The programme is open to UK-based SMEs with demonstrable technical expertise in one or more digital twin domains, including areas such as data services, AI and modelling, cyber-physical systems, interoperability, security, and visualisation. Applicants must be a registered UK company, carry out all project activity within the UK, hold a UK business bank account, and be eligible to receive up to £75,000 in grant funding alongside any applicable in-kind contributions or state aid requirements.

We are looking for UK-based SMEs with a demonstrable technology, capability or solution that could be applied to one of the four Industry Challenges below.

You do not need to have extensive experience in Maritime, Aerospace or Defence. We are particularly interested in organisations bringing innovative technologies and approaches that could be applied to these sectors.

Applicants will select a challenge set by one of the Industry Challenge Owners below with an aim to develop a solution using their technology and expertise. Challenges span the Maritime, Aerospace and Defence sectors and are designed to address real-world problems where digital twin technologies could deliver measurable value.

Artemis Technologies Challenge: Object detection and collision avoidance in water

Develop solutions that combine real-time sensing, edge computing and digital twin technologies to monitor complex marine environment and intelligently detect small objects above and below the waterline. The challenge aims to improve vessel safety, asset health, operator decision-making and operation efficiency, particularly in bandwidth-constrained environments.

BAE Challenge: Digital Twin Development for In-Service Aircraft Systems

Develop and validate a digital twin on an in-service aircraft system, focusing on either the actuation or fuel system, to establish the foundations for improved fleet management, monitoring and predictive maintenance. The challenge will demonstrate how digital twins can accurately represent the behaviour and condition of aircraft systems in service, helping to improve availability and inform the design of future aircraft.

Thales Challenge: Health monitoring of uncrewed vessels

Develop digital twin solutions that enable the remote monitoring of Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), helping operators understand vessel health, detect faults and identify appropriate actions when issues occur. The challenge aims to improve vessel reliability, decision-making and operation resilience, while reducing the maintenance burden. Solutions should bring together data from sensors and enable effective monitoring even where the representative vessel data is limited.

Vertical Aerospace Challenge: Digital shadows for eVTOLs with real-time predictions

Develop solutions that use modelling, simulation and real-time data to improve the efficiency and safety of aircraft testing. The challenge will explore the development of a digital shadow running alongside test flights, providing real-time predictions, identifying potential limit conditions and supporting telemetry and test engineers to make informed decisions during testing.

Full details of each challenge can be downloaded at the Digital Catapult website.

Alongside funding of up to £75,000 from Innovate UK, participants will gain access to regular check-ins and mentorship, workshops, and specialist support to develop a proof-of-concept
and help bring the solution closer to real-world deployment.

During the nine-month programme, participants will be supported by Digital Catapult and the industry challenge owners through:

• Access to market leaders to network, gain practical learnings directly from industry, and showcase real-world applications of digital twin technologies.
• Access to real-world environments to develop their solutions.
• Regular check-ins and mentoring support (up to 5 hours per month) to guide progress.
• Opportunities to foster follow-on commercial engagements between successful applicants and industry challenge owners (ICOs).
• An end of programme showcase event to demonstrate their solutions to an audience of industry, government and investors.
• Alumni network access: Ongoing engagement, opportunities, and updates from Digital Catapult.

We expect to organise a small number of in-person events at the UK Digital Twin Centre in Belfast; such activities will include programme kick-off and showcase events. Participants will be informed with plenty of notice. Participants may use part of their grant funding for travel to attend in-person activities and use of the facilities at the Centre.