India – UK Collaborative R&D for industrial sustainability

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of between £100,000 and £300,000
• start by 1 March 2024
• end by 31 August 2025
• last between 6 and 18 months

UK project partners must carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.

Projects must represent genuine partnerships. No more than 70% of the total work packages can be delivered by any single partner or by all partners from a single participating country.

Your project’s UK partners must be assessed as fundable by Innovate UK, and the Indian partners must be assessed as fundable by DST, for the project to be successful and a funding offer made.

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business of any size
• be or involve at least one grant claiming UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
• collaborate with an Indian registered business, which must be a separate legal entity, not linked to the UK partners

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size, academic institution or research and technology organisation (RTO).

A UK registered business can lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further 2 applications. If a UK registered business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to 3 applications. A UK registered academic institution or RTO can collaborate on any number of applications.

The aim of this competition is to fund collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects between the UK and India focused on sustainability.

Your project must demonstrate:

• a clear game changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
• a strong and deliverable business plan addressing market potential and needs
• sound, practical financial plans and timelines
• value for money
• a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
• clear potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
• the benefits and value of participants from the countries working together
• a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
• a clear route to exploitation

Your project must focus on one or both of the following themes.

Sustainable materials and manufacturing

Your project must focus on at least one of these areas:

• enabling technologies for sustainability, including digital solutions, sensors and controls, bio-based feedstocks, waste recycling and value-added processes for waste streams
• new supply chain and business models for the manufacturing, materials or foundation industries (glass, paper, cements, ceramics, chemicals and metals), including, but not limited to, the move to a circular economy, industrial symbiosis, co-location and servitisation
• new and efficient production processes for the manufacturing, materials or foundation industries, including, but not limited to, transformative low temperature processes, waste heat capture and recovery systems, planning optimisation
• smart design for resource efficiency and through-life value using effective design methods​
• next generation materials involving the discovery, scaling, processing and adoption of advanced and sustainable materials​
• other sustainability improvements for the manufacturing, materials or foundation industries

Power electronics, machines and drives

Your project must focus on one or more of these areas:

• power electronic semiconductor fabrication or device packaging, including innovations in Gallium Nitride and Silicon Carbide
• power conversion innovations including invertors and convertors for any application, such as electric vehicles or energy systems
• electric machine design innovations, including design for manufacture, for any application
• electric machine control innovations, including design and manufacturing
• magnet manufacturing and end of life recycling solutions
• electric vehicle (EV) chargers
• 2 and 3 wheeler electric vehicle powertrains

An online briefing event will be held on Tuesday 6th June, 9.30am-noon BST: register to attend.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK EDGE. Innovate UK EDGE in conjunction with the Department for Science and Technology (DST) manage a business matchmaking platform that will support you in finding a partner in India: details will appear on their website.