ISCF Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Demonstrators: £16 million available
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of £16 million for ambitious demonstrator projects in smart and sustainable plastic packaging. The funding, which is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, will support projects that demonstrate innovation at a commercial scale.
This is the Expression of Interest stage, at which there is no funding. Successful applicants will receive an invite to proceed to stage 2 and submit a full-stage application.
Scope
Firstly, your proposal should address widely known problems in relation to plastic packaging for consumer products. It must also include significant industry investment. Innovate UK is particularly interested in projects which address the UK Plastic Pact targets by demonstrating at scale:
- minimised or reduced plastic packaging
- refillable packaging and systems
- sustainable solutions for film and flexibles
- food grade recycled polypropylene and polyethylene
- behaviour change leading to less packaging waste or higher recycling rates
- solutions for problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging items
Eligibility
Grants of between £1 million and £12 million are available for large-scale commercial demonstration projects. All projects must last between 12 and 36 months, starting by 1st February 2022 and ending by 31st January 2025.
The project lead must fulfil the following criteria:
- Be a UK registered business of any size
- Collaborate with another UK registered business, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit, public sector organisation or research and technology institution
- Carry out its project work in the UK and also intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
Expressions of interest are due by 24th March and successful applicants will then be notified by 30th April. You can find more information on the Innovate UK competition page: ISCF Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Demonstrators. To discuss an application with one of our advisers, please contact us today.
£2 million available for sustainable plastic packaging projects
Innovate UK is investing up to £2 million in early-stage projects through the Future Plastic Packaging Solutions competition. This forms part of the wider Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, which aims to deliver cleaner growth across the supply chain and reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the environment.
Scope
This competition will support feasibility studies and industrial research projects that address widely known problems related to plastic packaging. Innovate UK aims to fund projects with either direct or indirect commercial outcomes for the partners. Additionally, proposals should explain how their innovation addresses one or more of the UK Plastics Pact targets.
Projects must deliver one or more of the following:
- a more circular plastic packaging value chain, with reduced environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions and improved recyclability
- improved understanding of effective communication techniques to increase recycling rates and uptake of re-use/refill business models
- more consistent data and increased knowledge relevant to the supply chain.
You can find more information on in-scope projects, including specific themes, here.
Eligibility
Projects can last up to 18 months, starting by 1st June 2021 and ending by 30th November 2022. To lead a project or work alone, your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size, charity, non-government body or not-for-profit. It must carry out its project work in the UK and intend to exploit its results from or in the UK. If you are planning to work collaboratively, you can find the full eligibility criteria here.
To find out more, visit the ISCF Future Plastic Packaging Solutions competition page. Alternatively, if you'd like to discuss your project with one of our expert advisers, please contact us today.
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£5 million available for innovative food production projects
SMEs can apply for a share of £5 million in grant support to transform food production towards net zero. The grant funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The project must also align with a Series A investment, which you can read more about here.
Scope
In short, you must develop precision technologies and data-driven solutions that make a significant step towards realising net zero food production systems by 2040. Additionally, you must demonstrate how your project meets the overall aims of the ISCF Transforming Food Production Challenge, which are to:
- help food production systems achieve net zero emissions by 2040
- help produce food in ways that are more efficient, resilient and sustainable
- speed up the development and use of integrated precision approaches to improve productivity in agricultural systems.
Funding is only available for experimental development projects. They must focus on one or more of the following themes:
- the development of precision solutions and systems that will make a significant step towards net zero emissions for food production
- improving productivity of the agricultural sector
- stimulating the establishment of novel high value production systems
- developing export opportunities
- Please also note that projects involving equine, amenity horticulture, wild-caught fisheries or non-food crops are ineligible.
Eligibility
Your project must have total eligible costs of between £1 million and £3 million. It should last 18 months, starting by 1st October 2021 and ending by 31st March 2023. To secure grant funding, you must also secure an investment of at least twice the amount of grant through one of the lead investors associated with this programme. However, you can submit your application before speaking to an investor.
This competition is open to single applicants only. To apply your organisation must:
- be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
- carry out its project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from/in the UK
- be prepared to negotiate head of terms for an aligned series A investment.
The ISCF Transforming Food Production Challenge opens on 2nd November and closes on 13th January. To find out more, please visit Innovate UK. Alternatively, you can contact us if you have any further questions.
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ISCF Faraday Battery Challenge: Round 4
The fourth round of the ISCF Faraday Battery Challenge is now open for grant funding applications. UK registered businesses can apply for a share of £10 million for innovation in electric vehicle battery technology. The competition aims to establish the UK's position as a global leader in the design, development, and manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles.
Innovate UK is looking to fund a portfolio of projects, across a variety of technologies, sectors, technological maturities, and research categories. There are two strands running at the same time:
1. Feasibility Studies
Firstly, Innovate UK will support business-led feasibility studies. They will fund the most exciting, high potential impact, early-stage research projects, where a 12-month feasibility study will accelerate commercialisation.
Proposals should clearly show how the feasibility study will accelerate the development of technologies with the potential to significantly advance the performance characteristics of batteries for electric vehicles. The project must last between 3 and 12 months and plan to end by 31st March 2022. Eligible costs should be between £100,000 and £1,000,000.
2. Innovation R&D
Secondly, Innovate UK will support the research and development of the most promising innovative battery technologies for the propulsion of electric vehicles. Projects should build on the outputs of previous activity to accelerate towards commercialisation.
Innovate UK is encouraging two types of project:
- New projects building on the outputs and outcomes of previously funded Innovate UK projects or activities.
- New projects building on internal activity within the organisation.
Proposals must clearly demonstrate a significant value-add and exploitation from a preceding feasibility study, collaborative research and development project, or previous non-grant-funded activity. Eligible costs must be between £300,000 and £1,500,000 and projects must again last between 3 and 12 months.
You can find more information on the ISCF Faraday Battery Challenge here. Alternatively, to discuss your project with one of our expert advisers, contact us today.
ISCF Transforming foundation industries: Building a resilient recovery
£8 million in grant funding is available for projects supporting the recovery and growth of the UK’s foundation industries. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) and Innovate UK. The competition aims to support an innovation-led recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and protect the UK’s foundation industries innovation capability.
Innovate UK are looking to fund a portfolio of projects. However, all projects must:
- help the UK’s foundation industries remain globally competitive and become more environmentally sustainable
- indicate how the innovation helps meet the needs of business and/or industry as it emerges from Covid-19 pandemic and aids rapid recovery
- demonstrate that the business has the capability to deliver the project
Specific themes
Projects must focus on resource or energy efficiency in the foundation industries and can focus on one or more of the following areas:
- establish long-term viability of domestic supply chains
- new markets
- new business models
- new products and services
- new processes
Projects cannot focus on fuel switching or technologies for the capture of emissions, such as carbon capture and storage.
What is the ISCF?
The ISCF is part of the government’s Industrial Strategy, the long-term plan to raise productivity and earning power in the UK. They aim to increase funding in research and development by £4.7 billion over 4 years, strengthening UK science and business. Since the ISCF launched in 2016, it has supported 1820 organisations. Funding has been awarded to projects all over the country – could yours be next?
This competition closes on 4th November 2020. If you think that you may be eligible for funding, contact us today to arrange a free consultation. Alternatively, you can find more information on this competition here.