Entrants to this competition must be:

• established businesses, academic institutions, start-ups, SMEs, or individual entrepreneurs
• UK based or have the intention to set up a UK base

Applications will be assessed on:

• relevance to the defined challenge
• benefit of implementation
• feasibility/economic viability
• innovative nature
• ability to launch in line with expected timescales
• credibility of applicant company
• coherence of the proposed business model
• development potential
• maturity of the solution
• suitability for the intended geographic market

• Challenge launch: 20 October 2026
• Deadline for applications: 11 December 2026
• Selection and notification of finalists: 27 January 2027
• Pitch Day: 10 February 2027

Please note that due to the festive period, the dates for selection and notification of finalists and the pitch day may be subject to change. Any changes will be communicated well in advance.

The benefits package for a successful applicant may include:

• support from innovate uk business connect
• support in the development of a prototype or pilot
• technical support
• invitation to attend or present at Innovate UK Business Connect events
• a potential business collaboration
• investor introductions (if investment is required)
• support if any Innovate UK or similar competitions are relevant

Photocentric will work collaboratively with selected organisations and can provide access to relevant data, facilities, testing environments, technical expertise and co-development support. This includes access to Photocentric’s in-house laboratory and chemistry capabilities to support the evaluation of proposed conversion routes and resulting materials. For laboratory-scale testing, evaluation and development, applicants should be able to provide sufficient material and enable the production of at least 1 kg of polyol. The ability to support production of up to 10kg of polyol would be beneficial to carry out full evaluation.

The initial commercial opportunity is approximately 1,000 tonnes per annum of polyol, with scope to scale to substantially higher volumes. Successful solutions could potentially form part of Photocentric’s future customer offering, subject to successful technical and commercial evaluation.

Existing background IP associated with a potential solution will remain with Solution Provider(s). Where any new IP generation is envisaged, it will be subject to the mutual IP agreement of the solution provider(s) and challenge holder.

Any commercial deployment of a transferred solution or newly developed solution, through licensing, joint venture, partnership, or direct investment, will be subject to the commercial agreement between the solution provider(s) and challenge holder.

Where necessary, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) may be signed to uphold confidentiality in the engagement between the solution provider(s) and challenge holder. (This would be expected to be after company selection, it is suggested that details of IP be not disclosed, focus on the outcomes of the technology proposed).

Innovate UK and Innovate UK Business Connect do not take any share of IP ownership or enter commercial ventures through the iX programme.

Functional requirements

Solutions may focus on feedstock purification, feedstock to polyol conversion processes, polyol purification or a combination of these stages. Partial solutions addressing specific stages of the value chain are welcome, provided they contribute towards a suitable polyol.

The solution must:

Use existing UK waste-carbon sources and provide a compelling environmental and commercial case, including consideration of existing uses and competing demands for the feedstock.

Be able to produce at least 1kg of a suitable polyol, for Photocentric to be able to carry out laboratory scale testing, evaluation and development activities.

Have the potential to reach an initial commercial scale of approximately 1,000 Tonnes per annum of polyol, with the potential to scale to substantially higher volumes.

Consider how feedstock characteristics, including moisture content, contaminants and variability, may impact both the proposed process and the quality of the resulting polyol.

Balance purification requirements with process efficiency, yield, by-product management, carbon performance and cost.

Solutions should consider:

Commercial viability and cost competitiveness against existing fossil derived alternatives at the intended scale of deployment.

Maximising carbon and energy efficiency throughout production.

Polyol (target specification) requirements

Solutions should demonstrate how the proposed route can contribute towards the production of polyols with characteristics such as:

• molecular weight typically between 200 and 16,000
• moisture content <0.35%
• contamination/purity levels <0.1%
• liquid form
• low batch-to-batch chemical variability
• low levels of contamination, including; solid inorganic and organic matter; particulates and metals; minerals and salts

Out of scope

Solutions are unlikely to be suitable if they:

• increase harm to people or the environment
• are based solely on conventional virgin fossil-derived feedstocks
• do not provide a clear sustainability benefit
• utilise purpose grown biomass for material production
• focus solely on the identification or supply of waste-carbon sources without a clear innovation, development or collaborative R&D opportunity
• cannot demonstrate a technically or economically credible pathway towards commercial scale

The application form for this challenge will require applicants to provide company information and answer 3 questions – Idea Summary, Technology Readiness and Intellectual Property – each with a limit of 300 words.

Optionally, up to 3 supporting documents can be attached to the application. We recommend that supporting documents are limited to those which are directly relevant to the application. Please note that applications with no supporting document will not receive any penalty in assessment. Supporting documents which the Assessment Panel deems to be superfluous may be disregarded. Examples of useful additional documents include product images or short specification sheets, slide decks detailing the solution and/or company background, or solution case studies.

We recommend that you complete the application form in Google Chrome as other browsers may have compatibility issues. The application form does not need to be completed in one session and can be saved for future edits. Please ensure that you toggle “Stage Complete” for each section before submission. Note that you will no longer be able to edit your application once you have clicked “Submit Idea” at the bottom of the Summary page.