Caledonian Climate receives major funding boost from Innovate UK

Scotland’s leading peatland restoration consultancy, Caledonian Climate, has been selected as one of six UK businesses to receive a share of up to £2 million from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.

Part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Innovate UK supports business growth through the development and commercialisation of new products and services.

The government agency launched a competition for UK businesses to access a maximum of £500,000 in funding for projects that mobilise significant private investment in nature positive solutions.

92 applications were submitted, of which 62 were sent for assessment by a panel of independent examiners. Caledonian Climate’s proposal to increase the liquidity and strengthen the reliability of peatland restoration was one of just six submissions that made the final cut.

Healthy peatlands naturally absorb and store CO₂, acting as an effective carbon sink. However, when degraded or dried out – as up to 80% of the UK’s peatlands are – they actively emit CO₂ into the atmosphere. In fact, degraded peatlands account for around 15% of Scotland’s GHG emissions (4% of the UK’s), making them the 5^th largest emitter! By restoring damaged peatlands carbon emissions can be reduced by up to three tonnes per hectare per annum, positively contributing to global net zero goals.

Caledonian Climate delivers end-to-end peatland restoration projects, unlocking natural capital for landowners and providing businesses with authentic, high-quality, nature-based-solutions.    

The Scottish consultancy applied for the grant to advance existing understanding and remove barriers to scaling investor activity in peatland restoration, enhancing investor confidence by removing uncertainty.

Caledonian Climate, in partnership with New Gradient and others in the industry, will use the grant to fund:

• The advancement of deep learning AI to increase the accuracy and efficiency of peatland restoration planning, reducing risk, improving revenue potential and enhancing the investment proposition of peatland projects.
• The development of a cost-effective annual verification procedure for The Peatland Code, which in turn provides a clear pathway to annual revenue streams, derived from the sale of risk-reduced verified peatland carbon units.
• The creation of a comprehensive report on peatland restoration maintenance, including case study derived cost projections to remove uncertainty and boost finance models’ accuracy.

Freddie Ingleby, the Managing Director of Caledonian Climate, commented on the funding:

“It is an immense privilege to have been awarded Innovate UK’s Unlocking Nature Positive Private Investment funding.

“We envision the outcomes of this grant having a significant impact on the liquidity and reliability of peatland restoration in the UK, increasing confidence and transparency in the sector to generate private investment and, in turn, tackle the urgent global climate and nature crisis.”

Ellis Dupker, Technical Officer Peatlands of Wetlands International, the only global not-for-profit dedicated to the preservation of wetlands, added:

“Wetlands International is a proud partner of Caledonian Climate and delighted to learn it has been awarded the Innovate UK grant to accelerate private investment in peatland restoration projects in the UK. Healthy peatlands are invaluable nature-based solutions to tackling the climate and biodiversity crises, and increasing private finance in peatlands is critical to scale up restoration efforts for people, climate and nature." 

 

Interested in Caledonian Climate's end-to-end peatland restoration service? Get in touch with us here.