Material Focus Circular Electricals Fund
The £1m Circular Electricals Fund supports ideas to keep electricals – and their materials – in use for longer – through innovation in material use and recovery, design and business models.
Opportunity Details
When
Registration Opens
14/05/2025 00:00
Registration Closes
14/08/2025 00:00
Award
Funding of up to £150,000 per project.
E-waste is the world’s fastest-growing waste stream, with over 100,000 tonnes of electricals binned every year in the UK alone. Material Focus is making it easier to fix, donate and recycle our existing electricals, helping us all to save the valuable, critical and finite materials inside them from going to waste. Some brilliant innovation is already happening, but many electrical and electronic products and smart devices still aren’t designed to be easily reused or recycled. And we lack the systems to recover all the valuable materials inside them.
Material Focus have launched the £1m Circular Electricals Fund to tackle this problem.
We are searching for practical, scalable solutions that enhance resource efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and encourage collaboration across the industry. We welcome fresh ideas that address key challenges in developing consumer electricals.
Three types of project are eligible:
- Materials – Using and recovering materials more efficiently to conserve resources, reduce waste, and recover value (e.g. bioleaching, biodegradable circuit boards, low-carbon materials)
- Product design – making electricals more durable, repairable, upgradeable, and long lasting
- Business models – developing new services that promote reuse, sharing, and waste reduction (e.g. leasing, product-as-a-service, smart homes, libraries of things)
We expect the majority of projects to be delivered across a 12-month period, although, where necessary, this may differ.
Please read through the Applicant’s Guide and Applicant’s Pack before asking
for assistance. If you still have questions or require support after that, email
funding@materialfocus.org.uk.
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A wide variety of organisations can apply, including industry bodies, non-profits, private companies, compliance schemes, universities, and research institutions.
Funding is available to registered organisations only, and individuals should not apply.
All UK-registered organisations, e.g. businesses registered with UK Companies House, are eligible for funding. Please note, we cannot fund international projects.
Each Project Lead may submit no more than three applications, and each must present an entirely different innovative project.
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The fund is targeting consumer products – those products mainly used in households or by consumers. Dual use products such as laptops and smart phones are included.
Project examples include, but are not limited to:
Materials
- Advanced recycling technologies: developing new methods for recovering technology metals and other valuable materials from e-waste
- Bio-based or sustainable alternatives: researching and commercialising bio-based / non-fossil alternatives or recycled materials for use in electricals
- Modular design for recycling: creating electronic components that can be easily disassembled and sorted for efficient recycling
- Closed-loop supply chains: establishing industry collaborations to improve the collection and reintegration of recycled materials into new products.
Products
- Repairable & modular electricals: designing consumer electricals (phones, laptops, appliances) with easily replaceable components to extend their lifespan
- Self-healing materials: innovating materials that can repair themselves to enhance product durability
- Repair initiatives: developing open-source repair guides, toolkits, or marketplaces for replacement parts
- Upgrade-friendly designs: creating devices with modular upgrades to extend their relevance and functionality over time.
Business models
- Trade-in & refurbishment programmes: establishing scalable take-back schemes to refurbish and resell used electricals
- B2B sharing platforms: developing platforms for businesses to share high-value electronic equipment to reduce redundant purchases
- Deposit return schemes: implementing incentives for consumers to return end-of-life products for responsible recycling or refurbishment.
- Product as a service: prioritising service over ownership (e.g. leasing, smart homes, libraries of things)