SBRI Rail Demonstrations: First of a Kind 2022
Organisations can apply for a share of £7.6 million to deliver 'First of a Kind' rail demonstrations . This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) funded by the Department for Transport. It is part of a larger initiative to accelerate innovation in the UK rail sector and enable technologies to be readily integrated into the railway system.
First of a Kind 2022 has three themes:
1. Low emissions and a greener railway
Projects must address reduced carbon emissions and the impact of the railway on the environment. Up to £60,000 is available per phase 1 project. In phase 2, three successful phase 1 applicants will receive up to £740,000 to develop a prototype and undertake field testing.
2. Rail freight
Projects must focus on one of the specific themes listed on the competition page. A total of £2.4m is available for Theme 2 projects. Contracts will be up to £400,000 for projects lasting no longer than 12 months.
3. Cost efficiency and performance priorities for a reliable railway
Projects must focus on one of the priorities listed on the competition page. A total of £2.5m is available for Theme 3 projects. Contracts will be between £150,000 and £250,000 for projects lasting no longer than six months.
Eligibility
Applicants are welcome from all sectors. The lead applicant must be an organisation of any size, and they can work alone or with other organisations as subcontractors. Projects must involve each of the following:
- An owner of railway assets
- An experienced railway organisation
- A rail organisation that has the potential to become a customer
They must also include a potential integration partner and have a letter of support from a potential railway customer organisation.
More Information
First of a Kind 2022 is open for applications from 20th April until 8th June. For more information, register to attend the competition briefing event taking place in Birmingham on 5th May. The event will also be available to watch online.
RedKnight has a strong track record of securing innovation funding and can help you develop a competitive application! Please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
Innovate UK Smart Grants: April 2022
A new round of Smart Grants is open for applications! Up to £25m is available for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy.
Innovate UK has changed some of the application questions for this round of Smart Grants. You can read the updated application form here.
Scope
Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy. All ideas must be genuinely new and novel, not just disruptive within their sector. To be in scope, your proposal 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
Your application must include at least one SME; they can be the lead or a collaborative grant claiming partner. The project must start no later than 1st January 2023 and end no later than 31st December 2025. Your project must 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.
This competition is open from 25th April until 27th July. For more information, please visit the competition page or attend the online briefing event on 3rd May 2022. If you need help putting together a competitive proposal, please contact us today.
You may also be interested in our Innovate UK application guide – subscribe to RedKnight’s monthly newsletter today to receive a free copy direct to your inbox!
Funding available from the Farming Innovation Programme
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has launched two new competitions under the Farming Innovation Programme. Funding will help England’s farmers and growers to become more productive, environmentally sustainable, and more resilient to the global food security challenges of the future.
1. Farming Innovation Programme - Large R&D Partnership Projects
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of £8m for collaborative projects that address major on-farm or immediate post-farmgate challenges or opportunities. Solutions must significantly improve productivity, sustainability and environmental impact, progression towards net zero emissions, and resilience.
The lead organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. In addition, projects must:
- have total costs between £3m and £5m
- be collaborative, involving at least one SME and one research organisation
- last up to 48 months, starting by 1st February 2023 and ending by 31st January 2027
- carry out all project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in England
- have a minimum of 50% of any grant requested by farmers, growers or foresters allocated to farmers, growers or foresters based in England
Apply before 11am on Wednesday 29th June.
2. Farming Futures R&D Fund: Climate smart farming – EoI
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of £12.5m to develop ambitious new solutions for reducing emissions and adapting to a changing climate. Solutions should significantly improve productivity, sustainability and environmental impact, progression towards net zero emissions, and resilience.
The lead organisation must be a UK-registered business of any size, academic institution or research and technology organisation. Projects must also:
- have total eligible costs between £3 million and £6 million
- be collaborative
- address the specific requirements of the Defra key priorities for reducing emissions and adapting to a changing climate
- last between 24 and 48 months, starting by 1st April 2023 and ending by 31st March 2027
- carry out all project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in England
- have a minimum of 50% of any grant awarded to farmers, growers or foresters allocated to farmers, growers or foresters based in England
Expressions of interest must be submitted before 18th May. Successful applicants at this stage will be invited to apply for funding at stage 2 of the competition.
