£2.5 million available for smart and sustainable plastic packaging projects
UK registered businesses and organisations can apply for a share of £2.5 million for early-stage and mid-stage projects in smart and sustainable plastic packaging. This funding is from the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge - the largest and most ambitious UK government investment to date in sustainable plastics research and innovation.
The SSPP aims to establish the UK as a leading innovator in smart and sustainable plastic packaging for consumer products. Its goals are to drive cleaner growth across the supply chain and deliver a dramatic reduction in plastic waste entering the environment by 2025.
Scope
Funding is available for projects that address widely known problems in relation to plastic packaging for consumer products. To be in scope, projects must aim to:
- help make the plastics packaging supply chain more circular
- deliver the objectives of the UK Plastics Pact, creating a circular economy for plastics, keeping them in the economy and out of the natural environment
- embed life cycle thinking and end of life in packaging design and decisions
Eligibility
All projects must meet the following criteria:
- have a grant funding request between £30,000 and £250,000
- start before 1st April 2023 and end before 31st March 2025
- last up to 24 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
Projects can be single or collaborative. To lead a project or work alone, your organisation must be a UK registered business, a research and technology organisation (RTO), or a charity, not for profit or public sector organisation. If the lead organisation is an RTO, it must collaborate with two businesses (at least one SME).
More Information
This competition is open from 12th September until 9th November. You can find more information and apply for SSPP funding via the competition page. If you are looking for bid writing support, please contact us as soon as possible to arrange a free consultation.
Funding available for innovation in professional and financial services
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of £7 million for projects that develop new products and services within Professional and Financial Services. The aim of this competition is to advance these sectors by supporting them in the creation and adoption of digital approaches and new digitally supported services. The competition is split into two strands:
- Innovation in Professional and Financial Services – single applicants (SMEs only)
- Innovation in Professional and Financial Services – collaboration
Scope
Your project must focus on one or more of the following areas:
- legal services
- accountancy and audit
- insurance
- open finance innovation
- financial planning and support for consumers and SME’s
- financial regulatory compliance and financial crime prevention (such as fraud and anti money laundering)
- payments and transactions
In your proposal, you should explain how you will help these sectors to 1) deliver better products and services, 2) increase access to these services, and 3) make these services more effective for their customers.
Eligibility
Your project must:
- have a total grant funding request between £50,000 and £200,000 for single applicants
- have a total grant funding request between £50,000 and £500,000 for collaborations
- start before 1st April 2023
- last between 6 and 18 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
To apply to Strand 1, your organisation must be a UK-registered SME. To lead a collaborative project in Strand 2, your organisation must fulfil the following criteria:
- be a UK registered business of any size
- collaborate with other eligible UK registered organisations
- if you are a large organisation, include at least one grant claiming micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
More Information
This competition is open from 5th September until 9th November. You can find more information on both strands via the Innovation Funding Service.
RedKnight has a strong track record of securing innovation funding and can help you develop a competitive application! If you would like to explore an application, please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
Innovate UK funding: what’s available?
Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency. It supports business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions through a range of key funding competitions, including:
Challenge-led competitions
Innovate UK runs regular challenge-led competitions which focus on specific opportunity areas for UK business innovation. Known as the ‘Grand Challenges’, they include:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data
- Ageing society
- Clean growth
- Future of mobility
Open competition
As well as challenge-led competitions, Innovate UK runs Smart Grants – an open grant funding competition that accepts applications from any area of technology. Funding is available for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy. The competition typically runs quarterly with up to £25 million available in each round.
Innovation Loans
Innovation Loans were introduced to ensure businesses can access funding at all stages of innovation, with £150 million on offer over the next 3 years. Businesses can apply for loans of between £100,000 and £2 million for late-stage research and development projects with strong commercial potential.
Small Business Research Initiatives (SBRI)
SBRI competitions provide innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector. The programme is best suited to small and medium-sixed businesses, as the contracts are of relatively small value and operate on short timescales.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)
KTPs connect businesses with academic expertise to deliver business-led innovation projects. Each KTP is a three-way partnership between i) a UK-based business or not-for-profit, ii) a knowledge base e.g., a university or college, and iii) a suitably qualified graduate with the capability to lead the innovation project.
