Millions of pounds are dished out to the most disruptive businesses each year in the form of grants — most of it awarded by the nation’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
In this, the first of a series of regular bulletins, we give you the key grants to target with applications this quarter.
With the pressure increasing on the government to make progress on the Four Grand Challenges set out in its Industrial Strategy — namely AI/data, an ageing society, clean growth and the future of mobility — there has never been a better time to seek grant funding.
By the end of April, a raft of competitions close for businesses in a range of fields but here we highlight the FIVE largest competitions in hot sectors right now. And it’s no accident a majority have a green dimension. Companies forging ahead in the industrial energy efficiency and smart factory sectors, as well as those working on heat pump and automotive technology face huge opportunities.
Here are the essentials you need to know if you’re considering an application for grant funding — scroll to the bottom for details of how we can help you make a water-tight submission and beat the deadlines.
If deadlines are too close for comfort, don’t panic. Larger funding bodies with deep pockets often administer grants in rounds, with many deadlines introduced over a matter of years, so speak to our team to find out if that applies to the grant you’re interested in.
Grant: Sustainable smart factory competition
Maximum grant value: £4million
Deadline: 26th January 2022
This is a £20million fund for digital innovation projects designed to slash the carbon emissions of factory manufacturing processes. Applicants need to demonstrate they can reduce in-process material losses, or make improvements to the sequencing of manufacturing operations to reduce energy consumption.
Grant: Heat Pump Ready Programme
Maximum grant value: Maximum grant value is discretionary
Deadline: 15th & 22nd February 2022
This £60million fund is being rolled out to spur pioneering heat pump technologies. The government’s ambitious target is for the UK to be fitting 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. It is hoped that switching to low carbon heating will cut emissions, and reduce the UK’s dependency on fossil fuels — both key to meeting the government’s 2050 net zero target.
Grant: Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator
Maximum grant value: £1million
Deadline: Ongoing
This £8million fund offers grants to tech developers targeting energy and resource efficiency in industry. The support is designed to help them bring their innovations to market. Projects should work at scale. Previous recipients included a company that delivered a 70% reduction in energy use at a landfill site.
Grant: Automotive Transformative Fund (ATF)
Maximum grant value: Maximum grant value is discretionary
Deadline: Round 17 of this grant competition closed on 12th January but a closing date for Round 18 will be published in due course.
The ATF is a £1billion fund designed to accelerate the UK’s switch to electric vehicles. The fund is a key cornerstone of the government’s strategy to reach net zero and provides support for investment in the key technology areas of batteries, fuel cells, motors, drives and power electronics. The fund is designed for those businesses seeking support for large scale, capital-focused products.
Grant: Smart Grants
Maximum grant value: Maximum grant value is discretionary
Deadline: 13th April 2022
UK-registered organisations can bid for a share of up to £25million for disruptive, business-focused and commercially-viable R&D projects. These can be new products, processes or services in any sector. However, future rounds of this grant will be restricted to those businesses targeting fast commercialisation, growth and exports so, if your project doesn’t meet those criteria, take advantage while you can.