DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund Drawdown 5

Key Features

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £150 million to create scale up manufacturing facilities for zero emission vehicle technologies.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £150 million

Opens: 10th Aug 2026

Closes: 4th Nov 2026

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Grant Overview

Innovate UK is working alongside the UKRI and the APC to invest up to £150 million in the DRIVE35 Scale Up Fund.

Grant Scope

The aim of the Scale Up Fund is to support manufacturing facility and process development at pilot scale or demonstration scale. Proposals must justify the funding required with a case for government intervention and matched by substantial private investment.

The following technologies for on board vehicle applications are within scope:

  • electrical energy storage, development of batteries, supercapacitors, their components, management, and integrated systems
  • electric machines and associated driveline
  • power electronics including Vehicle to Everything (V2X)
  • internal combustion engine (ICE) for off road applications; we will fund project proposals that support a transition to zero emissions, utilising non-fossil fuels
  • light weighting materials and manufacturing processes
  • fuel cell systems and associated balance of plant
  • hydrogen storage and management systems
  • zero emission vehicle assembly

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this competition, businesses must be single applicant or consortia led with a total grant funding request of between £2.5 million and £20 million and total eligible costs of at least £5 million. Projects must last for at least 12 months and start from 1st June 2027 and end by 31st March 2030.

Raising co-investment: Following award of a grant offer, business have a period of up to nine months, to raise the co-investment required to deliver this project.

Lead organisation: To lead a collaborative project or work alone, organisations must be a UK registered business of any size.

Project team: To collaborate with the lead, organisations must be a UK registered business of any size, academic institution, charity, not for profit, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation. Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project.

Non-funded partners: Projects can include organisations that do not claim funding for their work on the project. These costs must be covered from their own resources and can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit results outside the UK.

Subcontractors: Subcontractors are allowed in this competition and can be from anywhere in the UK. Overseas contactors can be used, but you must state why UK subcontractors could not be used in your application.

Number of applications: A business can lead or collaborate on any number of applications. Academic institutions, research and technology organisations, charities, not for profit or public sector organisations can collaborate on any number of applications.

Previous applications: Previously submitted applications can be used in this competition.

Grant Exclusions

Innovate UK are not funding the following projects:

  • Projects focused primarily on developing and validating manufacturing processes and assets
  • Projects that request more that 50% of total project costs as grant for an SME or 30% for a large business
  • Projects not aligned with the UK Industrial Strategy
  • Projects that do not have a robust future plan to enter the zero-emission vehicle supply chain
  • Projects that are not of future benefit to the automotive sector
  • Projects that are focused on small personal mobility applications such as e-scooters, e-Bikes
  • Projects that do not lead to significant businesses or production scale up and expansion
  • Projects that are focused on technologies or processes which are too technologically immature to scale with increasing market demand
  • Projects that are focused on fueled internal combustion technology, fuel retail or wholesale fuel supply
  • Projects focused on the development of production of low carbon fuels or production of hydrogen
  • Projects focused on off-vehicle charging infrastructure, energy retail or wholesale energy supply
  • Projects focused primarily on the development of digital or data technology
  • Projects focused on speculative site enabling projects

Grant Funding

Innovate UK has allocated up to £150 million to fund Scale-up projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below.

The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.

The grant requested must be the minimum required to ensure sustainability of the investment.

For your project, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 50% if you are a micro, small or medium sized organisation
  • up to 30% if you are a large sized business

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 10% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 10% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation
  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are an academic institution

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

  1. Research organisations must use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodas the Je-S form has now been decommissioned.
  2. We pay 100% of the 80% Full Economic Cost (FEC). On IFS only enter the 80% being claimed.

APC industry support

In securing funding from this programme, each participant receiving a grant will pay an industrial contribution to the APC operating budget. This is set at 3.5% and is payable on each grant payment received. The cost cannot be included as an eligible cost in your application.

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

Full competition details

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