DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Demonstrate

To lead a collaborative project or work alone your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.

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)

There is no limit on the number of applications an organisation can be involved in.

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).

Your project must:

• lead to a demonstrator product or process to enable new commercial opportunities or secure follow on investment
• have total eligible grant funding request of between £500,000 and £1.5 million
• be a minimum of 50% match funding, for example, if you are asking for £500,000 in grant your total eligible project costs need to be a minimum of £1 million
• align to at least one of the three scope themes
• be achieving TRL 5-6 or MRL 4-5 by completion, based on published Automotive Technology and Manufacturing Readiness Levels
• last between 9 and 12 months
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• start by 1 February 2026
• end by 31 January 2027

As a key component of the dissemination requirements for this competition, there will be an opportunity to showcase your project outcomes at the 2027 CENEX Expo. All projects must be prepared for potential selection to represent themselves at this event.

For this theme, you must focus on product and process innovations that contribute to achieving zero emissions for on board vehicle applications in one or more of the following areas:

• electrical energy storage: development of batteries, supercapacitors, their components, management, and integration systems
• electric machines and associated driveline
• power electronics including Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)
• Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) for on road applications, we will only fund project proposals which aim to achieve zero harmful tailpipe emissions utilising non-fossil fuels
• Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) for off road applications, we will fund project proposals that support a transition to zero emissions, utilising non-fossil fuels
• lightweight materials and manufacturing processes
• fuel cell systems and associated balance of plant
• hydrogen storage and management systems

Within the technology scope outlined above;

Your project can include:

• upstream supply chain for the above technologies including raw materials, component manufacturing, subassembly manufacturing
• circularity and Design for Disassembly: projects focused on the disassembly, remanufacturing, recovery, and reuse of materials
• digitalisation of validation, verification, and design: use of digital tools to enhance the design, validation, and verification processes for the listed technologies

R&D projects which use innovations to enable productivity and cost competitiveness and reduce embedded carbon. These will be across all aspects of zero emission vehicle and technology manufacturing and their associated supply chain in one or more of the following areas:

• Digital Transformation: integration of digital tools within the manufacturing process, for example, the use of AI, digital twins, vision systems and internet of things (IoT)
• manufacturing process decarbonisation: switching processes to use non fossil energy sources or innovations enabling reduced energy consumption within manufacturing processes including capture and reuse
• Lean Manufacturing: implementation of innovative lean principles to improve circularity of materials used in processes, reduce their environmental impact and improve efficiency including the use of advanced automation techniques
• Supply Chain Development: initiatives for suppliers to improve their processes, capability and capacity for R&D and subsequent industrialisation, for example, flexible production lines to service multiple customers to lower capital investment as well as UK capability building to enable market access, and sustainability

The technologies in scope within this theme apply to any component, sub assembly or system involved in the manufacture of zero emission vehicles. Your proposal must have an outcome which increases the likelihood and competitiveness of manufacturing zero emission vehicles and their supply chain in the UK.

Focus on innovations in software and E/E architecture to enhance zero emission vehicle functionality and reduce time to market. These projects will leverage the UK’s unique innovation skills for global product competitiveness, in one of more of the following areas:

• Integrated E/E systems: development of scalable and flexible E/E architectures, including software platforms and hardware design that support advanced vehicle functionalities and future technologies
• validation and verification technology: use of digital twins and in the loop (xIL) innovations to create comprehensive models of E/E systems, enabling rapid simulation, optimisation, and validation of interconnected systems
• embedded Software Development: innovations, including in the creation of, embedded software that decrease time to market, enhance vehicle performance, safety, security and connectivity
• network communications: development of robust network communication systems to support the integration of various electronic components and systems within the vehicle
• Control Systems: advanced control systems that improve vehicle functionality and performance

We are not funding projects that:

• focus on business processes not directly involved in the design, test, validation, recycle or reuse or manufacture of vehicles for example, company back office systems and infrastructure
• relate to the design, development, integration, use, test or direct manufacturing of automated driving systems (ADS)
• are only focussed on the development of clean fuels
• are not aligned with the UK net zero research innovations framework
• are requesting more than 50% grant for total project costs
• are developing solutions such as e-Scooters or e-Bikes

Briefing slides are available to download here.

If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Transport team or Manufacturing team.