Eureka Globalstars Japan Round 3

Key Features

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £2 million to develop Innovative proposals in partnership with Japan and other participating Eureka countries.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £2 million

Opens: 9th Sep 2024

Closes: 4th Dec 2024

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

This competition is for UK businesses that want to apply to the Eureka Globalstars Japan Round 3 call.

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.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. This competition will be for innovative proposals developed between the UK, Japan and the other Eureka participating countries. Innovate UK will be funding the UK partners only.

The EUREKA member countries confirmed as participating in this competition are:

  • Austria
  • Canada
  • Finland
  • France
  • Netherlands
  • Singapore

This competition will support industrial research with Innovate UK funding the UK partners only.

Your collaborative R&D proposal must demonstrate:

  • a clear game-changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
  • a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses, and documents, market potential and needs
  • sound, practical financial plans and timelines
  • good value for money, which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions
  • a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
  • clear, considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
  • the benefit of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value
  • a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
  • a clear route to market within two to three years of project completion

Your project must demonstrate an effective collaboration between the UK partners and Japan as a minimum.

Portfolio approach

Innvoate UK are looking to fund a portfolio of projects, across a variety of technologies and UK geographical locations. Innovate UK call this a portfolio approach.

Eligibility

UK applicants can apply for total grant of up to £600,000 for each project.

Your project can last between 12 and 36 months and is expected to start by 1 June 2025 and end by 31 May 2028. The start date depends on the national funding procedures of the Eureka members involved in the selected projects.

Projects must be collaborative. No more than 70% of the total eligible project costs can be claimed by a single partner or by all partners from a single participating Eureka country collectively.

Eureka terminology and roles

The terminology differs between Eureka and Innovate UK. In the Innovate UK application the ‘project lead’ is responsible for the entire project but Eureka uses the term ‘main participant’. For partners in the collaboration Eureka uses ‘other participants’.

Even if the project lead is from a participating Eureka member other than the UK, the UK registered partners can still claim funding from Innovate UK. These collaborations must include at least one UK registered business of any size.

UK lead applicant

The UK registered partners in your Eureka project must nominate one business, of any size, to start an Innovate UK application. We refer to them as the ‘UK lead organisation’ and the person they nominate to have overall responsibility as the ‘UK lead applicant’.

The UK lead applicant has an overall view of the Innovate UK application and must:

  • start the application
  • monitor the partners’ application progress
  • make sure all UK partners complete their parts of the application
  • click submit once the application is complete

The UK lead applicant must collaborate with at least one SME from Japan. It must be a separate legal entity, not linked to the UK partners.

You can also collaborate with other participating Eureka countries in addition to Japan.

Overall Eureka project team

The overall Eureka project must nominate one organisation to start a Eureka application.

The organisations from Japan and other participating Eureka countries must meet the funding and eligibility conditions of their respective national funding bodies. These will be published on the Eureka call for proposals web page when this competition opens. In addition to the Eureka application, these organisations must apply through their own funding bodies and not through the Innovation Funding Service.

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

There must be a genuine collaboration. No more than 70% of the total eligible project costs can be claimed by a single partner or by all partners from a single participating Eureka country collectively.

UK project team

The UK lead applicant can also collaborate with:

  • other UK registered businesses of any size
  • UK registered Universities and research and technology organisations (RTOs)

UK research organisations cannot lead or work alone. They must be able to show how they will exploit the results of the project to grow the wider sector in the UK.

Each UK partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

Only UK registered partners must be listed in the project partner section of your application in IFS.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition but they must not account for more than 20% of the UK partners’ total eligible costs. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK. Where subcontractors are non-UK based, please justify why you are unable to use a UK alternative.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.

Partners not claiming funding

A non-grant claiming UK partner cannot lead on a project.

Your collaboration can include organisations from Eureka countries that are not participating in this funding competition provided:

  • they have secured full funding elsewhere
  • you describe in your application why and how they will be involved and where they have secured financing from

Number of applications

A UK registered business can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.

If a UK registered business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to three applications.

A UK registered academic institution or RTO can collaborate on any number of applications.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

Exclusions

Innovate UK will not fund projects that:

  • work on non-civilian technologies
  • are in the nuclear or pharmaceutical sector
  • do not include at least one UK registered business and one eligible Japanese registered SME as a minimum
  • request grants of more than £600,000 from Innovate UK
  • are not in scope
  • do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria
  • do not submit all mandatory documentation

Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:

  • dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
  • dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

Funding costs

Innovate UK have allocated up to £2 million to fund UK applicants undertaking innovation projects in this competition.

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

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

The UK registered research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total UK eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one UK research organisation, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 30% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic
  • 100% of your project costs if you are an RTO

If your consortium contains more than one UK research organisation, this maximum will be shared between them.

Organisations from Japan and other Eureka countries will receive funding from its respective national funding body.

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.