To work alone or lead a collaborative project your organisation must be:

• an academic institution
• a research and technology organisation (RTO)
• a charity
• a not for profit
• a public sector organisation

(Note that businesses cannot lead, but can collaborate.)

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

If your project is collaborative, no single partner can account for more than 70% of the eligible costs.

An academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.

If an organisation is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of between £440,000 and £1.2 million
• be 36 months in duration
• start by 1 December 2026
• end by 30 November 2029

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

Note that for this competition, the research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 100% of the total eligible project costs (the usual maximum is 30%), and research organisations can receive up to 100% of eligible costs (80% FEC for academic organisations).

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, up to 70% of your organisation’s costs can be funded (depending on business size).

The aim of this competition is so UK registered organisations can apply for up to £3.7 million to establish or scale regional skills initiatives for battery manufacturing and its supply chain. This funding is provided through the Battery Innovation Programme, funded by Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and delivered by Innovate UK. Your project must show how you will:

• establish or scale an initiative
• build on existing assets
• meet regional need
• accelerate workforce growth
• deliver models and KPIs
• ensure accreditation, define job roles and qualifications
• demonstrate strong partnerships
• address evolving skills needs
• embed EDI
• present a sustainable, nationally aligned model

Your project must focus on skills at levels 2 to 3 for Establish, and levels 2 to 5 for Scale for the production workforce in battery manufacturing. This includes skills for battery manufacturing, electrochemical cells and materials, cross‑sector applications, the battery value chain, and second use and recycling.

Your project can also address skills needs for battery R&D technicians, workforce for battery technology scale‑up, maintenance and engineering roles in battery manufacturing, and quality control and assurance roles within battery production environments.

Your eligible project costs can include:

• physical training assets: equipment, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, mock clean rooms and dry rooms
• digital assets: software, data
• facility access
• trainers and ‘train the trainer’ provision
• STEM outreach and EDI activity; collaboration with existing STEM programmes is in scope, but creating or delivering new, project specific STEM programmes is out of scope
• international outreach aligned with the Battery Innovation Programme priority countries
• training and outreach consumables

All initiatives must be established and delivering training within the funded period.

Your project must fit into either the Establish or Scale theme:

Establish

You must establish a new regional training initiative, delivering level 2 and level 3 national qualifications, enabling learners to train and work across the UK. Your proposal must demonstrate strong insight into current and future regional battery workforce needs, co‑developed with industry and grounded in real demand.

You must align with regional electrification strategies, show support from influential partners, and present a consortium that reflects the local skills ecosystem.

We expect your project to provide accessible facilities and trainers, leverage existing resources, collaborate with other Innovate UK initiatives, and set out a clear plan for long term commercial sustainability. A learner roadmap and contribution to national workforce development is essential.

Scale

Your project may either scale existing battery skills provision or create new, scalable provision that meets regional and commercial needs. All delivery must align with national accredited levels 2 to 5 and be commercially sustainable, strengthening the UK battery workforce pipeline.

Your project must clearly address identified skills gaps and, where appropriate, collaborate with existing provision in innovative and commercially viable ways. Your proposal must be commercially focused from the outset, demonstrating the ability to deliver and grow rapidly in years one and two, and to achieve commercial outcomes from year three onwards.

Only proposals with proven industry demand should apply. Your application must justify why other public funding routes are unsuitable and why industry contribution is not feasible before year three. Technical colleges are encouraged to develop and strengthen pathways into employment.

(The Battery Innovation Programme will not fund new level 2 and 3 regional training facilities under Scale that duplicate the ask within Establish.)

Innovate UK will hold an online briefing event at 2pm on Thursday 14 May: click here to book a place. A recording and slides will be available afterwards.

If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Batteries team.