New Innovators in Marine and Maritime, Great South West

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

• have total project costs and grant funding request of between £25,000 and £50,000

• have total project costs that equal your grant funding request

• start from 1 October 2025

• end by 31 May 2026

• last between 3 and 6 months

• carry out all of its project work in the UK

• intend to exploit the project outcomes from the UK for domestic or global benefit

Projects must always start on the first of the month. 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.

If you exceed the total project costs of £50,000 you will be ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment. If your grant funding request does not equal your total project costs, you will be ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment.

You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.

Lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must be a UK registered micro or small business.

If your business has been funded directly by Innovate UK previously, you are not eligible to apply for this competition. If however you have received funding directly from Innovate UK Business Growth (previously Innovate UK EDGE) or a Catapult scheme, you are still eligible to apply for this competition.

Businesses with directors who have previously received a grant or Innovation Loan from Innovate UK as part of a different company, are eligible to apply but will be considered on a case by case basis.

A business with a previous award to a parent or subsidiary would also be eligible to apply, but the parent company must be classified as a micro or small business. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

If you are unsure, contact our customer support team by email at least 10 working days before the submission deadline.

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 cannot use non-UK based subcontractors.

We expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a reason to use a non-UK subcontractor.

Number of applications

An eligible UK business can submit one application only. We will only award grant funding to one project per business.

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 New Innovator funding if you have:

• been previously funded by Innovate UK

• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Minimal Financial Assistance (and De minimis where applicable)

Grant funding in this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to £315,000 to an enterprise in a 3-year rolling financial period.

In your application, you will be asked to declare previous funding received by you. This will form part of the financial checks ahead of Innovate UK making a formal grant offer.

To establish your eligibility, we need to check that our support added to the amount you have previously received does not exceed the limit of £315,000 in the ‘applicable period’.

The applicable period is made up of:

(a) the elapsed part of the current financial year, and

(b) the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year.

You must include any funding which you have received during the applicable period under:

• Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights)

• De Minimis Regulation

You do not need to include aid or subsidies which have been granted on a different basis, for example, an aid award granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation.

Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

EU Commission rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please 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, you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or your legal obligations.

Funding

We have allocated up to £2.3 million to fund innovation projects in this competition.

Your total project costs will be 100% funded. Total project costs and grant funding request detailed within your application must not exceed the maximum project size of £50,000. If your total project costs or grant amount are below the minimum of £25,000 or exceed the maximum of £50,000 then your application will be ineligible.

Your grant funding request must match your total project costs. If your grant funding request is not 100% of your total project costs then your application will be ineligible.

We will aim to pay:

• 70% of your grant request within a month of your agreed project start date

• a further 20% in arrears, after approval of your 70% claim and the evidence of spend made, submitted with your claim

• the remaining 10% of the grant 10 to 14 days after Innovate UK approve your final claim

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

If you are applying for an award funded under European Commission 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.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to provide a package of targeted support to enable ambitious UK registered micro and small businesses to develop affordable, adoptable and investable innovations in the marine and maritime cluster in the Great South West.

Your project must grow your innovation activities in the marine and maritime cluster in the Great South West, both during and after your project.

This could be demonstrated by:

• your local innovation activities during and after your project

• the value that your innovation activities create in the cluster

• your engagement with other innovation active organisations in the cluster, such as with Maritime UK South West, this Launchpad’s cluster management organisation

For this competition, the Great South West consists of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

Your application may be considered ineligible if you do not describe clearly how your main project activities and work packages meet the scope of this competition.

This includes the main project activities of any subcontractors. If you do not describe clearly how your activities in the cluster will continue after your project, then you are unlikely to be offered funding in this competition.

Your project must focus on one or more of the following:

• marine autonomy

• clean maritime

• digital ocean technologies

In your application, you must demonstrate that you:

• have an innovative idea

• need public funding

• have the capability to deliver the project

We are particularly interested in how your proposal will help you:

• develop both your ambitious idea and your business

• create a new revenue stream, for example new products, services or IP

• evidence and enable your market, funding and commercialisation plans

• show what is feasible, in helping you decide whether to pursue your idea further

• catalyse further innovation on your path to commercial success

• respond to changing market conditions

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different categories. We call this a portfolio approach.

