Innovate UK Transformative Technologies

The aim of this competition is to provide a package of targeted support to enable ambitious UK registered micro and small businesses in transformative technologies to reach their potential.

Innovate UK is offering UK registered small and micro businesses a share of up to £20 million in grants. In addition to the grant support, you will be offered tailored business support delivered by Innovate UK EDGE.

Your innovation must lead to new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of others currently available, or propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. It can also involve a new or innovative business model.

You must focus on one of the transformative technologies and how you can enable affordable, adoptable and investable innovations for:

• semiconductors
• future telecoms
• AI assurance
• engineering biology
• quantum
• sustainable UK materials and manufacturing

Eligibility

Your project must:

• have total project costs and grant request of between £25,000 and £50,000
• start by 1 June 2023
• end by 30 November 2023
• last between 3 and 6 months in duration
• carry out its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

If you exceed the total project costs of £50,000 you will be ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment. You will also be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.

To lead a project your organisation must be a UK registered micro or small business.

If your business has been funded by Innovate UK previously, you are not eligible to apply for this competition. Businesses with directors who have previously received a grant or Innovation Loan from Innovate UK as part of a different company, are eligible to apply but will be considered on a case by case basis. A business with a previous award to a parent or subsidiary would also be eligible to apply, but the parent company must be classified as a micro or small business. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

Subcontractors are allowed.

An eligible UK business can lead on one application. We will only award grant funding to one project per business.

Finance arrangements

Each eligible business can apply for a grant of between £25,000 and £50,000. You can claim 100% of your eligible project costs up to the maximum of £50,000.

We will aim to pay:

• 70% of your grant request within a month of your agreed project start date
• a further 20% in arrears, after approval of your 70% claim and the evidence of spend made, submitted with your claim
• the remaining 10% of the grant 10 to 14 days after Innovate UK approve your final claim

Scope

The aim of this competition is to provide a package of targeted support to enable ambitious UK registered micro and small businesses in transformative technologies to reach their potential.

You must focus on one of the transformative technologies and how you can enable affordable, adoptable and investable innovations.

Your innovation must lead to new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of others currently available, or propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. It can also involve a new or innovative business model.

In your application, you must demonstrate that you:

• have a great idea
• need public funding
• have the capability to deliver the project
• will deliver the project

We are particularly interested in how your proposal will help you:

• develop both your ambitious idea and your business
• create a new revenue stream, for example new products, services or IP
• evidence and enable your market, funding and commercialisation plans
• show what is feasible, in helping you decide whether to pursue your idea further
• catalyse further innovation on your path to commercial success
• respond to changing market conditions

Specific themes

You must focus on one of the transformative technologies and how you can enable affordable, adoptable and investable innovations for:

Semiconductors

• with improvements and scale up for semiconductor manufacture within the UK
• identifying or delivering a clear, game-changing intervention and address an identified industrial requirement or improvement
• realistically and significantly meeting and providing a long-term commitment to supporting the UK semiconductor industry

Future Telecoms

• applying innovation from at least one technology area utilising distributed computing, multi agent systems or the application of AI into networking technologies
• developing new business models and innovation within both wired and wireless communications, including but not limited to:
  • neutral host networks
  • citizen WI-FI
  • mesh networks
  • energy efficient networks
  • satellite and non-terrestrial networking solutions

We encourage projects to build on or contribute to open standards development or the extension of OpenRAN

Artificial Intelligence Assurance

• with the development of novel solutions and processes to advance trust in the compliance and risk of AI systems
• delivering a clear, game-changing intervention for one or more of the following:
  • auditing
  • impact assessment or evaluation
  • reliability and robustness testing

Engineering Biology

• with innovation that harnesses advances in biology, and the engineering of biological systems and organisms, to address challenges and improve productivity in:
  • human and animal health, from discovery to manufacture
  • environmental solutions, sustainability and cleaner manufacturing processes
  • food security or biosecurity
• developing new tools, products, services or processes that exploit engineering biology techniques
• supporting skills development in the broader engineering biology ecosystem, in areas such as precision fermentation and scale-up

Quantum

• with quantum technologies including quantum computing (hardware and software)
• single photon detection or generation