Funding available for hydrogen transport demonstrations

Innovate UK has announced a new competition to demonstrate the use of green hydrogen in transport. The competition is funded by the Department for Transport as part of the UK Government’s ambition to build a fully operational hydrogen transport hub by 2025.

Up to £2.5 million is available for demonstrations of hydrogen-powered vehicles in real-world operational settings across Tees Valley. The competition aims to further the UK’s understanding of how hydrogen can support the long-term development of the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub (HTH), subsequently driving demand to decarbonise the transport system.

Eligibility

Firstly, all projects should have total eligible costs between £200k and £1 million. They should start by 1st September 2021 and end by 31st March 2022. To lead a project, your organisation must be registered in the UK and work in collaboration. Lastly, you should carry out all project work and exploit your results from or in the UK.

Scope

All applicants must use a hydrogen vehicle or vessel in an operational setting to replace, complement or add to existing transport fleets or operations. While projects can operate vehicles partly outside the Tees Valley, they must maintain their main logistical connection with the area.

In more detail, all projects must:

  • demonstrate a green zero-emission hydrogen transport solution by 31 March 2022 for 3 months
  • operate the demonstration in an open public setting or controlled environments, such as warehouses and distribution centres
  • offer a method to track their solution against performance indicators against a baseline comparator to understand benefits or challenges and then deploy this solution as part of the demonstration
  • report on the benefits for passengers, customers and residents in the Tees Valley
  • develop plans for long-term activities to create a demand for hydrogen in the Tees Valley from 2022

As part of your project, you should also:

  • undertake desk-based research into future engagement with the hub after 31 March 2022
  • show how the activity proposed for 2021 to 2022 will support the hub’s longer-term ambitions
  • outline how post-2022 activity will transition into a commercially viable ongoing hydrogen-fuelled transport activity or a larger trial on the ground encompassing hydrogen production and its wider use beyond transport.
  • explore the policy landscape associated with the deployment of a specific hydrogen vehicle or vessel to help inform wider policy discussions
More Information

For more information, including the competition’s full scope and eligibility criteria, click here. Alternatively, please contact us if you’d like to discuss an application with one of our advisers.

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Innovation loans available for SMEs

From 26th April, SMEs can apply for innovation loans from Innovate UK. These loans are for highly innovative, late-stage projects with strong commercial potential. Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy.

Innovate UK’s pilot programme of innovation loans started in 2017. Through seven competitions so far, the programme has provided £80 million to over 100 successful applicants! In addition, Innovate UK approved £77 million in innovation continuity loans to nearly 100 SMEs as part of the UK Government’s coronavirus response package.

Eligibility

Innovation loans of between £250,000 and £1.6 million are available for experimental development projects. They can last up to 4 years, including both the R&D and commercialisation phases, and should start by September 2021.

To take on an innovation loan for a project, you must fulfil the following criteria:

  • Be a UK registered SME
  • Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • Give evidence that your business is suitable to take on a loan

Please note that individuals, academic institutions, research organisations and large companies are ineligible for innovation loans.

Scope

The competition aims to help SMEs make their innovations a successful, commercial reality. Innovate UK will evaluate your application on two grounds: firstly, the quality of your project proposal and secondly, the suitability of your business to receive a loan. Therefore, your proposal must demonstrate:

  • an appropriate and evidenced loan request
  • a clear route to commercial success with potential to make a significant and positive impact on the UK economy and productivity
  • realistic, significant potential for global markets
  • a strong management team
  • why you are unable to fund the project from your own resources or other forms of public or private-sector funding

This competition is open from 26th April until 2nd June. If you have any further questions or would like support with your application, please get in touch.

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£1.5 million available to develop assays for SARS-CoV-2 cellular immune responses

A new Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) will fund the development of effective assay system approaches to measuring cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. The competition is part of the Covid-19 National Core Studies programme.

Scope

The competition aims to develop effective approaches to measuring human cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 natural infection or vaccines, to improve both clinical management and vaccine deployment. Funding is exclusively available for technical feasibility studies.

Assays that qualitatively and quantitatively measure the antibodies that recognise and neutralise SARS-CoV-2 are already available. However, assays to measure cellular immune responses rapidly and reproducibly are more limited.

