EPSRC Materials Innovation Partnerships

Applications must be co-led by a business partner and an academic partner, who must be able to demonstrate a track record of at least one year (prior to the point of application) showing significant, regular collaborative research projects which the primary academic and business partners have developed and progressed together.

Primary academic partner

Research organisations can act as the ‘primary academic partner’ if they are eligible to receive EPSRC funding. This includes:

• UK higher education institutions
• research council institutes
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-approved independent research organisations
• public sector research establishments
• NHS bodies with research capacity

Primary business partner

Applications must be co-created with a primary business partner that has an established relationship with the lead academic partner. The business partner (or partners) must make a cash contribution to the project which matches or exceeds the amount requested from EPSRC. Businesses can act as the ‘primary business partner’ if they meet at least one of the following requirements:

• be a UK-based business of any size
• be a business of any size with a UK presence and significant UK-based research activity
• be a public sector research establishment (PSRE), noting that your financial contribution to the match funding requirement must not be derived from public funds (appropriate confirmation and assurance of this will be required)
• be the lead of a consortium of organisations which collectively contributes the match funding, the members of which meet any of the above requirements

Collaborations may include international partners, noting that the match funding must be contributed by a partner or consortium meeting the above definitions. All partners are expected to be involved in the creation of your application.

The individual acting as the primary academic partner and the individual acting as the primary business partner may only be named in these joint roles on one application at a time.

The duration of this award is up to three and a half years, with a fixed start date of 1 October 2026.

EPSRC have up to £7.5 million to invest in a minimum of four projects. The FEC of your project must be at least £312,500. EPSRC will fund £250,000 (80% of the FEC). We particularly encourage involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in this funding opportunity. Involvement could be as a sole primary business, or as part of a consortium.

The primary business partner, or the consortium led by the primary business partner, must collectively contribute match funding to the project, in cash, equal to or exceeding the EPSRC contribution.

In the case of a consortium, the greatest single contribution should come from the primary business partner.

Funding example: if the FEC of the project is £625,000, then we would contribute 80% of this figure (£500,000). The match contribution from the industry partners would then need to be at least £500,000 cash and the total value (FEC and business cash contribution combined) would be at least £1,125,000.

We will not fund projects that:

• do not clearly align to one or more of the core themes listed
• are focused on fundamental chemical or materials synthesis
• are focused solely on the defence sector, but we will recognise dual use material innovations providing the primary focus is on civil applications
• do not exhibit clear and realistic sector relevance and opportunities for application

Projects must be at least 50% within the EPSRC remit. This funding opportunity focuses on fundamental research, targeting projects at low technology readiness levels (1 to 3). Cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary projects are welcomed. We may seek funding from other UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) councils, if there is a substantial element of the proposed work which lies outside our remit.

Projects should aim to:

• accelerate advanced materials research and development, focusing on real-world challenges
• speed up the translation of materials innovation towards industrial application
• develop novel or enhanced materials solutions to meet business needs

Your project must focus on one of the six high-growth opportunity themes from the NMIS.

Below is the scope of each theme.

Materials for energy solutions

We are seeking materials focused innovation projects in the areas of:

• materials for battery energy storage
• materials for large-scale electrochemical energy generation and conversion
• materials for hydrogen transport, storage & use
• materials for heat exchange, storage & heat recovery
• materials for energy harvesting
• materials for advanced nuclear fuels and nuclear test capability

Materials for future healthcare

We are seeking materials focused innovation projects in the areas of:

• biocompatible materials
• materials for bioelectronics

Materials for structural innovations

We are seeking materials focused innovation projects in the areas of:

• materials for low-carbon construction
• materials for sustainable structural systems (composites)
• metallic materials
• ceramic materials

Materials for advanced surface technologies

We are seeking materials focused innovation projects in the areas of:

• materials and modelling for surface engineering & tribology
• surface treatments and materials for demanding environments

Materials for next generation electronics, telecommunications and sensors

We are seeking materials focused innovation projects in the areas of:

• materials for power electronics
• materials for quantum technologies
• materials for connectivity and telecommunications

Materials for consumer products, packaging and specialist polymers

We are seeking materials focused innovation projects in the areas of:

• materials for sustainable packaging
• sustainable elastomers

Further information about the scope within each high-growth opportunity theme can be found in the National Materials Innovation Strategy.

EPSRC will hold a webinar on Tuesday, 23 March 2026, 1pm UK time. This will provide information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.

Register for the webinar.

You can also contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Materials team for support.