Planning to apply? RedKnight has a strong track record of securing innovation funding and can help you develop a competitive application! Please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
£4 million available for UK and Canadian net zero transportation projects
UK registered businesses and Canadian SMEs can apply for a share of £4 million to collaborate on joint R&D projects that enable the transition to net zero transportation. They must demonstrate high potential for commercialisation, address a technological challenge and target large global markets.
Scope
All projects must focus on innovations that enable the transition to net zero for the automotive, rail, or maritime sectors. They must focus on at least one of the following themes:
- Low and zero emission propulsion
- Advanced sustainable materials and manufacturing
- Highly disruptive technologies
- Assistive technologies and control systems
Funding is available for industrial research projects and experimental development projects.
Eligibility
The lead organisation must be a UK registered business of any size or a Canadian registered SME. However, all consortia must include at least one grant claiming UK registered SME and one eligible Canadian registered SME.
In addition, all projects must:
- Have a grant funding request of no more than £300,000 allocated to UK organisations
- Have a grant funding request of no more than CA$500,000 allocated to each eligible Canadian SME
- Start by 1st January 2023 and end by 31st December 2024
- Last between 12 and 24 months
You can read the full eligibility criteria here.
More Information
This competition opens on 4th April and closes at 5pm UK time on 29th June 2022. Canadian applicants must register and submit an Expression of Interest before submitting an application.
For more information, please visit the competition page or attend the online briefing event on 7th April. You might also be interested in the matchmaking event taking place on 25th April.
How can RedKnight help?
RedKnight has extensive experience of developing bids for transnational innovation projects. To find out more about how we can help, please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
Biomedical Catalyst 2022 Round 1: Industry-led R&D
The Biomedical Catalyst will return later this month! In Round 1, UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of £15 million to develop innovative health or healthcare-focused products, technologies and processes.
Scope
Projects can focus on any health or healthcare challenge. 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
As this is the Industry-led R&D stream of the Biomedical Catalyst programme, applicants must also demonstrate existing evidence of commercial and technical feasibility.
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 December 2022 and end before 30 November 2025
- 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 1 of the Biomedical Catalyst is open from 28th March until 25th May. For more information, please visit the competition page or join the online briefing event on 5th April.
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.
£4.7m available for innovation in time resilience, dissemination and application
Innovate UK is working with the National Physical Laboratory to invest up to £4.7 million in business-led innovation in time resilience, dissemination and application. The key areas for development are resilience; distribution; trust, assurance and security; and integration and processing of signals.
The competition has three aims:
- Support and enable business-led innovation across the UK supply chain in resilient time, frequency and synchronisation (TFS) for the development of products, services and end-user applications.
- Develop a TFS ecosystem and capability for relevant industries and critical national infrastructure.
- Disrupt and create new markets, both in the UK and globally, to improve the provision of TFS.
Strand 1: Demonstrator
This strand is for projects undertaking late-stage industrial research or experimental developmental projects. Strand 1 projects must:
- have total costs between £70,000 and £1 million
- start by 1 November 2022 and end by 31 March 2024
- last between 9 and 18 months
In addition, projects must be led by a UK-registered business. They can work in collaboration with other UK registered businesses, research and technology organisations, academic institutions, public sector organisations, charities or not for profits.
Strand 2: Feasibility
This strand is for projects undertaking early-stage feasibility studies. Strand 2 projects must:
- have total costs between £50,000 and £250,000
- start by 1 November 2022 and end by 31 October 2023
- last between 6 and 12 months
In addition, projects must be led by a UK-registered business. They can work in collaboration with other UK registered businesses, research and technology organisations, academic institutions, public sector organisations, charities or not for profits.
More Information
Innovation in time resilience, dissemination and application is open from 14th March until 1st June. More information is available on the competition pages (Strand 1 and Strand 2), where you can also register to attend the briefing event on 25th March.
If you are looking for bid writing support, please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
Innovation Loans return for 2022
Innovate UK’s Innovation Loans programme has returned for 2022! This follows a successful pilot programme that has been delivered by Innovate UK since 2017, providing £163 million to 200 businesses around the UK.
