Technology
Birmingham Green Tech Firms Secure £85 Million in First-Half 2026 Funding
Local firms secured £85 million in green technology deals through the first half of 2026, driven by new funds targeting solar storage and low-carbon manufacturing.
How we reported this
Birmingham companies raised £85 million in green technology funding during the first six months of 2026, with three separate rounds closing in June alone for firms working on battery recycling and smart grid controls.
The surge arrives as national targets for net-zero manufacturing tighten ahead of 2030 deadlines and local manufacturers seek alternatives to imported components amid supply chain disruptions. City leaders have linked the inflows to earlier decisions by the West Midlands Combined Authority to earmark land for clean-tech clusters rather than traditional warehousing.
Funding flows into Digbeth and Edgbaston sites
Two named projects illustrate the pattern. In Digbeth, the GreenForge startup on Floodgate Street secured £22 million from a London-based climate fund to scale its process that turns industrial waste into electrode materials. Across town at the University of Birmingham’s Energy Institute on Pritchatts Road in Edgbaston, a spin-out developing modular hydrogen electrolysers closed a £31 million Series B round that included participation from a Birmingham-based pension scheme. Both deals were announced within ten days of each other in late June.
City records show green-technology employment in these two districts rose from 1,140 jobs in 2023 to 2,890 this spring, according to figures compiled by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. Average deal size has also increased: the median round in 2024 stood at £4.2 million; the current median sits at £9.8 million.
Next steps for founders and suppliers
Companies seeking similar capital are advised to register for the next quarterly pitch event at the Innovation Birmingham campus on Faraday Wharf, scheduled for 14 August. The event requires a one-page summary of technology readiness level and projected job creation within the city boundary. Local banks have begun offering matching loans of up to £500,000 for projects that locate manufacturing within the Tyseley corridor, provided applications reach the council’s economic development office by 30 September.