Imperial Undaunted: fighting climate change with innovation

In healthcare, as in so many other sectors, climate change is proving to be a huge challenge that can only get worse before it gets better. 

It is exacerbating the spread of infectious disease, injuring a growing number of people each year via extreme weather events and heat-related illnesses, sickening urban populations by making air pollution worse, and even having a significant impact on many people’s mental health. All this is leading to higher demand for healthcare services and putting extra pressure on public healthcare systems worldwide.

Yet Imperial College is determined to remain optimistic. Its Grantham Institute is a world-leading centre for research, policy, and innovation to address climate change and promote environmental sustainability. And its unique Carbon Capture Plant, pictured above, aims to train a generation of engineers who will be needed to operate such facilities at scale to help fight climate change in the future.

As Dr Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Innovation at the Grantham Institute, told the 2024 Global Innovation Summit, this is why “Undaunted” was chosen as the name for a collaborative project between Imperial and the Royal Institution, aimed at addressing climate change through innovation.

How the Undaunted project aims to fight climate change and its effects by supporting innovation

Undaunted serves as a hub for the U.K.’s climate innovation community, fostering green entrepreneurship and supporting early-stage innovators in developing and scaling sustainable solutions.

Through its flagship Greenhouse climate accelerator program, Undaunted has supported over 165 startups, which have collectively raised over one billion US dollars in investment and created more than 1,600 jobs. These startups are working on groundbreaking technologies that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save fresh water, and avoid waste.

Gilbert leads the initiative’s strategic direction, which emphasises the importance of collaboration between academia, industry, and the public to achieve impactful climate solutions. The Grantham Institute, as part of Imperial College, supports Undaunted by providing a strong research foundation and fostering an environment where innovative ideas can thrive.

Key takeaways from this session

1. We must address both mitigation and adaptation for a sustainable future: Dr. Gilbert emphasised the need to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also preparing for the impacts of climate change.
2. Collaboration between universities, industry partners, and the public is crucial: For example, the Better Futures Retrofit Accelerator connects startups with industry to transform London's built environment, helping them scale up their solutions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
3. We must leverage existing technologies fully, as well as supporting early-stage innovators: Deploying proven technologies at scale is critical for meeting climate targets, Gilbert argued, and we should be accelerating efforts to do so – as well as supporting the next wave of climate innovators.
4. Engaging the public is vital for the success of climate initiatives: Gilbert stressed the importance of involving the public in the development and implementation of solutions to ensure widespread acceptance and impact.
5. To achieve the necessary impact, we must build ecosystems: Undaunted's efforts have resulted in a thriving innovation ecosystem connecting researchers, entrepreneurs and industry partners, with start-ups operating in over 30 countries and creating more than 1,600 jobs.

The banner image at the top of this page depicts the Carbon Capture Plant at Imperial's South Kensington Campus. It was taken by Thomas Angus and is reproduced here the kind permission of Imperial College.