Launchpad: bio-based manufacturing, Scotland – Round 2 MFA
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £5.25m to grow their innovation activities in the bio-based manufacturing cluster in Scotland.
Opportunity Details
When
Registration Opens
04/11/2024
Registration Closes
11/12/2024
Award
Your project’s grant funding request must be between £25,000 and £100,000. Your total project costs will be up to 100% funded up to the maximum grant of £100,000. Your project costs can be higher than your grant funding request.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with Scottish Enterprise to invest up to £5.25 million in innovation projects. This funding is from Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme which supports the UK government’s goals for local economic growth. This Launchpad is also supporting the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre as the local cluster management organisation.
This will support projects across two Launchpad competition strands that target the bio-based manufacturing innovation cluster in Scotland. The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses. Your business must use the funding to grow your innovation activities in the bio-based manufacturing innovation cluster in Scotland both during and after the project.
This competition is split into two strands:
- Launchpad: bio-based manufacturing, Scotland, Round 2 De minimis or Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) (this strand – single applicants only, grant funding of £25k-£100k per project)
- Launchpad: bio-based manufacturing, Scotland, Round 2 Collaborative Research and Development (CR&D) (collaborative projects, grant funding of £150k-£1m per project)
It is your responsibility to ensure you submit your application to the correct strand for your project. You will not be able to transfer your application and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope. It is possible to apply to both strands, but the projects must be separate and distinct.
If you would like advice about which strand is more appropriate for your project, or have other queries about this funding, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s biotechnology and/or manufacturing teams.
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Your business must:
- be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
- be growing your innovation activities in the bio-based manufacturing innovation cluster in Scotland
- not have previously been awarded funding from the Round 1 MFA competition strand for this Launchpad in Scotland
- have a demonstrable ambition for business growth
A business can lead on only one MFA strand application for this competition.
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Your project must:
- have a total grant funding request between £25,000 and £100,000
- last between 6 and 12 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- not start before 1 April 2025
- end by 30 June 2026
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The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses. Your business must be growing your innovation activities in the bio-based manufacturing innovation cluster in Scotland.
Your project must contribute to Scotland’s industrial biotechnology strategy and ambitions to grow related company turnover in this sector beyond £1.2 billion by 2026.
Your project must focus on one or more of the following:
- industrial biotechnology
- biomass supply chain development
- sustainable production and manufacturing
Your project must contribute to growing your innovation activities in the cluster, both during and after your project.
This could be demonstrated by:
- your local innovation activities
- the value that your innovation activities create in the cluster
- your engagement with other innovation active organisations in the cluster, such as with Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre, this Launchpad’s cluster management organisation
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Your project can focus on one or more of the following:
- facilitating innovation in industrial biotechnology and enhancing its adoption across multiple sectors and industries.
- acceleration of biomass supply chain development
- greening supply chains and transitioning industries towards sustainable production and manufacturing
- supporting innovation in skills development
This list is not exhaustive. Where you can show your proposal fits within the scope of this competition you can focus on other themes.
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We are not funding projects that:
- are aimed solely at biopharmaceutical or cell and gene therapy markets
- involve the production, processing or servicing of biochar, graphene or bioenergy
- involve primary production in fishery and aquaculture, or in agriculture; meaning the project must be undertaking research and development, the solution must be for exploitation by the wider business community and the funding cannot be used for capital asset acquisition
See the competition page for a complete list of exclusions.
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Innovate UK have produced a pre-recorded briefing covering Investor Partnerships, CR&D and MFA for all the competitions running in late 2025: click here to watch the recording. They have also supplied briefing slides which can be downloaded here.
In addition, Innovate UK Business Connect will host an online briefing event on Thursday 14 November, 1pm-2.15pm: click here to register for a place. This will start with a plenary overview of the Launchpad programme, alongside information on how to apply to the competitions. Breakout rooms will then follow for each of the seven Launchpads and their respective competitions where delegates will be briefed on the key areas of interest for each cluster.
If you would like advice about which strand is more appropriate for your project, or help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s biotechnology and/or manufacturing teams.