We reserve the right to prioritise projects that:

• demonstrate more innovation activity or value creation in the cluster or outside the Greater South East of England, during and after the project

• demonstrate more engagement in the innovation cluster, during and after the project

• demonstrate closer alignment to this competition’s scope and specific themes

Specific themes

Your project can focus on one or more of the following theme areas:

• Monitoring and autonomy

Developing or using disruptive technologies to replace traditional ship-based alternatives for equipment inspection and other marine monitoring operations and enhance safety of the seas, such as in the offshore renewable energy industry.

• Clean maritime

Transitioning to alternative fuel powered vessels using energy from low or zero emission sources or highly efficient batteries, also integrating ports into a decarbonised energy network and supplying the fuels of the future.

• Digital ocean technology

Advancing sensor and communication technology and their connectedness and interoperability, to enhance our understanding of the ocean and the impacts from offshore operations, including in aquaculture and the emerging ocean economy.

This list is not exhaustive. Where you can show your proposal fits within the scope of this competition you can focus on other themes.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

• do not meet the competition eligibility or scope requirements

• have a grant funding request that is not equal to the total project cost

• purely result in reports, academic papers or similar

• do not evidence potential for the proposed innovation to lead to significant and positive economic or societal impact

• do not evidence value for money

We cannot fund projects that:

• involve primary production in fishery and aquaculture

• involve primary production in agriculture

• are not allowed under De minimis regulation restrictions

• are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance

• are dependent on export performance, for example, giving an award to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another country

• are dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, if we give an award to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their product

2 June 2025

Online briefing: Watch here.

10 June 2025

Online applicant Q&A: join at 10:00am

29 July 2025

Applicants notified

1 October 2025

Projects 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

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 4 sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

4. Project Impact.

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.

Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Application team

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

Application details

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

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 how your project fits the scope of the competition. In your answer you must outline how your project will grow your innovation activities in the cluster both during and after the project. Due to the competitive nature of this competition, your answer may be used in our portfolio approach to prioritising projects.

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 to questions 9 to 12. You will not receive feedback on your application following assessment, whether successful or unsuccessful in receiving grant funding.

You must answer all questions.

Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any subcontractors working on your project, and the work location for your project if different to your registered address.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants, and your answer may be used in our portfolio approach.

Question 2. Minimal Financial Assistance declaration (not scored)

You must download the declaration template. You must complete this, declaring any funding received under Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) or De minimis awards, (from any source of public funding) in the applicable period.

You must complete all the fields on your form before uploading.

You must write “declaration attached” in the question text box.

You must upload the completed declaration as an appendix. It can be up to 2 A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

You must keep all documentation relating to Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights) and other De minimis awards for a period of 6 years and be prepared to release it to any public funding body which requests it.

Question 3. 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 4. 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 process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 5. 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.

Question 6. Where did you hear about this competition? (not scored)

Select one of the options from the list below

• UKRI website

• Innovate UK Facebook

• Innovate UK Instagram

• Innovate UK LinkedIn

• Innovate UK Twitter

• Innovate UK employee

• Gov.UK website

• Innovate UK Business Connect (previously known as KTN)

• Innovate UK Business Growth (previously known as EDGE)

• Northern Irish, Scottish or Welsh government agencies

• Cornwall Council

• Dorset Council

• Plymouth City Council

• Great South West Pan-Regional Partnership

• Growth HubThird party website

• Innovate UK newsletter

• Events

• Other

Question 7. Your innovation area (not scored)

Select your Innovation area from the list below. You can only select one.

• marine autonomy

• clean maritime

• digital ocean technologies

Question 8. Describe the funding plans for the company to support the success of the project? (not scored, but will be used to assess financial viability)

How will you fund the 30% of your project costs that are not being paid in advance?

You must include:

• the source of the funds currently available, such as the company’s own funds for example, management accounts

• your funding strategy and how you will continue to support the development of the innovation following completion of the project, with a view towards its eventual commercialisation

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 9. The idea

We will score this question out of 25.

