Coventry University’s Clean Futures Accelerator shortlisted for national regional impact award

Coventry University’s Clean Futures Innovation Accelerator has been shortlisted for a national award recognising its success in helping businesses innovate, attract investment and accelerate the transition towards cleaner, more competitive manufacturing across the West Midlands. 

The programme is a finalist in the Regional Economy Impact category at the 2026 Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards, which celebrate the application of university research and innovation to deliver tangible economic and societal benefits. 

The award recognises initiatives that apply research and innovation to strengthen regional economies through business growth, investment, skills development and job creation. 

The recognition follows the successful completion of the three-year Clean Futures programme in April 2026, which supported SMEs developing clean transport and manufacturing technologies, strengthening regional supply chains and creating new commercial opportunities. 

Across its three-year duration, Clean Futures supported over 50 SME accelerator participations and innovation trials, helping participating businesses secure more than £103 million in commercial contracts and £23.5 million in private investment, alongside generating skilled employment and follow-on research and development opportunities. 

Professor Marcos Kauffman, Director of Coventry University’s Research Centre for Manufacturing and Materials and Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME), led the university’s technical and applied innovation contribution to the programme. 

Clean Futures was a government-backed programme designed to put the West Midlands transport sector at the heart of the Green Industrial Revolution. Supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), it is one of five programmes within the £33 million West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, which aims to accelerate innovation and support regional economic growth. 

Clean Futures was funded through the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) as part of the £33 million West Midlands Innovation Accelerator. The programme was led by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with Coventry University and other regional innovation organisations, including the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation. 

Developed with contributions from Coventry University’s Knowledge Exchange team, the programme brought together academic specialists, industrial partners and SMEs to address challenges in electrification, sustainable materials, resource efficiency, circular manufacturing and clean transport. 

Through the Clean Futures Accelerator, businesses can access university research expertise, technical support and specialist facilities to help them develop and commercialise cleaner transport technologies. 

The programme focuses on key challenges facing the transport sector, including greener electric vehicle components, the circular economy of transport, alternatives to road freight, greener transport infrastructure and future fuels. 

By connecting academic expertise with industry needs, Clean Futures helped businesses explore new technologies, strengthen their competitiveness and identify opportunities for commercial growth. The programme also supports the region’s ambitions to build a more sustainable transport sector and strengthen its engineering and manufacturing capabilities. 

Professor Kauffman, whose leadership of Coventry University’s role in Clean Futures has helped develop a model for university-industry collaboration, also received the Industry Partnerships Award at the University Alliance Awards 2026, recognising his leadership in building effective collaboration between universities and industry. 

The Knowledge Exchange Awards 2026 ceremony will take place on 26 November at The Boiler Shop in Newcastle. 

Find out more about the Clean Futures programme.