Innovate UK Innovation Loans Round 25

Key Features

UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprises can apply for loans for close to market innovative projects with strong commercial potential. They must significantly improve the UK economy and drive societal benefit.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £25 million

Opens: 8th Jan 2026

Closes: 4th Mar 2026

! This scheme is closing soon
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Overview

Innovate UK are offering loans to micro, small and medium sized enterprises. Loans are for highly innovative late-stage research and development projects with the best potential for the future.

Grant Scope

Projects must lead to innovative new products, processes or services that are ahead of others currently available, or propose an innovative use of existing product, processes or services.

Projects must demonstrate:

  • Clearly expressed and compelling innovative ideas
  • Deliverable business plans that address and show evidence of market potential and needs
  • Teams with the necessary skills and experience to run and complete a successful project on time
  • Awareness of the main risks the business and project will face
  • Sound financial plans and timelines and ability to repay the loan
  • Reasons why you are unable to fund the project from your own resources
  • Evidence based plan to deliver significant economic impact and return on investment

Projects can include: Prototyping, Demonstrating, Testing, Piloting and Validation and must focus on one or more of the following themes or sub-themes:

  • NetZero
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Next generation digital technology
    • Advanced materials and manufacturing
    • AI digital and advanced computing
    • Bioinformatics and genomics
    • Electronics, photonics and quantum technologies
    • Robotics and smart machines
    • Engineering biology
    • Energy and environment technologies

Eligibility Criteria

You can apply for a loan of between £100,000 and £5 million. Projects can last up to 5 years and are expected to start on 1st July 2026.

To receive an innovation loan for a new project you must be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise. Projects need to be carried out from the UK with intended results from or in the UK. You must all provide evidence that your business is suitable to take on a loan.

Only single business can receive loans. Collaboration with other organisations cannot be funded in this competition.

  • Eligible Project Costs: All UK businesses can apply for a loan of up to £5 million. Eligible costs will include those in GBER Article 25
  • Subcontractors: Subcontractors are allowed in the competition and can be from anywhere in the UK. Overseas subcontractors can be used but you must state why subcontractors from the UK couldn’t be used
  • Number of applications: Only one application can be submitted each competition round.
  • Previous Applications – You can use a previously submitted application

Exclusions

You can not receive funding for projects that are:

  • Dependent on export performance
  • Dependent on domestic inputs usage
  • Match the grant funding of any projects

Grant Funding

Up to £25 million in grant funding has been allocated to fund innovation projects. Loans of between £100,000 and £5 million, based on your project proposal are available. Innovation loans consist of 2 distinct phases: a project period of up to 5 years, and a repayment period of up to 5 years.

The repayment period begins immediately after the project period ends. You can get a loan of up to £100% of your eligible project costs.

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • Up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • Up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation

For further information on this competition, please see full details.

Full competition details

Interested in applying for this competition?

Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.