Battery Innovation Feasibility Studies Round 1

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of between £70,000 and £500,000

• last between 6 and 18 months

• not start before April 2026

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.

Lead organisation

To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size

• academic institution

• charity

• not for profit

• public sector organisation

• research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:

• apply for funding when entering their costs into the application

• include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application

• ensure any one partner does not account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs

Non-funded partners

Your project can include organisations who do not claim any funding for their work on the project. Their costs will be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.

Where non-funded partners have been invited to the application on IFS, their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.

Number of applications

A UK registered business can lead a project and be included as a collaborator on any number of applications.

An academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation can collaborate on any number of applications.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

If you have previously submitted an application that reached our assessment stage, you can re-apply once more with the same proposal.

If there are minor differences to the proposal, but it is judged by us to be ‘not materially different’, the same rule applies.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project

• an overdue independent accountant’s report

• failed to comply with award terms and conditions

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must not do anything which could cause a breach of Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to or distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.

Funding

A minimum of £20 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.

For feasibility studies, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation

• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation

• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 50% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 50% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

• 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

• 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

1. Research organisations using the Je-S system must submit their costs through the Je-S system which calculates the 80% FEC figure.

2. On IFS, only the 80% FEC output should be entered at 100% funding.

3. Applicants do not need to show the remaining 20% on the finance table.

To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to:

• accelerate the development and commercialisation of state of the art battery technologies in the UK

• support the growth of the UK battery supply chain and related companies

• enhance the UK’s competitiveness in the global battery market

• demonstrate how battery technologies can meet specific application requirements and drive electrification across diverse sectors

Your project must demonstrate the market demand for a chosen sector and application. The proposal must explain how your innovation can support the industry challenges and remove hurdles and enable UK competitiveness across the battery value chain.

Your proposed solutions can address the entire battery value chain and must consider the financial implications, sustainability targets, environmental impact and regulatory policies. Your proposal can address one or more of the following areas:

• raw materials

• advanced cell materials

• cell design and components

• process and manufacturing tools

• quality control and diagnostics

• testing, simulation and digital tools

You must demonstrate how your technology will address at least one of the following requirements in your target application:

• reduce cost, taking into consideration total cost of ownership and the respective supply chain

• increase performance parameters

• increase safety

• increase predictability

• reduce environmental impact

• supports regulations and standards for the target market

We are particularly interested in funding projects from the groups below:

1. UK equipment manufacturing and process capability for cell and battery production. We encourage projects that will support this by:

• increased equipment manufacturing and process capability for advanced production process and new battery technologies

• manufacturing process with lower environmental impact, cost and improved yield

• enhanced digital capability for optimisation and quality control

• developing manufacturing processes that scale efficiently to meet growing demand

2. UK battery reuse, recovery and recycling. We encourage projects that will support this by:

• process capability of end-of-life batteries

• process capability of cell and batteries manufacturing scrap

• high purity black-mass production and processing

• waste stream and low value recyclate material processing

3. UK battery sector with localised battery supply chain and industrial resilience. We encourage projects that will support this to:

• meet international regulations and standards

• exploit technologies to strengthen UK supply chain

• develop an end to end bill of process and provenance

• develop new technologies and business model to remove barriers for commercialisation

• boost sustainability and resilience globally

• reduce reliance on critical minerals

For feasibility studies we encourage applications that:

• trial advanced and very novel battery technologies for the first time

• support trial and adaptation of existing materials, processes or equipment for application in battery technologies or the battery supply chain

• exploit scientific advances focusing on product or process commercialisation

• trial novel approaches, tools and methods

Your project can target performance requirements for at least one of the listed sectors and can support emerging use cases or cross sector applicability, including sector as defence, aerospace and battery energy storage:

• automotive sector including on and off-highway vehicles, motorsports and niche automotive

• aerospace

• battery energy storage systems

• rail

• maritime

• personal mobility

You must clearly demonstrate your understanding of the target sector and industry and market demand covering UK, Europe and global in your application.

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, technological maturities, themes and research categories. We call this a portfolio approach.

