Key Features
InnovateUkraine is a funding competition which aims to support and develop the energy innovations which will aid the recovery and restoration of Ukraine
Programme: Innovate Ukraine
Award: Share of up to £2 million
Opens: 5th Feb 2025
Closes: 23rd May 2025
InnovateUkraine is a funding competition which aims to support and develop the energy innovations which will aid the recovery and restoration of Ukraine. The programme is funded by UK International Development and led by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), with the support of its partners. From February 2025 this website will become the portal through which to understand the competition scope and eligibility, to find partners and ultimately to apply for the InnovateUkraine Competition.
InnovateUkraine will also host a series of webinars and 1:1 virtual meetings to discuss project opportunities and facilitate introductions between organisations to help identify and develop energy related innovations which are critical to Ukraine’s recovery. The competition will formally open on the 10th March 2025 but the collaboration and networking platform is open early to allow prospective applicants to prepare, locate and network with potential project partners.
The aim of this competition is to accelerate Ukraine’s recovery and ensure the country’s energy supply is low-carbon, affordable and secure. It focuses on creating immediate energy security for Ukraine and helping its long-term ambitions to transition away from hydrocarbons.
Your project can support the development, testing or scale up of innovative technologies or business models. Your project must do all 4 of the following:
focus on the specific needs of Ukraine’s energy recovery.
be an innovative technology or business model that is low-carbon, affordable and secure.
create energy resilience to attacks in the short term or build access to clean energy in the future.
subscribe to the principle of “leave no one behind”, meaning due attention should be paid to ensure benefits reach the poorest and most marginalised.
While any technology which meets the above criteria is in scope, priority will be given to projects which can practically demonstrate innovations in pilot projects which support the following themes:
Smart Green Grids
Renewable Generation
Renewable Heat
Green Fuels
Low Carbon Buildings and Homes
Re-purposing Existing Infrastructure
Industrial Decarbonisation
Further details will be available in the full competition brief, which will be available to registered organisations closer to the launch date.
To be eligible for InnovateUkraine funding your project must:
have total project costs of between £50,000 and £2 million.
start on or after 1st December 2025.
end by 31st December 2027.
have a maximum duration of 24 months.
involve at least one partner with a legal entity in Ukraine.
include a UK-registered administrative lead.
involve a business of any size.
involve at least one legally separate collaborator.
Your project can also involve any organisation from any country, with the exception of below.
Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian and Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.
Lead Organisations: There are two types of lead in this competition, an administrative lead, who will complete the application on the application portal and a technology lead who will lead the project work.
The eligible UK administrative lead will start the application form on the application portal and can invite partner organisations to support the competition of the form. They will act as the recipient of the award and will distribute funding to all other partners. This is known as a ‘hub and spoke’ model. The administrative lead will manage and be accountable for the finances of the project in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.
The administrative lead must:
be a UK-registered entity of any size and be capable of distributing funding to other collaborating partners.
be eligible to claim grant funding through this competition, including grant for their administrative function.
The technology lead will lead on the development of the scope, work packages and any other technical work for the project. They will also lead the Intellectual Property (IP) creation for the project.
The technology lead:
can be from any eligible country in the world.
must be eligible to claim grant funding through this competition.
UK registered organisations can be both the administrative and technology lead if the criteria is met for both, as well as the additional project and collaborative requirements.
Project team: to collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following:
business of any size
academic institution
R&D Institution
charity
not-for-profit
non-government organisation (NGO)
research and technology organisation (RTO)
Each partner organisation must be invited into the application portal (link available close to competition opening date) by the administrative lead to collaborate on a project. Once the invite is accepted, partners will be asked to login or to create an account and enter their own project costs into the application portal. There needs to be at least two eligible grant claiming participants who are working on the project. This can include the administrative lead if they are doing technical work outside of the project administrative responsibilities.
To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
Ukrainian governmental entities such as a local authorities, public service institutions, or government departments are able to participate in projects as advisory partners. As advisory partners they are unable to claim project costs.
Further Details: can be accessed via the link on the “apply” page. Please register to gain access to this content, but please note that full site functionality will not be available until close to the competition opening date.
1) Registration
Register via the Register button.
2) Publish a business profile to showcase your needs
**Create a clear and concise business profile to raise your visibility on the b2match platform.
Your profile should describe who you are, what you can offer to potential partners, and who you want to meet. A good profile will generate significantly more meeting requests.
3) Browse profiles of attendees
Go to the participants list to find out who is offering interesting and promising business opportunities.
4) Send & receive meeting requests
**Browse published participants profiles and send meeting requests to those you want to meet during the event.
5) Matchmaking Event
**Access your meetings in My Agenda or Meetings, where you have your complete schedule for the event and the list of your meetings. Check your camera and microphone and don’t be late!
6) Innovate Ukraine Competition Briefing
**Join us to learn about the Innovate Ukraine programme: funding to develop energy innovations which are central to Ukraine’s recovery. (See timeline for dates)
Innovate Ukraine will be hosting a virtual briefing event in March. The networking site will be updated with a date as soon as this is confirmed.
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.
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