Commercialising Quantum Technologies: CRD & Tech round 2

Key Features

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £46.8 million for collaborative research and development or technology projects in quantum.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £46.8 million

Opens: 8th Mar 2021

Closes: 28th Apr 2021

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £46.8 million in innovation projects.

Scope

The aim of the competition is to advance the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK increase private sector investment.

Your proposal must address one of the following two options.

Option 1: CR&D

Identify a clear market opportunity for a quantum product or service and describe how your innovative project exploits it.

Your project must:

  • demonstrate a commercially viable solution
  • provide evidence of performance
  • include an end-user assessment
  • provide a roadmap of future exploitation

Option 2: Technology

Describe how you will deliver a solution that overcomes barriers to the commercial or industrial exploitation of quantum technologies in the UK, for the benefit of UK quantum businesses.

Your project must:

  • outline the technological barrier’s implications to businesses
  • describe a credible solution and how it is innovative and competitive
  • evaluate the value it will add to the UK quantum industry
  • provide a roadmap of future exploitation

Common requirements for both options

You must also exploit second generation quantum techniques. These are defined as those involving the generation and coherent control of quantum states, resulting in phenomena such as superposition or entanglement. Technologies involving single photon generation and quantum computing are regarded as being within scope.

You must describe how you will collect project metrics, including:

  • investment in addition to the project partner matched funding
  • additional capital investment aligned to or dependent on the project outcomes

Innovate UK want to fund a portfolio of projects, across a variety of technologies, markets, technological maturities and research categories.

Your project must focus on one or more of the following themes:

  1. Connectivity: techniques for securing data in storage and in flight.
  2. Situational Awareness: autonomous systems. Sensors and detectors for the built environment, transport and infrastructure. Imaging and sensing “seeing things currently invisible”.
  3. Computing: Transformational computers for solving currently intractable problems.

Eligibility

Your project must:

  • have total eligible costs between £2 million and £20 million
  • start by 1 April 2022
  • end by 31 March 2025
  • have a duration of 24 to 36 months

Previously submitted applications will be accepted.

Lead Organisation

To lead a project your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business of any size
  • collaborate with other UK registered businesses, research organisations, public sector organisations or charities
  • involve an SME
  • carry out its project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Project Team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • carry out its project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

The lead and at least one other organisation must claim funding by entering their costs during the application.

 

Subcontractors 

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition and must be selected through a participant’s normal procurement process. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK. If an overseas subcontractor is selected, a case must be made as to why no UK-based subcontractor can be used including a detailed rationale, evidence of UK companies that have been approached and reasons why they were unable to do so.

Exclusions

Innovate UK will not award you funding if you have:

Funding Costs

Innovate UK have allocated up to £46.8 million to fund innovation projects in this competition.

If your organisation’s work on the project is mostly commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically.

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

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

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 organisation
  • up to 35% if you are a medium-sized organisation
  • up to 25% if you are a large organisation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% 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.