Scope
Loans are available for innovative, late-stage projects with strong commercial potential. All projects must lead to new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of current state-of-the-art solutions. They 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
Eligibility
Innovation loans can be for between £100,000 and £2 million. Projects must start by July 2022 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
The funding available will be allocated across a series of four competitions that run from 10th March until 13th July. For more information, visit the competition page and register to join the online briefing event on 21st March.
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.
Grant funding available for UK-South Korea collaborative R&D
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of £2 million to fund collaborative innovation with businesses from South Korea. This funding is from Innovate UK in partnership with the Korea Institute for the Advancement of Technology.
Scope
This competition will fund collaborative research and development projects focused on industrial research. All proposals must demonstrate:
- a clear game-changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
- a strong and deliverable business plan
- 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
- considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
- the benefits of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value
- a clear definition of where IP can be used and shared between the participants and countries
- a clear route to market within no more than 2 to 3 years of project completion
Eligibility
All projects must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Firstly, the consortium must include at least one business registered in South Korea.
- All projects must last between 24 and 36 months, starting by 1st November 2022 and ending by 31st October 2025.
- UK applicants can apply for a maximum grant of up to £350,000.
- They must also carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.
More Information
This competition is open from 14th February until 6th July. For more information, please visit the competition page or join the online briefing event on 22nd February.
RedKnight has extensive experience of developing bids for transnational innovation projects. To find out more about how we can help, please contact us in order to arrange a free consultation.
Innovate UK Smart Grants: January 2022
Innovate UK has launched a new round of Smart Grants! Through this competition, £25 million will be available for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation. Applications are due between 17th January and 13th April.
Scope
Smart is Innovate UK’s ‘open’ grant funding programme. Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy. This includes the creative industries, science or engineering, and the arts, design and media. Projects can overlap with the grand challenge areas, although Innovate UK is also keen to support projects in other areas.
Proposals must demonstrate:
- A clear game-changing, innovative and/or disruptive and ambitious idea leading to new products, processes or services
- An idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
- A strong and deliverable business plan that addresses (and documents) market potential and needs
- 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
- A team, business arrangement or working structure with the necessary skills and experience to run and complete the project successfully and on time
- Awareness of all the main risks the project will face with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
- Clear, considerable potential to significantly impact the UK economy and/or productivity in a positive way
- Sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money
Eligibility
Your application must include at least one SME; they can be the lead or a collaborative grant claiming partner. The project must start no later than 1st October 2022 and end no later than 30th September 2025. Your project must also follow specific rules based on its duration:
- Projects with durations between 6 and 18 months must have total eligible project costs between £25,000 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.
RedKnight Consultancy has significant experience in supporting applications for Innovate UK Smart Grants. You can view one of our success stories here. If you need help putting together a competitive proposal, please contact us today.
You may also be interested in our Innovate UK application guide – subscribe to RedKnight’s monthly newsletter today to receive a free copy direct to your inbox!
Grant funding opportunity for UK-Singapore collaborative R&D
From 24th January, UK registered businesses will be able to apply for a share of £3 million to develop collaborative R&D with businesses from Singapore. This funding is from Innovate UK in partnership with Enterprise Singapore.
The competition has an open scope, but applications from the following sectors are of particular interest: advanced manufacturing and materials, agrifood tech, mobility and transport, cybersecurity, and health and life sciences.
Scope
This competition will fund business-led, collaborative research and development projects focused on industrial research. All proposals must demonstrate:
- a clear game-changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
- a strong and deliverable business plan
- 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
- considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
- the benefits of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value
- a clear definition of where IP can be used and shared between the participants and countries
- a clear route to market within no more than 2 to 3 years of project completion
Eligibility
All projects must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Firstly, the consortium must include at least one business registered in Singapore.
- All projects must last between 24 and 36 months, starting by 1st September 2022 and ending by 31st August 2025.
- UK applicants can apply for a maximum grant of up to £350,000.
- They must also carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.
More Information
This competition is open until 20th April 2022. For more information, please visit the competition page or join the online briefing event on 3rd February.
RedKnight Consultancy has significant experience in developing bids for transnational innovation projects. To find out more about how we can help, please contact us to arrange a free consultation.