International Collaboration
Innovate UK also supports international collaboration. For example, there have been recent opportunities for UK registered businesses to collaborate with organisations from countries such as Canada, Singapore and South Korea.
Innovate UK also funds the UK’s involvement in Eureka Eurostars. Through this competition, UK registered organisations can apply for a share of £2.5m for collaborative research with organisations from participating Eureka Eurostars member countries.
How can RedKnight help?
RedKnight has a strong track record of securing Innovate UK funding and can help you develop a competitive application. Speak to the team today.
Women in Innovation Awards 2022/23
The Women in Innovation Awards 2022/23 will provide up to 50 women entrepreneurs with a £50,000 grant and a bespoke package of mentoring, coaching and business support. The competition aims to fund and support a diverse portfolio of Women in Innovation Award winners who:
- will be relatable role models for women from all backgrounds
- are from regions across the UK
- are solving a range of pressing societal, environmental and economic challenges
Applications can come from any area of innovation and be applied to any part of the economy.
Eligibility
Projects must start on 1st April 2023 and end on 31st March 2024. To be eligible for an award, you must fulfil the following criteria:
- be a woman founder, co-founder or senior decision maker within a UK registered micro or SME business which has been operating for at least 12 months by the competition closing date
- be resident in the UK
- carry out your project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- be legally and contractually able to use the funding
- attend an online interview panel during the weeks beginning 5 December and 12 December 2022
- attend 2 bootcamps on the week commencing 20 March 2023 and in September 2023
- commit to work as a role model for up to 5 days over the duration of the award
Background
Innovate UK launched Women in Innovation in 2016 to promote greater diversity and inclusion in business innovation. At the time, just 14% of applications to Innovate UK were led by women – despite success rates between male and female applicants being largely equal! Since then, the number of women leading applications for grants to Innovate UK has increased by 71%.
More Information
The Women in Innovation Awards 2022/23 will open on 22nd August and close on 19th October. For more information, visit the competition page and register to attend the online briefing event on 18th August. Alternatively, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Biomedical Catalyst 2022 Round 2: Industry-led R&D
The Biomedical Catalyst will reopen on 15th August. Through this competition, UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of £25 million to develop innovative solutions to health and healthcare challenges.
Scope
Projects can focus on any health or healthcare sector or discipline, including digital health. They can include a range of activities, such as:
- experimental evaluation (at laboratory scale)
- use of in vitro and in vivo models to evaluate proof of concept or safety
- exploring potential production mechanisms
- prototyping
- product development planning
- intellectual property protection
- a demonstration of clinical utility and effectiveness
- a demonstration of safety and efficacy (including phase 1 and 2 clinical trials)
- regulatory planning
Applicants must demonstrate existing evidence of commercial and technical feasibility in this stream of the Biomedical Catalyst programme.
Eligibility
All projects must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- have total project costs between £150,000 and £4 million, not exceeding a grant request of £2 million
- have at least 50% of the total project costs shared by the SMEs, if collaborative
- start before 1 May 2023 and end before 30 April 2026
- last between 6 months and 36 months
- carry out all project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
To lead a project or work alone, your organisation must be a UK registered SME. You can work in collaboration with other organisations, including businesses of any size, academic institutions, charities, not-for-profits, public sector organisations, or research and technology organisations. They must also be registered in the UK.
More Information
Round 2 of the Biomedical Catalyst is open from 15th August until 12th October. For more information, please visit the competition page or join the online briefing event on 23rd August.
RedKnight has a strong track record of securing funding for life science companies. If you would like to discuss working together, please contact us to arrange a free consultation.
DASA launches new programme to support defence innovation
The UK Government has launched a new £16 million fund to boost small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) defence innovation. The Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) aims to bring SMEs and large suppliers together to solve defence problems.
What funding is available?
DTEP is delivered by the Defence and Security Accelerator in collaboration with Innovate UK. It offers companies grant funding of up to 50% of a project’s value to a maximum of £500,000 per grant.