Therefore, projects must develop a novel assay system that can define the magnitude and profile of T-cell immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the project should focus on assays that work in a clinical or laboratory setting, whilst considering the ease, speed and reproducibility of sample preparation. Specifically, assays that use whole blood rather than requiring complex cell separation protocols are a priority.

Specific Themes

All projects must fulfil the following criteria:

  • Have a defined and justified intended use (research, clinical or diagnostic) for the assay
  • Identify, justify and if required validate the biomarkers or cellular characteristics you propose to measure
  • Develop or evaluate a sample preparation and assay format able to sample and measure the biomarkers or cellular characteristics with the required performance, test procedure and operational characteristics for the intended use
Eligibility

Projects can start from 1st October 2021 and should last between 1 and 12 months. With £1.5 million available, Innovate UK expects to fund 3 projects with total eligible costs of up to £700k.  Organisations of any size can lead a project. Contracts will only be awarded to single legal entities, but you can work with others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations or the third sector as subcontractors.

For more information, visit the Innovate UK competition page. Alternatively, please contact us if you’d like to discuss an application with one of our advisers.

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Funding available for innovation in time dissemination and application

Innovate UK is working with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to invest up to £2 million in feasibility studies for innovation in the dissemination and application of resilient time, frequency and synchronisation (TFS). This funding is from the Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF).

Scope

The competition objectives are as follows:

  • Firstly, to support and enable business-led innovation across the UK supply chain in resilient TFS. As a result, this should lead to the development of products, services and end user applications.
  • Secondly, to develop a TFS ecosystem and capability for relevant industries and critical national infrastructure.
  • Lastly, to disrupt and create new markets to improve the provision of TFS.

Your project must deliver a feasibility study for an innovative development and demonstrate a route to market. It should also be scalable, either geographically or across applications. For additional information, including specific themes that your project might consider, click here.

Eligibility

Projects can start from 1st October 2021 and should last between 4 and 6 months. Eligible costs can range from £50,000 up to a maximum of £250,000. In addition, your organisation must fulfil the following criteria to work alone or lead a project:

  • Be a UK registered business of any size
  • If collaborative, partner with other UK registered businesses, research organisations, research and technology organisations (RTO), academic institutions, public sector organisations or charities
  • Carry out its project work and intend to exploit its results from or in the UK
  • Academic institutions and research organisations cannot lead an application or work alone

Innovation in time dissemination and application will open on Monday 19th April and close on Wednesday 9th June. You can find more information on the competition page. To book a free consultation with one of our advisers, please contact us today.

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£20 million available for clean maritime and smart shipping projects

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of £20 million for clean maritime and smart shipping projects. By supporting the design and development of these technologies, the competition aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the UK’s maritime sector. The funding is from the Department for Transport and delivered by Innovate UK.

Innovate UK is seeking solutions for all sizes and categories of maritime vessels. In addition, all ports and harbours are in scope, including infrastructure for both freight and leisure. There are two strands running at the same time:

Strand 1 – Feasibility Studies

In strand 1, projects must:

  • Review the technical and economic feasibility of solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Develop a clear plan for a future technology demonstration to be deployed after the feasibility project has been completed

For more information on project scope, including specific themes, click here. Total eligible costs can range from £25,000 to £1,000,000. Your project should start before 1st September 2021 and end by 31st March 2022, lasting up to 7 months in total.

Strand 2 – Industrial Research and Experimental Development

In this strand, projects must design, develop and test novel clean maritime or smart shipping technologies. They must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from both vessels and shore-side infrastructure at ports and harbours. You can find more information about the competition's scope on the Innovate UK website. Your project must have total eligible costs between £100,000 and £4,000,000. Again, your project can start any time from 1st September 2021 and should end by 31st March 2022.

The Clean Maritime competition is open from 22nd March until 2nd June 2021. If you’re thinking of making an application and are looking for bid writing support, please contact us today.

