Successful applicants will benefit from an intensive 9-12 month, three phase programme with bespoke support from an innovation and growth specialist throughout.

Get ready: A two-day preparation workshop to build knowledge and understanding of the market and opportunities, including cultural aspects, how to do business, protecting Intellectual Property, and support to better articulate your value proposition.

Visit the market: Explore the innovation opportunities first-hand through pre-arranged matchmaking events, meetings with key contacts, research organisations and potential collaborators and partners.

Exploit the opportunity: An exploitation workshop and one-to-one bespoke support from an innovation and growth specialist to help you follow-up and maximise the opportunities identified through the programme.

To apply for this GBIP, you must be:

• a UK-based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and scale globally
• a company with fewer than 250 employees
• the CEO, founder, or senior decision maker in the business
• able to attend all workshops and complete all activities

Businesses that have been on a previous GBIP (in the same market and/or technology area) will need to demonstrate they have exploited the previous opportunity to be considered and how this programme will add significant additional benefit.  Preference may be given to businesses that have not participated previously.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, a business can only take part in two GBIPs in any rolling 12-month period (measured by the date of the Get Ready Workshop).

Innovate UK is committed to improving the diversity of who we support. We welcome applications from under-represented groups.

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 GBIP’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 application deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by 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).

Germany is a key European hydrogen powerhouse with major automotive OEMs and a strong hydrogen supply chain present. There has been a huge push to understand the role hydrogen can play in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors and securing energy supplies. Germany was quick to establish itself as a world leader in this space by developing a tangible and practical Hydrogen Strategy that has been supported with major public sector investment and a flurry of outreach to international partners.

Germany offers the following:

1. Government support and strategy: one of the most ambitious hydrogen strategies in the world backed by significant public funding. Policy led innovation hub.
2. Industrial leadership companies and cross-sector applications (as mentioned above) across the value chain
3. Advanced R&D ecosystems – dense network of research institutions working heavily in this space e.g. AVL
4. Strong export and collaboration focused – Germany is actively seeking international partnerships

• Introductory briefing with in-country partners
• Visits to research and technology organisations in Bavaria and Baden Württemberg
• Company visits and meetings with key contacts
• Focused B2B events, receptions and 1-2-1 meetings
• High quality networking opportunities

Applications will be considered from a wide range of innovative technologies that focus on, but not limited to:

• Transport use cases (road and rail freight, public transport, LA owned HGVs, maritime, aviation), both the UK and Germany have shown that industrial decarbonisation is a priority.
• Refuelling, transporting, and storing hydrogen

Areas of focus that are not being considered for this GBIP are:

• Hydrogen production

• Build market knowledge and intelligence
• Seed new business partnerships, develop RD&I collaborations, and identify partners ahead of CR&D (Collaborative R&D) between UK-Germany – Round 5 and Horizon Europe Funding
• Introductions to senior figures and influential contacts
• Raise your profile and stimulate new business opportunities and ideas
• Improve your value proposition, hone your skills, and grow in confidence to tackle global markets
• Connect with peers, expand your network, and learn from like-minded, ambitious businesses

• Applicant briefing – Thursday 10 September 2025, 10-11am. Click here to register for a briefing place.
• Application deadline – Sunday 28 September
• Application outcome – Monday 6 October
• Get ready workshop – Tuesday 4 & Wednesday 5 November
• Market Visit – Monday 1 to Friday 5 December
• Exploit the opportunity workshop – Tuesday 24 February 2026

Innovate UK will fund and organise flights, accommodation, in-market travel, and conference fees for successful applicants.

Innovate UK will also pay for any reasonable adjustments throughout the initiative.  Only one representative from each company will be funded and the same person is required to participate in all parts of the programme.

On acceptance to the programme a commitment fee of £1000 will be obtained from each delegate, which will be refunded on completion of the full activities and agreed work plan.

Non-completion after formal acceptance may result in forfeiting some or all of the commitment fee.