Research categories

We will fund feasibility studies, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that are:

• not aligned with the Industrial Strategy

• related to electrochemical supercapacitors, hybrid supercapacitors, lead-acid batteries and nickel-metal hydride battery

• related to primary batteries (non-rechargeable batteries)

• research projects or projects which are academic intensive​

• business as usual R&D projects​

• non-collaborative projects ​

• projects with over reliance on subcontracting

• aiming to secure funding for capital equipment as a primary focus​

• not demonstrating considerations of the cost, market, environmental impact, and business requirements of the technology​

• focussing primarily on physical system integration of battery technologies, for example, into vehicles or energy storage systems

We cannot fund projects that are:

• dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country

• dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

23 October 2025

Competition opens

29 October 2025

Online briefing event: register to attend

(Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event)

17 December 2025

Submission deadline - competition closes

18 February 2026

Applicants notified

1 April 2026

Project start from

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct

• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria

• all sections of the application are marked as complete

• that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into three sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Application team

Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

Describe where your primary technology fits in the development group (1, 2 or 3). Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 6. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions.

You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. If you do, your application will be made ineligible.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation, all partners and any subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

• In the process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 4. International collaboration (not scored)

Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement.

You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in.

You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 5. Export licence (not scored)

You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

Question 6. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)

You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:

• a list of any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research

• a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act

• whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications

• a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List

If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 7. Need or challenge

What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation?

Explain:

• the main motivation for the project

• the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity

• the nearest current state of the art, including those close to market or in development, both within and outside the UK, and its current limitations

• any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example, if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one or technology transfer into a new sector

• the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 8. Approach and innovation

What is the primary focus of this project in the scope technology groups? State 1, 2 or 3 within your answer.

What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?

Explain:

• your technology and innovation and how this aligns with technology group 1, 2 or 3

• the objectives of your project

• how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified

• how you will improve on the nearest current state of the art that you have identified

• whether the innovation will focus on existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas, or a totally disruptive approach

• the freedom you have to operate

• the technological and manufacturing maturity at the start of the project and achieved by the end of the project

• the expected advancements in the performance metrics of the battery technology

• how the battery technology will meet the performance requirements of the target applications and, where appropriate, what the synergies are with the needs of other sectors

• how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings

• how it will make your consortium and the UK more competitive

• the nature of the outputs you expect from the project, for example, reports, demonstrator, know-how, new process, product or service design, and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 9. Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Explain:

• the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking and in particular any battery specific experience within the team

• the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them

• the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project

• the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project

• any roles you will need to recruit for and how you plan to mitigate against any delays in recruitment

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix, with a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Market awareness

What is the target market for the outcomes of this project? What does the market or markets you are targeting look like?

Describe:

• the target markets for the project outcomes and any other potential markets, either domestic, international or both

• the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available

• the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes

• the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist

• the current UK position in targeting these markets

• the size and main features of any other markets not already listed

If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:

• what the market’s size might be

• how your project will try to explore the market’s potential

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 11. Commercialisation roadmap and risk management

How will you take your product or process from this project to market? What are the principal commercial risks in the UK that this project will de-risk?

Describe:

• your proposed business model

• how the proposed business model will benefit the UK economy, for example, licensing revenue, manufacturing jobs, R&D jobs

• the timeline of key steps from project completion to market launch

• the scale and location, UK and overseas, of investment required to execute the plan

• high level impacts on your organisation’s structure and capabilities

• the primary commercialisation risks and uncertainties, and how this project will help you mitigate them

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 12. Partner outcomes and market entry strategy

What specific outcomes will each partner achieve, and how will you enter and expand in target markets?

Explain:

• each partner’s current position in the market or value chain, and whether you will extend or establish that position

• your target customer segments or end users and the value proposition that will drive adoption

• your detailed route to market and scaling approach within and beyond the project

• how you will realise profit from the innovation, increased revenues or cost reduction

• the expected effects on partner productivity and long term business growth

• your strategy for protecting and exploiting project outputs, for example, patents, designs, know-how or business-model adaptations

• your plan to enter additional markets identified during or after the project

If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:

• your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale

• how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 13. Project management

How will you manage your project effectively? What are the project deliverables?

Explain:

• the main work packages of your project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one and the deliverables

• your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome

• the management reporting lines

• your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones and deliverables

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 14. Project risks

What are the main risks for this project? How the risks will be managed across the proposed consortium?

Explain:

• the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks

• how you will mitigate these risks

• any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, and data sets

• any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and other requirements identified, and how you will manage this

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 15. Equality, diversity and inclusion

How are you ensuring that your organisation and idea contribute towards equality, diversity and inclusion best practise?

Describe:

• any equality, diversity or inclusion challenges related to your idea, if appropriate

• what is the approach to equality, diversity and inclusion in your organisation

• how you will promote equality, diversity and inclusion for any roles you are recruiting for in this project

• how the project might contribute to social inclusion, such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities, Apprenticeship, Internship

Your answer to this question can be up to 400 words long.

Question 16. Added value

How will public funding accelerate or enhance your project’s development towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on the organisations involved?