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£10 million available to support the uptake of battery electric trucks

A new Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) has launched to provide an innovative solution to enable fleets to switch to battery electric trucks. It is funded by the Department for Transport and delivered by Innovate UK. This is phase 1 of a potential 2-phase competition. Phase 1 projects must include data evaluation, test and demonstration involving a minimum of ten battery electric trucks. If phase 2 goes ahead, projects will involve further field testing and evaluation.

Scope

The competition aims to develop one or more innovative, interactive solutions to support the uptake of battery electric trucks. This should encompass both public and private sector fleet operations.

Your proposal must:

  • Identify the costs and considerations around deploying commercially available zero emission trucks
  • Demonstrate a credible and practical route to market
  • Include a plan to commercialise your result and demonstrate how your solution will provide value

Your solution must:

  • Ensure users understand both the strengths and weaknesses of deploying commercially available battery electric zero emission trucks
  • Help users to 1) gain an understanding of the economic and practical feasibility of the technology and 2) de-risk, aid and encourage fleet operators to convert to battery electric vehicles
  • Provide relevant information to help users make a range of decisions, for example, what to expect in terms of vehicle use and system performance to options for vehicle charging
Eligibility

In total, £10 million is available through this competition with the Department for Transport expecting to fund up to 3 projects. Phase 1 projects can last up to 10 months. Organisations of any size can lead a project and work alone or with subcontractors. You must also be able to provide or obtain access to suitable battery electric trucks to meet the real-time logistics demands of a UK public sector fleet operator. Finally, you should obtain and submit a letter of support from a UK public sector fleet operator

This competition is open between 22nd March and 21st April. If you’d like to discuss an application with one of our advisers, please get in touch. You may also be interested in Innovate UK’s Zero Emission Road Freight competition.


Zero Emission Road Freight: funding available for feasibility studies and industrial research

Innovate UK is investing up to £10 million in innovative projects that focus on zero emission road freight and its supporting infrastructure. This funding is from the Department for Transport as part of the commitments defined in the Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.

The competition has three strands running at the same time:

  • Electric road system demonstration (feasibility studies) – strand 1.
  • Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles demonstration (feasibility studies) – strand 2.
  • Supply chain technology (feasibility studies and industrial research) – strand 3.

In addition, a related SBRI procurement competition is currently open, which aims to support the uptake of battery electric trucks.

Electric Road Systems

Funding is available for ambitious feasibility studies into an electric road system demonstration. The system should be suitable for 44 tonne zero emission road freight. In this strand, projects must have total eligible costs from £500,000 to £2 million and take place between 1st July 2021 and 31st March 2022.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

UK registered organisations or businesses can apply for funding for feasibility studies into a future zero emission road freight demonstration of hydrogen fuel cell trucks. Eligible costs must be between £500,000 and £2 million while all projects should again take place between 1st July 2021 and 31st March 2022.

Supply Chain Technology

Lastly, funding is available for advanced feasibility studies and industrial research in supply chain technology. All proposals must address the challenges associated with the transition to zero emission road freight. Secondly, they should define a solution to the technical challenges to developing or operating zero emission trucks. Your total eligible costs should be between £100,000 and £250,000.

Each of the three stands will close on 5th May 2021. If you’re short on time and therefore looking for grant writing support, please contact us to arrange a free consultation.

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Funding available to solve problems associated with zero emission vehicles

Zero emissions vehicles - electric car plugged in chargingThe UK Government has £17 million available to invest in innovative zero emission vehicles projects. The competition aims to address challenges associated with their uptake in the UK.

Firstly, funding is available for feasibility studies and collaborative research and development projects. Projects must provide on-vehicle innovative solutions that support the transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in line with the Government’s transport decarbonisation aims. Solutions should address one or more of the following challenges:

  • Improve ZEV capability
  • Increase adoption of small commercial ZEVs
  • Support transition to zero emission for special use vehicles
  • Improve ZEV user experience
  • Improve sustainability of ZEVs

Applicants can address these challenges in one of two ways: 1) using new, highly innovative solutions or 2) by advancing an existing innovation or R&D project.

Transitioning towards Zero Emission Vehicles: Feasibility Studies

Up to £1 million is available for feasibility studies. Your project should have total eligible costs between £300,000 and £600,000. It must start by 1st August 2021 and end by 31st March 2022, lasting no longer than 8 months.

