The Net Zero Industry Launchpad is using the Innovate UK Business Connect Innovation Exchange (iX) platform to offer an exciting new pilot competition using the iX platform to support challenges that benefit or impact on Southwest Wales.
Sinclair Group is one of Wales’ leading automotive retail groups, representing major brands including Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Hyundai and more, with a network of busy dealerships and workshops across South Wales and beyond. Over the last several years, the Group has undergone a significant sustainability transformation, embedding environmental responsibility into its culture, operations, and long‑term strategy.
To accelerate its transition toward a circular economy and support compliance with Wales’ workplace recycling requirements, Sinclair Group is seeking innovative technologies that will provide a deeper understanding of waste behaviours, material flows, and opportunities for reduction at scale. These solutions will enable the Group to move from process improvements to intelligence‑driven, system‑wide waste and resource optimisation, ensuring long‑term environmental and operational benefits.
Sinclair Group now aims to move from general recycling improvements to precision waste management, using image analysis and AI to capture the real‑world behaviours, patterns, and inefficiencies that cannot be addressed through manual monitoring alone.
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To lead a project as a solution provider your organisation must be a UK registered:
- micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
- academic institution
- research and technology organisation (RTO)
- community interest company (CIC) or charity
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
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Your project must:
- have a grant funding request of up to £25,000
- last for three months
- Not start before 1st June 2026
- Must end by 31st March 2027
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.
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Sinclair Group has several waste stream that they sort so that recycling goes to the right place without their containers being contaminated by the wrong sort of waste materials.
The aim of the project is to be able to see that the right materials go in to the right containers and how well utilised they are. The focus initially is on external containers, most likely focusing on a single (pilot) site.
It is the dealership responsibility to sort and place in the right waste container for collection. Sinclair Group would like a visual approach to overview the containers and through machine learning or AI, be able to identify any obvious errors to the correct sorting and/or poor utilisation of containers at the point of collection. We want to ensure correct and efficient use of external waste and recycling containers.
Sinclair Group invites solutions that:
- Deploy AI / image recognition to observe bin usage and human interactions
- Detect contamination, bin fullness, improper sorting, and operational inefficiencies
- Provide actionable insight to improve recycling and reduce waste-related risks
- Provide CCTV infrastructure where possible
- Comply with GDPR and avoid identifying individuals
- Deliver insights that can be used for targeted training, signage, or workflow changes
TRL expectation: 5–6+, deployable for field testing within 6 months.
If selected, the solution provider will be supported to apply for up to £25,000 grant funding to deliver a 3‑month project through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). The funding will cover a 3-month project, the details of which will need to be refined with the challenge holder. -
Functional Requirements
Solutions must:
- Have the capability to operate across varied site configurations
- Analyse mixed waste streams including plastics, cardboard, metals, and hazardous waste
- Integrate with existing camera systems (subject to internal data handling procedures and constraints) or provide alternative low-disruption hardware
- Scale for deployment across 20+ sites
- Produce data that is accessible to non-technical sustainability teams
Technical Requirements
Solutions must:
- Provide high detection accuracy for bin fullness, contamination events, and material types
- Include anonymisation functions to obscure personal identity
- Output insights via a dashboard or APIs integrable into existing sustainability datasets
- Operate in outdoor areas, in variable weather and lighting, but with potential to be deployed internally over the longer term
Operating Conditions
Solutions should:
- Function reliably in external compounds
- Require minimal staff input to maintain
- Avoid introducing safety or operational risks
- Meet privacy requirements and avoid invasive monitoring
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Successful applicants will be given an opportunity to pitch to Sinclair Group. The winning applicant, as selected by the company, will then be eligible to apply for £25k grant funding to kickstart the development of the proposed solution through a 3 month project. Selected solutions will be trialled by Sinclair Group with potential for further adoption if trials are successful.
The benefits package for a successful applicant may also include:
- Pitch directly to Sinclair Group
- Apply for £25,000 to develop and pilot the solution
- Receive support from Innovate UK Business Connect
- Access technical support and feedback
- Gain visibility across the Innovate UK network
- Build a potential long-term commercial partnership with Sinclair Group
Scaling potential: Deployment across 20+ automotive retail locations, with wider replication opportunities across the Southwest Wales Net Zero Industry ecosystem.
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- Challenge launch: 24th Feb 2026
- Deadline for applications: 7th April 2026
- Selection and notification of finalists: 13th April 2026
- Pitch Day: 16th and 17th April 2026.
- Confirm selected solution provider: 21st April 2026
- Submission to Innovation Funding Service (IFS): Between 21st – 28th April 2026
- Project length: 3 months