EUREKA: Photonics for Advanced Manufacturing

Key Features

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million to develop photonic technologies in partnership with organisations from EUREKA countries.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £2 million

Opens: 25th Mar 2019

Closes: 25th Jul 2019

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £2 million to fund collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research.

Innovate UK will fund projects in photonics for advanced, or ‘industrial’, manufacturing. Advanced manufacturing is commonly defined as the use and/or integration of innovative technologies in order to improve both products and processes.

Your project must aim to develop innovative products, technology-based applications and/or technology-based services with high market potential in the participating countries and/or throughout Europe.

Projects must include at least one partner from one of the participating countries of the EUREKA Network in Photonics. These countries are:

  • Austria
  • France
  • Germany
  • Israel
  • Poland
  • Switzerland

Scope

This EUREKA competition specifically addresses photonic technologies in order to improve both products and processes.

Your collaborative R&D proposal must:

  • address at least one of the photonic technologies and at least one of the industry sectors listed below
  • focus on photonic technologies and their integration in specific manufacturing processes and/or products
  • demonstrate the potential to significantly improve the related processes and/or products

Photonic technologies that are in scope include, but are not limited to:

  • laser machining
  • additive manufacturing
  • selective laser sintering
  • photonic curing
  • optical process control
  • process analytical technology (PAT)
  • 3D optical sensing and imaging including spectral and hyperspectral imaging
  • millimetre wave imaging and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technologies
  • photo-, stereo- or laser-based lithography

Industry sectors that are in scope include, but are not limited to:

  • electronic and computer components
  • electro-mechanical engineering
  • transportation and automotive manufacturing, including for sport competition
  • aviation or aerospace
  • materials
  • chemical and pharmaceutical industries
  • food control industries
  • safety and quality engineering
  • manufacturing technologies

Eligibility

To lead a project as a UK based organisation you must:

  • be a business, of any size
  • involve at least one UK based micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
  • collaborate with at least one organisation from a EUREKA Network in Photonics country, which must be a separate non-linked legal entity to the UK partners
  • follow the full process correctly

The organisations from EUREKA Network in Photonics countries must meet the funding and eligibility conditions of their respective countries.

Each partner must carry out the majority of their funded work within the country from which they receive funding, for example the UK for Innovate UK funding.

Funding Costs

Total eligible project costs per project are expected to be between EUR 750,000 and 2 million. This includes costs from all partners, from the UK and all other countries.

Your project can last up to 3 years and is expected to start between January 2020 and June 2020. The start date is dependent on the national funding procedures of the countries involved in the selected projects.

For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small business
  • up to 60% if you are a medium-sized business
  • up to 50% if you are a large business

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

  • up to 45% if you are a micro or small business
  • up to 35% if you are a medium-sized business
  • up to 25% if you are a large business

The UK research organisations in your consortium can share up to 30% of the UK total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one UK research organisation, this maximum will be shared between them.

Projects are expected to have a balanced contribution of the total eligible project costs among the partners from the participating countries. No more than 75% can be claimed by any single partner or by all partners from a single participating country collectively.

Your project can include subcontractors but they must not account for more than 20% of the UK participation total eligible costs.

Exclusions

They will not fund projects that:

  • work on non-civilian applications for photonic technologies
  • are not in scope
  • do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria
  • do not submit all mandatory documentation