Barclays relaunches climate tech co-working and events space

The facility is designed to support and scale high-growth prospects in the sector through collaboration opportunities and dedicated knowledge programmes. 

Cambridge Eagle Lab has seen a significant redesign and redevelopment since its first iteration, with desk space for up to 130 people and a 75% increase in flexible working areas such as meeting, event and networking rooms. One zone is also dedicated to showcasing the climate-led tech and sustainability businesses Barclays supports. 

In addition to benefiting from the infrastructure itself, those using the site can also engage with pre-seed and bridge programmes run by the financial giant and industry leaders, facilitating the roll out and delivery of solutions to climate challenges. 

Cambridge Eagle Labs has also undergone significant carbon reduction work, with Naked Energy, Save Money Cut Carbon from the Unreasonable Impact programme, and Zedify all involved in retrofitting, each of which was already part of the Barclays ‘climate tech ecosystem’. Organisations including Save Money Cut Carbon consulted on the plans, which will lead to a 90% reduction in carbon emissions from the site compared with 2018.

Efforts have included a hybrid solar system for heat and power, energy efficient double glazed windows with solar control to prevent overheating, roof cavity insulation, water reduction technologies, smart HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), automatic lighting and window blind controls. News of the relaunch follows Barclays announcing support for Carbon 13, a Cambridge-based venture builder. Together, the firms hope to provide support to 100 environmental start-ups, including mentoring opportunities. 

‘We’re excited to be reopening the doors to our Eagle Lab in Cambridge with a renewed focus as a centre of excellence for climate tech start-ups. We want to play a leading role in supporting climate tech and sustainability-focused businesses, by giving them the tools to help them connect, grow and scale,’ said Nick Stace, Head of Sustainability at Barclays UK.

‘It was crucial that the retrofit and internal redesign of the building accurately reflected the ethos of the businesses that will use it and we expect it to provide significant energy efficiency improvements, allowing us to take an important step forward in reducing our own operational emissions,’ he continued. ‘We know that startups need more than just a space, which is why we’re also supporting businesses through our climate tech accelerator programmes from the Cambridge Eagle Lab. We hope this package of support enables businesses to scale at pace and tackle some of today’s most pressing climate tech challenges.’

Image: Barclays Cambridge Eagle Lab