The ARMD3 competition is offering grants of up to £1.5 million for projects that will accelerate the UK automotive sector’s transition to net zero.
Funded by Innovate UK and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), this competition will support business-led late-stage R&D projects that lead to the industrialisation of technologies, digital optimisation, and manufacturing processes.
The competition closes on 1 May 2024. Below are the key things you need to know about its eligibility criteria and the amount of funding you can apply for.
If you want to know whether you’re eligible for this competition or are looking for support preparing a high-quality application, my colleagues and I in GrantTree’s grant funding team are here to help. Just get in touch.
Am I eligible for this competition?
To help you understand whether you’re eligible for ARMD3, we’ve broken out the criteria into two digestible sections looking at your project and your organisation.
Your project
To qualify for this competition, you must be looking to undertake a project that:
- Has total qualifying costs of £500,000 to £1 million
- Lasts between 9 and 12 months
- Starts by 1 October 2024
- Ends by 30 September 2025
You must carry out all of your project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results of your project in or from the UK.
Your organisation
To lead a project, your organisation must be:
- A UK-registered business of any size
- Have an active registered business base in the UK
- Have already won grant funding
- Collaborate with at least one other UK-registered organisation, where applicable
To collaborate with a project lead, you can be a UK-registered:
- Academic institution
- Business of any size
- Charity
- Not-for-profit
- Public sector organisation
- Research and Technology Organisation (RTO)
Non-UK-registered businesses and research organisations can participate in a consortium if they:
- Provide evidence that they intend to expand their UK R&D activity during and after the project
- Set up an active UK-registered business by the start of the project
How much funding could I receive?
Consortia can apply for up to £1.5 million in grant funding. Businesses must incur at least 70% of the total project costs.
At least 50% of project costs must be match funded. This means funded by other sources, such as revenue or investor capital.
Within this restriction, individual companies can apply for a grant covering up to 70% of their costs. How much you can apply for depends on your organisation’s size and the type of project you’re looking to conduct.
| Project Type | Micro | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Industrial Research Project |
70% |
70% |
60% |
50% |
|
Experimental Development Project |
45% |
45% |
35% |
25% |
You can find Innovate UK’s definitions of micro, small, medium and large companies here.
Je-S-registered institutions such as universities can apply for a grant covering 80% of their full economic costs.
Charities, not-for-profits, public sector organisations, research organisations, and RTOs can apply for a grant covering 100% of their project costs.
All partners must pay a 3.5% levy on grant funding to the APC.
Let GrantTree maximise your chances of winning
The ARMD3 competition is a great chance for companies and other organisations in this space to win a game-changing grant.
If you’re currently preparing or planning to prepare an application, GrantTree’s grant-writing experts can empower you with the tools and insights you need to give your submission the best possible chance of success.
Our Strategic Grants Review service delivers two rounds of detailed, actionable feedback from a current Innovate UK assessor explaining how to strengthen your application. The feedback is easy to implement and highly tailored to the competition you’re applying to.
With our Grants Collaborate service, a veteran grants writer with experience in the automotive sector will work with your team to prepare a compelling, eye-catching application while equipping your people with the skills the writer has honed through years of preparing winning submissions. You’ll also receive a round of detailed feedback from an active Innovate UK assessor, helping you refine your application before submission.
To learn more about these services and whether they’re right for you, just get in touch. We’d be delighted to help!
