Welcome to the latest edition of Grant Watch, a monthly roundup of new and exciting grant competitions open to UK innovators.
Happy New Year, one and all! I hope 2022 brings you exciting new possibilities and opportunities, both personally and professionally.
Speaking of new opportunities, it’s time for this year’s first edition of Grant Watch, our monthly look at new grant funding options open to UK innovators.
As usual, we’ve selected a range of competitions targeting a healthy variety of sectors and technologies. This issue includes awards for quantum computing, smart manufacturing, and incorporating climate risk into financial services.
Take a look, and see if there’s anything that might be right for your company and its projects.
If you want to discuss your eligibility for these and other grant funding with one of our experts, just get in touch!
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The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), which provides funding, support and insight for the development of low-carbon automotive technologies, will invest up to £25 million in collaborative, pre-production R&D projects that both:
- Support the UK’s capabilities by securing long-term R&D investment
- Achieve the design and manufacturer of zero-carbon tailpipe emission vehicles
Qualifying projects must have total eligible costs of between £5 million and £40 million. Also, they must be at least 50% match funded, start by 1 September 2022, and last for between 18 and 42 months.
To lead a project, your company must be a UK-registered business and a grant recipient. Also, you must involve at least one SME and one vehicle manufacturer or tier 1 supplier in your consortium.
The competition has a suggested maximum of six project partners.
Opens: 10 January 2022
Closes: 2 March 2022
The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) will provide up to £1.5 million in funding to develop solutions that integrate mitigate climate and environmental factors into financial services.
This award is being funded by Innovate UK as a continuation of the Natural Research Council’s (NERC) Climate and Environmental Risk Analytics for Resilient Finance (CERAF) competition.
This is Phase 1 of a two-phase competition. To qualify for Phase 2, you first need to complete Phase 1 and then pass a separate application.
Eligible projects must have total eligible costs no higher than £50,000, including VAT. They must start by 1 June 2022, end by 31 August 2022, and last for no more than three months.
SBRI expects to fund up to 30 projects in Phase 1 and 10 in Phase 2. Projects in Phase 2 may have total eligible costs of up to £1,000,000.
Opens: 17 January 2022
Closes: 16 February 2022
Innovate UK will provide up to £6 million to fund projects that advance the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK.
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 for this competition, 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.
Opens: 17 January 2022
Closes: 9 March 2022
The Sustainable Smart Factory Competition will see Innovate UK invest up to £20 million in digital technologies that reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing process.
The competition is split into two strands:
- Strand 1 – Digital innovation with manufacturing data
- Strand 2 – Digital innovation in manufacturing processes
You can apply to either strand.
To qualify, your project must apply digital technology to manufacturing processes within a production facility to reduce material or energy consumption. Also, it must have eligible costs of between £1 million and £8 million.
In addition, your project must start by 1 September 2022 and last for between 12 and 24 months. Finally, you must involve both manufacturing and digital technology capabilities in your consortium.
Opens: 1 November 2021
Closes: 26 January 2022
Innovate UK, in partnership with Enterprise Singapore, a government agency championing enterprise development, is investing up to £3 million to fund business-led collaborative R&D projects focused on industrial research.
To qualify, your project must be innovative, involve technical risk, and carry a high market potential for commercialisation in Singapore and Britain.
Innovate UK is expecting to fund projects that result in a new product, industrial process or service. Applications from the following sectors will be “particularly welcome”:
- Advanced manufacturing and materials
- Agrifood tech
- Mobility and transport
- Cybersecurity
- Health and life sciences
Qualifying partnerships must include at least one member from the UK and one from Singapore. Successful applicants will receive a maximum grant of £350,000.
Opens: 24 January 2022
Closes: 20 April 2022
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