Innovate UK has launched a new £6.5 million competition to fund collaborative industrial research projects that make UK advanced manufacturing supply chains more productive, resource efficient and resilient. Individual projects can secure up to £1 million in grant funding.
Closing on 10 June, the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Innovation competition is open to consortia (groups of organisations)that can apply a specific technology theme, like digital manufacturing or robotics, to at least two of six advanced manufacturing frontier industries.
Below, I have explained the key things you need to know about this competition before you apply: who is eligible, how much funding is on the table, and what the application process looks like.
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Who is Eligible?
Your Organisation
To lead an application, you must be a UK-registered business of any size.
Because this competition only funds collaborative projects, you must partner with at least one other UK-registered organisation.
Your project can include the following organisations as collaborators:
- Academic institution
- Business of any size
- Charity
- Not for profit
- Public sector organisation
- Research and technology organisation (RTO)
No single partner, including the lead, can account for more than 70% of the total eligible project costs. Subcontractors are permitted up to a maximum of 30% of total eligible costs, and must be selected through your usual procurement process.
Your Project
Your project must:
- Have a grant funding request of between £250,000 and £1 million
- Last between 12 and 36 months
- Start on 1 October 2026 and end by 30 September 2029
All funded work must be carried out in the UK, and you must intend to exploit the project results from or within the UK.
Your project must also:
- Address supply chain productivity, resource efficiency, resilience, or a combination of these
- Apply one theme (from the list below) to at least two of the advanced manufacturing frontier industries
- Be collaborative industrial research
- Focus on solutions that are either new or not yet widely used
- Include at least one named end user, for example, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or Tier 1 supplier, with a defined role in project governance or the work plan
The five eligible themes are:
- Additive manufacturing
- Digital manufacturing and industrial AI
- Measurement, sensing and instrumentation
- Power electronics
- Robotics and intelligent automation
The six advanced manufacturing frontier industries are:
- Advanced materials
- Aerospace
- Agri-tech
- Automotive
- Batteries
- Space
How Much Funding Can I Apply For?
The amount you can claim depends on your organisation’s type and size and the sort of research your project involves.
Individual grants range from £250,000 to £1 million.
Applying as a Company
| Project Type | Micro and Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Costs Covered | 70% | 60% | 50% |
Funding Example
If you’re a medium-sized business leading a project with £1,000,000 in total eligible costs, you could apply for a grant of up to £600,000. You will need to fund the remaining £400,000 from other sources, like R&D Tax Relief, investment or loans.
Applying as a Non-Commercial Organisation
Non-economic organisations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs and are funded at higher rates:
- Up to 100% of eligible costs if you are a charity, not-for-profit, public sector organisation, research organisation, or RTO
- Up to 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you’re a Je-S-registered institution, like a university
How Do I Apply?
The deadline for applications is 10 June 2026.
Applications are submitted via Innovate UK’s Innovation Funding Service (IFS) portal.
The application is split into four sections:
Project Details
This section gives background for your application and is not scored. It covers:
- Application details
- Application team
- Project summary
- Public description
- Research category
- Scope
Most answers in this section are limited to 400 words.
Application Questions
There are 19 questions in total:
- 9 unscored administrative questions covering topics like animal testing, applicant location, export licences, international collaboration, permits and licences, theme and frontier industry selection, and Trusted Research and Innovation
- 10 scored questions covering your business need, technical approach, team, market awareness, outcomes and route to market, wider impacts, project management, risks, added value, and costs and value for money
You can – and we recommend you do- include appendices (PDFs of up to two A4 pages) for the approach, team, project management, and risk questions.
Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors. Their individual scores will be combined to determine your final result.
Finances
Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details.
Project Impact
Each partner must complete the Project Impact questions before the application can be submitted.
If you’re successful, you’ll be notified by 20 July 2026.
Like with most competitions, Innovate UK takes a ‘portfolio approach’ by funding projects across different technologies, markets and technological maturities. This means that a strong score won’t necessarily guarantee that your application will be successful.
Boost Your Chances of Success
Over 15 years, GrantTree has helped UK startups and scaleups secure more than £500 million in non-dilutive funding, and our Innovate UK specialists know what it takes to turn a strong idea into a winning application.
Whether you need a grant writer to build your application from scratch, an active Innovate UK assessor to review your draft before submission, or a bespoke package that combines writing, review, coaching and matching, we have a service that fits.
We can also identify and score other grants you’re eligible for through our Grant Matching service.
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