment and infrastructure.
Round one finalists were announced on 21 May 2024, and the £1 million winner will be announced in April 2025.
Updates to this page
Last updated 19 November 2024 + show all updates
-
Manchester Prize Round 2 is open for applications.
-
Round 1 successful finalists announced.
-
First published.