Investor Partnerships
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has selected investor partners with aligned investment interests and capacity to lead investments. These investor partners have demonstrated that they have the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in innovative, technology-led businesses in areas that align with our strategic priority areas.
The Investor Partnerships programme brings together:
- Innovate UK’s expertise in identifying innovation and using grant funding to change the risk profile of businesses
- investor partners aligned funding and expertise in identifying opportunities and teams that can best use extra investment finance
The aim of this competition is to provide support for research and development and access to the capital investment you need to develop and commercialise your innovations.
Battery Innovation Programme
This competition is for SMEs that can demonstrate the potential to grow and scale and must also have a project that is aligned to the Battery Innovation Programme. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is delivering the Battery Innovation Programme on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST). Funding will be considered for high quality applications that meet one or more of the following criteria:
- accelerate the development and commercialisation of state-of-the-art battery technologies in the UK
- support the growth of the UK battery supply chain and related companies
- enhance the UK’s competitiveness in the global battery market
- demonstrate how battery technologies can meet specific application requirements and drive electrification across diverse sectors
Included sectors: automotive sector including on and off-highway vehicles, motorsports and niche automotive; aerospace; defence; battery energy storage systems; rail; maritime; personal mobility.
Innovate UK provides support for your investment readiness and for engaging with suitable investors through Innovate UK Business Growth and Innovate UK Business Connect. In the first instance you can contact Innovate UK Business Growth for support in understanding your readiness for investment and also to look at your wider strategy for growth.
You can also contact Innovate UK Business Connect to establish if there are specific programmes for connecting businesses in your sector to relevant investors. Support and connections to sector specific investors can also be provided by the relevant Catapults.
You must establish a relationship and a strong level of investment traction with one of our approved investor partners before you apply for funding.
View details of our investor partnerships: Investor Partnerships – Innovate UK Business Connect
The investor partner must have submitted an expression of interest directly to Innovate UK and confirmed with you that you are in a position to apply for grant funding as you will be asked to identify them in the application. Without an EOI submitted by your named Investor Partner, your application will be viewed as ineligible.
Examples of sufficient investment traction will depend on the approach taken by the investor partner and could include:
- an indicative offer from an investor partner which could include an angel investor from an investor partner angel group or network
- going through due diligence with an investor partner
- receiving a term sheet from an interested investor partner
To be successful, your project must be independently confirmed by Innovate UK as fundable and have received aligned investment directly, led or catalysed by the investor partner identified in your application. If selected for funding, the Innovate UK award will be conditional on the aligned equity investment closing at least at the declared minimal amount of investment required. Without investment we will not be able to issue the grant even if selected for funding.
Innovate UK’s Pledge for Progress for Women in Innovation highlights 10 commitments designed to create opportunities and deliver long-term term economic impact through support for women-led businesses. This competition provides an important and tangible route for delivering on the pledge.
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This competition is open to single applicants only. To apply your organisation must:
- be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized business (SME)
- carry out its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- be invited to apply by your investor partner
- have discussed and agreed your proposal with your investor partner before submitting your application
An SME can only submit one application into this round of the competition.
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For feasibility studies projects:
- your total project costs must be between £50,000 and £300,000
- the project duration must be between 6 and 12 months
For industrial research projects:
- your total project costs must be between £100,000 and £1 million
- the project duration must be between 6 and 24 months
For experimental development projects:
- your total project costs must be between £250,000 and £2 million
- the project duration must between 12 and 24 months
Funding maxima and investment requirements
For feasibility studies and industrial research projects, Innovate UK will fund:
- up to 70% of eligible project costs for micro or small organisations
- up to 60% for medium sized organisations
The absolute minimum aligned investment led by the Investor Partner must always be at least equal to the grant funding for feasibility study or industrial research projects (e.g. a medium sized organisation’s project with total costs of £200,000 could receive up to £120,000 of funding and would require an investment of at least £120,000).
For experimental development projects Innovate UK will fund:
- up to 45% of eligible project costs for micro or small organisations
- up to 35% for medium sized organisations
The absolute minimum aligned investment led by the Investor Partner must always be at least twice as much as the grant funding for experimental development projects (e.g. a medium sized organisation’s project with total costs of £2m could receive up to £700,000 funding and would require an investment of at least £1.4m).
Your business must have sufficient capital resources, including through investment from the investor partner and the grant funding, to enable you to meet all your project’s eligible costs. The investment funding does not have to be used to cover the project costs directly.
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The aim of this competition is to provide you with support for research and development and access to the capital investment you need to develop and commercialise your innovations.
Your proposal must have a clear route to market, a clear link to innovation and evidence that you can create a team to deliver your proposal.
You must be:
- registered in the UK as an SME by the time the award is contracted
- able to complete the aligned investment led by the investor partner needed to qualify for the award, through the issue of new shares or convertible debt
You must also demonstrate that if your project is funded, it will:
- have significant market impact
- be scalable
- be attractive to equity investors
Battery Innovation Programme
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is delivering the Battery Innovation Programme on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST). Funding will be considered to high-quality applications that meet one or more of the following criteria:
- accelerate the development and commercialisation of state-of-the-art battery technologies in the UK
- support the growth of the UK battery supply chain and related companies
- enhance the UK’s competitiveness in the global battery market
- demonstrate how battery technologies can meet specific application requirements and drive electrification across diverse sectors
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Your proposal can address one or more of the following areas:
- raw materials
- advanced cell materials
- cell design and components
- process and manufacturing tools
- quality control and diagnostics
- testing, simulation and digital tools
Your project can target performance requirements for at least one of the listed sectors and can support emerging use cases or cross sector applicability.
Included sectors:
- automotive sector including on and off-highway vehicles, motorsports and niche automotive
- aerospace
- defence
- battery energy storage systems
- rail
- maritime
- personal mobility
Innovation and ideas can come from anyone and anywhere. We want to see investments unlocked for the diverse and extraordinary talent in the UK.
We encourage innovation involving communities that are typically under-represented, including:
- from regions that have historically accessed lower levels of investment (outside London, Oxford and Cambridge)
- ethnic minority groups
- women and other marginalised genders
- disabled people
- people with non-traditional education backgrounds
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Innovate UK will hold an online briefing at 11am on Friday 9 October: click here to register for a place. A recording and slides will be available afterwards.
View details of our investor partnerships: Investor Partnerships – Innovate UK Business Connect.
If you would like help to find or be introduced to an investment partner, contact Innovate UK’s Batteries or Investment teams.
Innovate UK's application and funding process
If you need more information about how to apply, please read our funding support pages. For additional support, reach out to our team of innovation experts who are ready to help you navigate the application process and maximise your chances of success.
For more information
Accessibility and Inclusion
Innovate UK 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.