ATI Programme strategic batch: expression of interest September 2020

The ATI Programme represents a £3.9 billion joint government and industry investment to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace.

This programme is co-ordinated and managed by:

• the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
• Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation
• the Aerospace Technology Institute

We work in collaboration to deliver a portfolio of projects to meet the objectives of the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Accelerating Ambition’.

This is phase 1 of a strategic batch competition within the ATI Programme. There are 2 phases to each strategic batch competition. If you are successful at phase 2 you will proceed to final approvals and contracting. The whole process takes at least 6 months.

1. Expression of interest (EoI) – this competition: opens monthly and is reviewed by the Aerospace Technology Institute only. There is no funding in this phase.
2. Full stage application (FSA): invite only, if successful in the expression of interest phase. Independent assessment by Innovate UK, value for money (VfM) and policy review by BEIS, and strategic review by the Aerospace Technology Institute.

Lead organisation

To lead a project or work alone your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business of any size for research projects
• be a UK registered business of any size, a research and technology organisation (RTO) or academic institution for capital infrastructure projects
• carry out your aerospace research or capital infrastructure project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

• address the specific requirements of the UK’s Aerospace Technology Strategy

Project team

To collaborate with the lead organisation your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business, academic institution, charity, public sector organisation or RTO
• carry out its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

Funding available

This competition provides state aid funding under articles of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER):

• industrial research projects are under article 25, ‘Aid for research and development projects’
• capital infrastructure projects are under article 26, ‘Investment aid for research infrastructures’

Industrial research projects

In the ATI Programme, total project grant funding must not exceed 50% of your total eligible project costs. This is regardless of the individual partners’ grant funding claims.

Under article 25 of the state aid rules, of that 50%, individual partners that are conducting commercial or economic activities (which may include research organisations) as part of the project can claim grant funding up to:

• 70% if you are a small or micro organisation
• 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation
• 50% if you are a large organisation

The total grant funding limit for any individual organisation is 20 million euros. The exchange rate to sterling will be taken from the HMRC exchange rates at the time we issue your contract.

Capital infrastructure projects

Under Article 26 of the state aid rules, your project must focus on the construction or upgrade of research infrastructures that perform economic activities.

Each infrastructure project can receive total grant funding of up to 20 million euros. The exchange rate to sterling will be taken from the HMRC exchange rates at the time we issue your contract. Your total project grant funding must not exceed 50% of your total eligible project costs.

Your project

Your proposal must align with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Accelerating Ambition’, which is split into these areas:

• vehicles: strengthening the UK’s whole-aircraft design and system integration capability, and positioning it for future generations of civil aircraft
• advanced systems: developing UK advanced systems technologies to capture high-value opportunities in current and future aircraft
• aerostructures: ensuring the UK is a global leader in the development of large complex structures, particularly wings
• propulsion and power: advancing a new generation of more efficient propulsion technologies, particularly large turbofans
• cross-cutting enablers: developing high value design capabilities, advanced materials, manufacturing and assembly, advanced through-life engineering technologies

We are not funding projects that:

• focus solely on defence, space or other industrial sectors, but we will recognise dual use technologies providing the primary application is in civil aerospace
• focus on fundamental research, early stage technologies or experimental development

Briefing event

An online briefing event will be held on 11th September at 2.30pm: join here.