Who can apply?
Applications are open to SMEs who are looking to deliver new innovations into the UK defence supply chain. They must:
- Be based in the UK and plan to deliver their project in the UK.
- Plan to partner with a UK-registered Higher Tier Supplier at the point of submission and for the duration of the project.
- Have a project that aligns with one of the Enduring Capability Challenges.
How to apply
The application process has five stages:
- Identify: Once you have a defence innovation project in mind, you should speak with your regional DASA Innovation Partner and identify a Higher Tier partner for your application.
- Review: You should then complete an outline submission. This will be reviewed by an Industry Project Review Panel, and you will receive feedback and guidance from a DASA Business Relationship Manager.
- Pitch: Next, you will need to complete a full submission and present this to the Industry Project Review Panel.
- Assessment: The MOD will assess your proposal on its alignment to the Enduring Capability Challenges.
- Award: If your project is successful, Innovate UK will award a grant and the project can begin.
More Information
DTEP is open for proposals all year round, with cycles closing at 3-month intervals for the assessment of applications. The first outline proposal cycle will close on 27th October.
View the full competition guidance here or contact us if you would like to discuss a potential application.
Innovate UK Smart Grants: July 2022
A new round of Innovate UK Smart Grants will open on 28th July. Through this competition, up to £25m is available for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy.
Scope
Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy. To be in scope, proposals must demonstrate:
- a game-changing, innovative, and disruptive idea that will lead to new products, processes or services
- an idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
- clear potential to positively impact the UK’s position, productivity and competitiveness within the global economy
- a clear, evidence-based business plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
- why Smart funding is the right potential funding for your project, and the journey you have already been on to reach the point of application
- a team with the necessary skills and expertise to deliver the project successfully and on time, and to achieve rapid commercialisation
- awareness of all the main risks the project will face with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
- sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money, including the funding of post-project activities
Eligibility
Applications must include at least one SME; they can be the lead or a collaborative grant claiming partner. The project must start by 1st May 2023 and end by 30th April 2026. It should also follow specific rules based on its duration:
- Projects with durations between 6 and 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £500,000. They can be single or collaborative projects.
- Projects with durations between 19 months and 36 months must have total eligible project costs between £100,000 and £2 million. In contrast to shorter projects, they must be collaborative.
More Information
This competition is open from 28th July until 26th October. For more information, please visit the competition page or attend the online briefing event on 4th August.
RedKnight has a strong track record of securing Innovate UK Smart Grants and can help you develop a competitive application! If you would like help putting together a competitive proposal, please contact us today.
Innovation Loans Round 5 open for applications
The Innovate UK Innovation Loans programme is open for applications. UK SMEs can apply for a share of £25 million for innovative, late-stage projects with strong commercial potential.
Scope
All projects must lead to new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of current state-of-the-art solutions. It can also involve a new or innovative business model. Projects should focus on one or more of the following themes and sub-themes:
Net Zero
- energy
- impact of industrial processes and use of materials
- agriculture and food and other sources of emissions
- capital intensity
Health and Wellbeing
- tackling ill health
- enhancing wellbeing
- diet and food
Next generation digital technologies
Technology families
- advanced materials and manufacturing
- artificial intelligence
- digital and advanced computing
- bioinformatics and genomics
- engineering biology
- electronics, photonics and quantum technologies
- energy and environment technologies
- robotics and smart machines
Innovate UK is looking to fund a portfolio of projects and businesses, across a variety of technologies and markets. However, they are particularly interested in projects that focus on the future economy areas included in the Innovate UK plan for action.
Eligibility
Innovation loans can be for between £100,000 and £2 million. Projects must start by 30th January 2023 and can last up to 5 years, including both the R&D and commercialisation phases. Loan recipients must also:
- Be a UK-registered SME
- Carry out their project from or in the UK and intend to exploit the project’s results from or in the UK
- Give evidence that their business is suitable to take on a loan
More Information
Innovation Loans Round 5 is open from 20th July until 14th September. RedKnight has a strong track record of securing Innovate UK funding and can help you develop a competitive application! Please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
If you’re looking for grant funding, you may also be interested in Innovate UK Smart Grants.
