UK-Switzerland Collaborative Research and Development Competition 2023

Innovate UK as part of UK Research and Innovation worked alongside Innosuisse, Switzerland’s Innovation Agency, to invest in joint innovation projects to provide a platform for deeper cooperation in ‘deep science’ and ‘deep tech’.

Posted on: 01/12/2025

Supporting UK-Swiss international business-led innovation collaboration

Through joint grant funding Innovate UK will support UK businesses to collaborate with Swiss counterparts for their mutual global growth prospects. Enhancing UK productivity and economic performance through international collaboration.

The competition supported fund projects with:

  • Increased innovation capability
  • Commercial leads
  • Access to R&D infrastructure
  • New fields of application.

Successful projects showcased a disruptive, innovative idea that leads to new products, processes, or services, supported by a strong business plan addressing market needs and potential.

They have presented evidence-based strategies to deliver significant economic impact, ROI, and growth through commercialisation within two to three years post-completion, and with a defined route to market.

Payload

Payload is a featured project that was made possible through this competition. Find out how Innovate UK and Innosuisse supported Aegis Energy and Innovum to create a network of EV charging hubs. With ambitious plans already in development and with £100 million investment, Aegis are currently constructing the UK’s first clean, multi-energy recharging and refuelling facilities for commercial vehicles. We look forward to seeing this critical and much needed network of hubs develop in the near future.

Find out how Innovate UK and Innosuisse supported Aegis and Innovum to create a network of EV charging hubs.

A mutual understanding

With projects covering a range of sectors from Health and Life Sciences to Artificial Intelligence (AI), this competition resulted in a record number of applications and a total of 26 projects funded for a total of £8.5m and equivalent Swiss Francs.

This was initiated by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Research and Innovation, signed by UK and Swiss Governments in 2022, and was funded by Innovate UK and Innosuisse.

For more information

If you would like to know more, contact our European Partnership Manager Sophie.Mifsud@iuk.ukri.org.

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