What is the problem you wish to solve and why is your proposed approach a good and innovative solution?

You must consider the following in your answer:

• the specific innovation you propose to develop and how this is different and better than alternative solutions

• the specific need and size of opportunity

• why is your solution affordable and investable

• any barriers to adoption and how they could be overcome

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 10. Impact and added value

We will score this question out of 25.

What will be the impact of receiving the grant to your business?

You must consider the following in your answer:

• why public funding is necessary and value for money, for example, is there currently a lack of investment, or market failure

• the impact on your business

• the tangible outputs of the project in terms of specific deliverables and how they will benefit the UK

• what are the expected impacts on society, the economy and the environment

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 11. Business resources and capabilities

We will score this question out of 25.

Explain why your business is capable of delivering this project.

You must consider the following in your answer:

• what resources you can access, including the main people involved, relevant track records, and any external resources

• your capability to deliver in the required timeframe given your existing business activities or constraints

• how you will deliver outcomes and impact beyond the life of the project

• your route to market

• how equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is incorporated into your proposed project or business activities, for example, in the development of your innovation, accessibility of project results, team composition, work environment

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 12. Work packages and costs

We will score this question out of 25.

What activities will you spend the grant funding on? How will you manage the project and risks effectively?

You must consider the following in your answer:

• what the funding will be spent on, referring to costs for the main work packages

• project risks and how you will mitigate them

• your freedom to operate for example, patents, intellectual property (IP)

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

3. Finances

You must complete your project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application.

Both your projects total cost and grant funding request must be between the minimum of £25,000 and the maximum of £50,000. If your grant funding request falls outside of this range then your application will be made ineligible.

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.

4. Project Impact

This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

You must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.

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.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by one independent assessor 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:

NI Assessor Guidance GSW.pdf

Background and further information

Innovate UK is delivering this competition in partnership with Cornwall Council, Plymouth City Council and Dorset Council. This Launchpad is also supporting Maritime UK South West as the local cluster management organisation.

The Great South West has a prominent marine and maritime sector, contributing £1.4 billion of gross value add (GVA) in 2019 and generating over 29,000 jobs. 25% of all UK marine manufacturing jobs are based in the Great South West, with significant shipyards in Devonport, Appledore, Falmouth and Portland and supply chains across the area.

Cluster strengths are anchored by the highest concentration of marine engineering, with prime and supply chain businesses. The region also boasts the highest concentration of UK environmental scientists delivering ocean monitoring, digital and clean technologies.

The cluster vision is to create a global centre of excellence for the testing, development and manufacture of autonomy, digital and clean ocean technologies for the rapidly growing global ocean economy.

In considering the eligibility of your proposal you are encouraged to review:

• The Great South West’s ‘blue economy’ priorities

• The Ocean Futures prospectus

• Department for Transport's Maritime 2050: navigating the future

Further information about the cluster will be provided in the online briefing event that will be available for you to view.

For further guidance on your eligibility, you can contact Innovate UK by email.

Additional support for your business can be provided by Maritime UK SW, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub, Heart of the South West Growth Hub and Business Growth Dorset.

Briefing recording and slides

Briefing event: watch the recording Recap: GSW NI Launchpad Applicant Briefing 23 May

Briefing slides are available to download:

Applicant Briefing New Innovator GSW.pdf

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 set up process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).

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.

Watch our video on what steps there are before a project starts or read more about Project Setup in our general guidance.

If your application is unsuccessful

Your application will be reviewed by one independent assessor based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project.

You will not receive feedback on your application following assessment, whether successful or unsuccessful in receiving grant funding.

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

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria.

New Innovators Launchpads - Assessor Guidance for applicants.pdf (opens in a new window)

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.

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. Please 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, Cornwall Council, Dorset Council and Plymouth City Council (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.

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

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to Cornwall Council, Dorset Council, Plymouth City Council 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 Officer reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK, Cornwall Council, Dorset Council and Plymouth City Council 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, Cornwall Council, Dorset Council and Plymouth City Council will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Dorset Council Privacy Policy

Cornwall Council Privacy Policy

Plymouth City Council 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.