A solar-powered heated blanket designed by a Glasgow school pupil is set to move into wider production with Royal British Veterans Enterprise (RBVE) – a national charity creating jobs, providing homes and building communities for veterans and people with disabilities.
The solar blankets will be assembled and dispatched by veterans and people with disabilities working in RBVE’s social enterprise factories. Each sale strengthens these employment opportunities and enables an additional blanket to be donated to homeless charities.
Rebecca Young, now 13, first designed the blanket as part of the UK Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal competition, which attracted more than 70,000 entries nationwide. Her concept, a heated blanket and powered by solar panels, was inspired by seeing people sleeping rough on the streets of Glasgow.
Following her win, engineers at Thales Group developed the design into a working prototype and manufactured an initial batch of blankets. Rebecca was later named one of TIME Magazine Girls of the Year 2025 in recognition of the project’s real-world impact.
Thales has a social value partnership with RBVE, with Thales sourcing signage from RBVE’s social enterprise. Through this relationship, Thales saw first‑hand RBVE’s employment of veterans and people with disabilities, as well as its work supporting homeless veterans, and connected the charity with Rebecca to take the project forward.
RBVE will deliver the blankets through its social enterprise operations in Kent. The charity also has factories in Erskine, Scotland and Leatherhead, Surrey which contribute £2.4 million in social value through disability employment to the UK economy each year. More than 70% of its employees are veterans, living with disabilities, or both.
The announcement comes as RBVE’s annual nationwide campaign, the Great Tommy Sleep Out, gets underway this month. Participants spend a night outdoors in support of veterans facing homelessness across the UK. Funds raised through the campaign support RBVE’s housing and employment programmes across the UK.
RBVE has committed to a buy-one-donate-one model, pledging to donate one blanket to homelessness charities for every unit purchased. The Financial Times has estimated that one in every 200 households in the UK is experiencing homelessness.
“Rebecca’s initiative shows how practical innovation can respond to a real need. We are proud that veterans and people with disabilities in our social enterprises will now manufacture these solar blankets at scale to help tackle the homelessness crisis in the UK.”
Lisa Farmer, Chief Executive of RBVE
She continued: “At RBVE, we create jobs, provide homes and build communities for veterans and people with disabilities. For many of our employees, homelessness has been part of their journey. This project reflects our long-standing commitment to support this community, and delivering more of Rebecca’s solar blankets will ensure many homelessness charities can continue providing their vital services.”
Rebecca Young, inventor of the solar blankets, said: “When I saw people sleeping outside, I wanted to design something that could help. I never imagined it would go this far. It’s amazing to see my invention being produced on a wider scale and I’m so pleased it will benefit so many people.”
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