At the end of the feasibility study, your project must be ready to continue in future R&D competitions. In addition, you should be able to raise private sector investment to take the project outcome to market.

Transitioning towards Zero Emission Vehicles: Collaborative Research and Development

Up to £6 million is available for collaborative research and development projects. Again, your project must have total eligible costs between £300,000 and £600,000. It should start by 1st August 2021 and end by 31st March 2022, lasting no longer than 8 months.

Infrastructure solutions for zero emission vehicles

Secondly, up to £10 million is available for innovative infrastructure solutions that support the UK's transition to zero emission vehicles. Innovate UK will fund feasibility studies and research and development projects that address one or more of the following infrastructure challenges:

  • Improve public residential charging in urban areas
  • Improve rural charging
  • Advance fleet charging solutions
  • Enhance the ZEV user charging experience

Your project must have total eligible costs between £300,000 and £800,00 and the lead organisation must be a UK registered business. In addition, you have to work in collaboration; this may be with another UK-registered business or with an academic institution, charity, not-for-profit, research organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO).

The competition is open from Monday 15th March until Wednesday 21st April. However, there's no need to let the short turnaround stop you from applying! Our expert advisers are on hand to help; contact us today to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation.


Driving the Electric Revolution: funding available for supply chain innovation projects

Driving the Electric Revolution: an electric car shown from behind, plugged in chargingThe latest round of Innovate UK’s Driving the Electric Revolution competition is now open for applications, with up to £22 million available for innovation projects that support the government’s green industrial revolution. The competition aims to facilitate supply chain and manufacturing capability growth in power electronics, machines and drives (PEMD).

Background

Part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, Driving the Electric Revolution is an investment of £80 million in electrification technologies. The challenge, which launched in 2019, helps businesses to seize the opportunities that the UK’s transition to net-zero presents.

Scope

The competition aims to facilitate UK niche and volume supply chain and manufacturing growth in PEMD. Therefore, funding is available for business-led and supply chain-focused innovation projects. All projects must enable future improvements in at least one of the following areas: productivity, capacity, quality, efficiency. Ideally, projects should also have the potential for cross-sector impact.

You can find specific themes on the Innovate UK competition page. Broadly, they encompass the following areas:

  • Manufacturing process development
  • Design for manufacture
  • Innovative end-of-line testing and product validation processes
  • Circular economy
Eligibility

Firstly, projects must have total costs between £500,000 and £5 million. To lead a project, your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size and work in collaboration. You must conduct all project work and intend to exploit your results from or within the UK. In addition, the project team must include at least 3 layers of an existing or new supply chain, representing both the supply and demand side.

Applications are due by 30th June 2021. If you would like to discuss an application with one of our advisers, please contact us today.

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Commercialising Quantum Technologies: funding available for germinator projects

Abstract quantum technologies background£1 million is available for high-risk, high-return quantum technology projects with defined commercial outputs. The funding is from the Commercialising Quantum Technologies programme of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). It aims to advance the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK through the development of early-stage quantum technology opportunities.

This competition is split into 3 strands: ‘Feasibility Studies R2’, Germinator projects (this strand) and ‘CR&D and Tech 2.’

Scope - Your Proposal

All proposals must identify a promising application of quantum technologies, a project to demonstrate its potential and a route to market. In more detail, your project must:

  • Identify a commercial opportunity
  • Quantify technological outcomes
  • Provide a roadmap of future exploitation
  • Exploit second generation quantum techniques

You should also identify any future work and funding that you will require to bring your project to commercial maturity.

Eligibility – Who Can Apply?

Firstly, your project’s total eligible costs must not exceed £50,000. In addition, it should last for a total of 6 months, starting by 1st October 2021 and ending by 31st March 2022. To lead a project, your organisation must:

  • Be a UK registered business, public sector organisation, academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO) or research organisation
  • Carry out its project work in the UK
  • Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

A research organisation, academic institution, research and technology organisation or research organisation cannot work alone, but they can lead a project if they have a UK registered business as a partner.

This competition is open from 10th February until 31st March. For more information, please visit the Innovate UK competition page or contact us.

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