Business and energy secretary Greg Clark announced the establishment of the Board at the Energy UK conference in London.
The group will bring together all the different parts of government funding for energy innovation and ensure they are working together. It will report to the prime minister.
“This is a time of dramatic change in the energy industry – a decade of change – change on a scale we have not seen since the roll out of electricity grids across the country all those decades ago,” Clark said at the conference.
“From the tumbling cost of batteries to super-efficient lightbulbs, from cleaner forms of electricity generation to the commercial promise of, and now the reality, of electric vehicles, I think we are seeing intense technological innovation in every part of the energy system.
“We should all bear in mind that as exciting as innovation is, it’s all for a purpose. This is an exciting moment. And many of you in this room are helping us deliver that change.
“But this is not just innovation for innovation’s sake. It will reduce the impact we have on the planet.”
He continued: “We need energy which is cheaper and as reliable as coal and carbon-free. Despite the progress of many low-carbon technologies, we do not yet have the complete answer. We need to ensure all of our innovation is driving toward that goal of cheap, clean energy.”
Walport was appointed government chief scientific adviser and head of the Government Office for Science in April 2013. He is also co-chair of the prime minister’s Council for Science and Technology.
He has a long-standing career in science and research, having been director of the Wellcome Trust; professor of medicine and head of the division of medicine at Imperial College London; member of the India-UK CEO Forum and UK-India roundtable; member of the advisory board of Infrastructure UK; and non-executive member of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research.
He received a knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours List for services to medical research and was elected a fellow of The Royal Society in 2011.