Eureka Eurostars: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
1. What is Eureka Eurostars?
Eureka Eurostars is an international funding programme for innovative SMEs. It provides funding for collaborative R&D projects that create innovative products, processes or services for commercialisation.
2. What are the eligibility criteria?
To apply, you must fulfil six eligibility criteria:
- Your consortium must be led by an innovative SME from a Eurostars country.
- Your consortium must include entities from at least two Eurostars countries.
- The budget of the SME(s) from a Eurostars country, excluding subcontracting, must be 50% or more of the total project cost.
- No single participant or country should be responsible for more than 70% of the project budget.
- The project duration must be 36 months or less.
- The project must have an exclusively civilian purpose.
3. Who are the participating countries?
There are 37 participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
4. What funding is available?
As a decentralised programme, each Eureka country administrates its own participation, meaning every country has its own rules, regulations, and grant rate. UK registered SMEs can apply for a total grant of up to €360,000 or 60% of the total eligible project costs (whichever is the least).
5. What stage of development does Eurostars fund?
Eureka Eurostars supports early-stage R&D projects to transition from TRL 4 until TRL 6.
6. How do UK organisations apply?
If you are a UK lead applicant, you must submit an Innovate UK application and complete the Eureka application on behalf of your project. If your consortium is led by an organisation from another participating country, one of the UK grant claiming partners will need to submit the application to Innovate UK.
7. What is the evaluation process?
Eurostars has a centralised evaluation process. In the first step, each eligible application is assessed by three independent experts commissioned by the Eureka Association. A legal and financial viability check also takes place at this stage.
Then, applications that pass the evaluation and legal and financial viability check are evaluated by the Independent Evaluation Panel. They define a ranking list of the applications and recommend the top applications for funding.
8. What are the chances of success?
29% of all applications receive funding. It is less competitive than similar innovation funding streams, such as Innovate UK Smart Grants and the EIC Accelerator.
9. Can I apply again if I am unsuccessful?
Yes, you can resubmit a Eurostars application to Innovate UK if your first attempt is unsuccessful. However, you are limited to a maximum of two applications to Innovate UK with any given proposal.
10. How can RedKnight help?
RedKnight has a proven track record with Eureka Eurostars and can help you develop a competitive application. Most recently, we won €674,160 on behalf of the FrOLik consortium – read more about this here.
If you are looking for bid writing support with a Eureka Eurostars application, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
Eureka Eurostars 3: Call 3 now open
Eureka Eurostars 3: Call 3 is open for applications until 15th September. Through this competition, UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of £2.5 million to fund collaborative R&D projects with organisations from participating Eureka Eurostars member countries.
Scope
Applicants must develop an innovative product, technology-based application, or technology-based service with high market potential, and transition from TRL 4 to TRL 6. All proposals must demonstrate:
- a game-changing or disruptive idea leading to new products, processes or services
- a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses market potential and needs
- sound, practical financial plans and timelines
- good value for money
- a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
- clear, considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy and/or national productivity
- the benefit of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value
- a clear definition of where intellectual property can be used and shared between the participants and countries
- a clear route to market within two years of project completion
Eligibility
UK registered SMEs can apply for a total grant of up to €360,000 or 60% of the total eligible project costs (whichever is the least). To apply, you must also fulfil the following seven eligibility criteria:
- The project lead is an innovative SME from a Eurostars country.
- Include at least two independent entities in your consortium.
- Include entities from at least two Eurostars' countries in your consortium.
- The budget of the SME(s) from a Eurostars country, excluding subcontracting, is 50% or more of the total project cost.
- No single participant or country is responsible for more than 70% of the project budget.
- The project duration is less than 36 months.
- The project has an exclusively civilian purpose.
How can RedKnight help?
RedKnight has an excellent track record of supporting applications to Eureka Eurostars. For example, we recently won €674,160 on behalf of the FrOLik consortium – read more about this here. If you are looking for bid writing support and would like to arrange a free consultation, get in touch today.