Explain:

• what advantages public funding would offer your project, for example, appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market

• the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved

• what other routes of investment or means of support you have already engaged with and why they were not suitable

• how any existing or potential investment or support will be used in conjunction with the grant funding

• what your project would look like without public funding

• how this project would change the R&D activities of all the organisations involved

• why the project is unviable without this grant and outline the consequences if funding is not approved

• why internal or private financing is not possible, detailing the decision making process and providing evidence

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 17. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?

In terms of your project goals, explain:

• your total eligible project costs

• the grant you are requesting

• how each partner will finance their contributions to your project

• how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer

• how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise

• the balance of costs and grant across the project partners

• any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 18. Wider impacts

What impact might this project have outside the project team?

Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:

• external parties

• customers

• others in the supply chain

• broader industry

• the UK economy

Describe and, where possible, measure:

• any expected impact on government priorities

• any expected regional impacts of the project

Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative, on, for example:

• quality of life

• jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them

• education

• public empowerment

• health and safety

• regulations

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 19: Impact for the UK battery industry?

What impact will this project have on the UK battery industry and its supply chain?

Describe:

• environmental benefits as your product or process reaches the market

• economic gains for UK customers, suppliers and the wider battery sector, including improvements to the UK’s supply of critical materials

• effects on UK competitiveness in the global battery market

• enhancements to the sustainability and security of the UK battery supply chain

• benefits for businesses beyond the project consortium

• measures that will reduce risks across the battery supply chain

• long term outcomes and legacy of the project

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

3. Finances

Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.

For an overview on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance. Note this is general guidance, for specific guidance please see the eligibility section in this competition. You can also view our application finances video.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by five independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria:

Battery Innovation Feasibility Studies Round 1 - Assessor guidance for applicants .pdf

Background and further information

The £452 million Battery Innovation Programme (2026 to 2030) will be delivered by Innovate UK on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.

It forms part of the UK Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, within the modern Industrial Strategy, focused on scaling breakthrough battery research into industrial solutions.

The Battery Innovation Programme builds on the success of the Faraday Battery Challenge as highlighted in Dealroom’s 2024 report on UK electric vehicle battery tech.

The Programme supported over 100 startups, helped catalyse a £3.2 billion ecosystem and positioned the UK fourth globally for EV battery venture capital investment.

Expanding beyond automotive, it will now also target aerospace, defence, maritime, and battery storage to unlock wider industrial impact through:

• accelerating research and innovation

• strengthening supply chains

• advancing low carbon manufacturing

• enabling a circular economy

• developing skills and ecosystems

• informing policy and investment

These priorities will be enabled by cross cutting interventions, including collaborative R&D, skills development, scale up infrastructure through UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and a network of UK assets, investor partnerships, and supporting policy.

At the heart of the Programme is world class academic research, led by the Faraday Institution, which underpins and drives innovation across the UK battery ecosystem.

To keep updated of other opportunities from the Battery Innovation Programme follow the Battery Innovation Programme page on LinkedIn.

Join the growing community of organisations working in the UK's battery value chain across automotive, aerospace, defence, maritime, rail and more. Sign up for battery updates, funding, collaborations and events.

Briefing recording and slides

Briefing recording and slides will be available to download here after the briefing event.

What happens if you receive a grant offer

If you have passed your initial assessment and have received an email with a grant offer, you will be asked to complete the project setup process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). Watch our video on what steps are there before a project starts.

We will ask for information that will allow us to undertake mandatory checks on your organisation and the eligibility of your costs, as well as review the documentation for your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your project's dedicated IFS Set Up portal, where we gather the information required to set up your project, for example your bank details. Watch our video on how successful applicants receive their funding.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

We would like to remind you that eligible non-funded business can still benefit from fully funded and bespoke support from the Innovate UK Business Growth service.

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth service

Innovate UK Business Growth helps innovation focused businesses make the best strategic choices and access the right resources, in order to grow and ultimately achieve scale.

Our innovation and growth specialists provide our fully funded and bespoke support to clients nationwide. Visit the service’s website to discover whether you could benefit from this advisory support, which is available to Innovate UK funded and non-funded businesses alike.

Protecting your innovation

A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.

This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK and Department for Business and Trade (DBT) (each an ‘agency’).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to DBT and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

• the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants

• scoring and feedback on the application

• information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Service Provider reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK and DBT may also share any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application with Innovate UK’s national and regional UK third parties and partners who may contact you. For more information see how we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.

Innovate UK and DBT are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect and DBT will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Department for Business and Trade Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.