Call For Proposals - Renewable Energy

The Innovation Fund, through its Technology Advancement Programme (TAP), invites all South Africans (inventors, techno-entrepreneurs, engineers and researchers), who are engaged in the research and development of novel and inventive technologies, to submit their proposals.

The investment sought must be for research and development resulting in a working prototype, or similar, which is ready for commercialisation. The proposed technology must be a renewable energy technology.

Renewable Energy Technologies

The Innovation Fund seeks to invest in novel and inventive generation and storage technologies. The technologies must have commercial application and must fall within the following branches of renewable energy:

• Solar Power: The proposed novel and inventive technologies must improve solar energy capturing and conversion devices. These technologies could relate to the manufacture of novel semiconductor materials for use in photovoltaics, novel and inventive ways of improving the efficiency of photovoltaic cells and novel and inventive use of different types of semiconductors.
• Rechargeable Battery Technologies: the proposed novel and inventive technologies must improve one or a combination of the following: storage capacity, energy to weight ratio, battery life span, charging/discharging rates, internal resistance and safety. The technologies could be in the development of novel and inventive materials which can be used either as cathodes, anodes, cell separators and or novel and inventive chemistry of the electrolyte.

Investment Amount and Criteria

The investment will be for a maximum of fifteen million Rands (R15 million) over a period of three years. The investment decision will be based on the following:

• Existence of Proof of Science
• Project being in the late stage of its research and development
• Novelty and inventiveness
• The commercial case for the technology
• The capacity of the team proposing the technology
• The applicant must be a company or be willing to register as such

Please read these guidelines on returns and special conditions of funding

If your technology meets the above criteria but has already proceeded beyond the research and development phase and is ready for commercialisation please visit the Seed Fund page

If you only need an investment to patent your technology please visit the Patent Support Funds page

Closing Date

The closing date for this call is the 18th of September 2009