Innovate UK’s Commercialising quantum technologies: feasibility studies round 3 competition will provide up to £6 million in funding to solutions that advance second-generation quantum systems. Here are the key things you need to know about this award.
On 17 January, Innovate UK will launch a £6 million competition designed to advance the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK.
Titled ‘Commercialising quantum technologies: feasibility studies round 3’, this new award will draw funding from UKRI’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Specifically, its commercialising quantum technologies challenge.
The competition, which closes to applications on 19 March 2022, will look to support initiatives attempting to address one or more of the following technical challenges:
- Connectivity
- Seeing the invisible
- Positioning, navigation and timing
- Computing
To qualify, your proposal must identify a “clear market opportunity” and an innovative project that:
- Outlines the industry investment it will generate
- Exploits second-generation quantum techniques
- Demonstrates how your technology will contribute to the commercialisation of quantum in the UK
In addition, your project must have total eligible costs of at most £500,000. It must start by 1 November 2022 and last between 12 and 18 months.
We’ve broken out the full eligibility criteria and how much your company can apply for below.
If you are thinking about applying for this competition and would like to explore using expert help, just drop us a line.
Our grants team helped quantum computing projects secure over £8 million in funding last year. So, they are well-placed to help you maximise your chances of filing a successful application.
How much can my company apply for?
To qualify for Innovate UK’s Commercialising quantum technologies: feasibility studies round 3 competition, your project’s total eligible costs must be no more than £500,000.
If your project’s total eligible costs fall outside of Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria, you must email support@iuk.ukri.org will a full justification for this discrepency at least 10 working days before the competition closes.
But when working out how much grant funding your company can apply for, that cap is only half the story. That’s because you also need to take into account your company’s size.
According to Innovate UK, there are four sizes of company: micro, small, medium and large.
Micro and small organisations can get funding for up to 70% of their eligible costs. This means they can access a grant worth up to £350,000.
Meanwhile, medium-sized organisations can apply for a grant covering up to 60% of their costs. That means they can get up to £300,000.
Finally, large organisations can apply for grant funding covering up to 50% of their eligible costs. Or up to £250,000.
You must finance the remainder of your project’s eligible costs with company funds.
| Size | Max. Grant % | Max. Grant £ |
|---|---|---|
|
Micro & Small |
70% |
£350,000 |
|
Medium |
60% |
£300,000 |
|
Large |
50% |
£250,000 |
Eligibility criteria
Below is a complete breakdown of Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria for the Commercialising quantum technologies: feasibility studies round 3 competition.
As with any innovation grants contest, the list of eligibility criteria for this competition is long and fairly complicated.
If you want an easier way to find out whether your company qualifies, our grants experts would be happy to perform a free eligibility check.
Just get in touch, and we’ll be right with you!
Your company
To apply for the Commercialising quantum technologies: feasibility studies round 3 competition, your company must:
- Be a UK-registered business
- Intend to exploit the results from your project from or in the UK
- Carry out all of your project work in the UK
Your project
In addition, your project must:
- Have total eligible costs of up to £500,000
- Start by 1 November 2022
- Last between 12 and 18 months
Being a lead organisation
To lead a project, your company must:
- Be a UK-registered business of any size
- Involve at least one grant-claiming SME
- NOT be an academic institution or research organisation
Being a collaborator
To collaborate with a lead organisation, your organisation must be UK registered, and one of the following types of organisation:
- A business of any size
- An academic institution
- A not-for-profit
- A research and technology organisation (RTO)
- A charity
- A public sector organisation
Use of subcontractors
You are allowed to use subcontractors under the following conditions:
- The subcontractor is selected through your usual procurement process (if they’re based in the UK)
- The subcontractor can be from overseas, but you explain why you are not using suppliers based in the UK
- This includes providing a detailed rationale, evidence that you contacted prospective UK subcontractors and an explanation of why you could not work with them
- ‘Cheaper’ is not a good enough reason to use an overseas supplier
Number of applications
Any business can lead up to 3 applications. All applicants can partner in as many applications as they choose.
Previous applications
You are allowed to use previous applications to apply for this competition.
However, Innovate UK will not award your company funding if it has:
- Failed to comply with the terms and conditions of a previous competition
- An overdue independent accountant’s report
- Failed to exploit a project that was previously funded by a grant
Get professional help on your application
If you’re looking to apply for Innovate UK’s Commercialising quantum technologies competition, working with GrantTree can significantly increase your chances of success.
Drop us a line, and a member of our grants team will be right with you.
