Future Cleantech Architects
Cleantech Innovation Research
Future Cleantech Architects is a cleantech innovation think tank based in Germany that focuses on high-impact research and development, targeting technologies that carry the potential to drive down greenhouse gas emissions disproportionately.
What problem is Future Cleantech Architects working on?
More than 50% of technologies needed to reach net-zero emissions are still in their infancy. Future Cleantech Architects (FCA) is a cleantech innovation think tank that aims to close the remaining innovation gaps to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and accelerate innovation in critical industries where sustainable solutions are still in very early stages.
What does Future Cleantech Architects do?
Building on a strong network of experts, FCA:
- Identifies innovation gaps and advises on research and development (R&D) activities — such as providing insight on how to integrate support for high-impact innovation in the RED III revision.
- Writes publications and analyses — such as its fact sheet series The Basics & The Gaps, which aims to summarise the key facts and figures on some of the most challenging issues and technological innovations needed to reach net-zero emissions.
- Facilitates research in neglected, hard-to-abate sectors — including coordinating high-impact R&D consortia such as CemSol, a project with thyssenkrupp and the German Aerospace Center developing low-emission cement production.
- Hosts events in the cleantech ecosystem — such as The ARC, Europe’s most ambitious cleantech innovation festival.
FCA also influences the debate on energy innovation to promote a pragmatic approach towards effective technological solutions, and urges policymakers to intensify and better prioritise their R&D activities. For example, FCA has:
- Driven legislation to be more aggressive on high-impact cleantech at the European and member state level (such as in Germany) and brought neglected technological sectors to major stages at COP26 and COP27, together with UN Climate Change and UNIDO.
- Brought technological sectors like cement and green hydrogen production to expert journals and mass media — reaching more than 1 million viewers in 2022 alone.
What information does Giving What We Can have about the cost-effectiveness of Future Cleantech Architects?
Future Cleantech Architects has been supported by a grant from Founders Pledge, an impact-focused evaluator, due to its innovative work. It was also listed by Vox as one of the top climate action charities in 2022.
We don't currently have further information about the cost-effectiveness of Future Cleantech Architects beyond it doing work in a high-impact cause area and taking a reasonably promising approach.
Please note that GWWC does not evaluate individual charities. Our recommendations are based on the research of third-party, impact-focused charity evaluators our research team has found to be particularly well-suited to help donors do the most good per dollar, according to their recent evaluator investigations. Our other supported programs are those that align with our charitable purpose — they are working on a high-impact problem and take a reasonably promising approach (based on publicly-available information).
At Giving What We Can, we focus on the effectiveness of an organisation's work -- what the organisation is actually doing and whether their programs are making a big difference. Some others in the charity recommendation space focus instead on the ratio of admin costs to program spending, part of what we’ve termed the “overhead myth.” See why overhead isn’t the full story and learn more about our approach to charity evaluation.