Circular Economy for SMEs Competition Briefing

Competition Details

Innovate UK, which is part of UK Research and Innovation, is planning to invest up to £1 million in circular economy innovation projects.

This funding will form part of the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research innovation programme (NICER innovation programme), enabling SMEs to engage with and benefit from access to expertise at five research centres via collaborative research and development (CR&D) activities.

The aim of this competition will be to support feasibility studies, industrial research and experimental development that address the challenges of transitioning to a circular economy.

Your project will need to align with at least one of the resource flows covered by the Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centres:

• Chemicals
• Textiles
• Metals
• Technology Metals
• Mineral-based construction materials

Projects will need to be led by an SME and must either include at least one of the UKRI Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centres as a project partner or include a letter of support from one of the centres.

The briefing webinar will include an opportunity to:

• Hear about the scope of the competition in more detail and how to apply
• Learn about the eligibility criteria
• Hear about each of the NICER centres and how to get in touch with them to discuss your project idea
• Ask any questions you may have
• Find out how to network online and develop partnerships for your proposed projects, with help from KTN and our online collaboration platform dedicated to this competition.

The webinar will be of interest to organisations and professionals across multiple sectors and disciplines.

Collaborative Networking Platform

To help potential applicants to find suitable partners for the competition, KTN has launched a collaborative networking platform. Make sure to register for the event and we will send you details of how to get involved.

Make sure to register for the online webinar and we look forward to meeting you at the competition briefing.

• 10:00 – Welcome | KTN
• 10:10 – Competition context and scope | Amy Peace, Innovation Lead – Circular Economy, Innovate UK
• 10:30 – Q&A
• 10:45 – Introduction to the five NICER circular economy centres and the circular economy hub
• 11:05 – Application process | Lydia Weir-Blankenstein, Portfolio Manager, Innovate UK
• 11:25 – Q&A
• 11:40 – Networking | Ben Peace, Head of Manufacturing, KTN
• 12:00 – Event Close
• 13:00 – Online Networking via Meeting Mojo Platform