Developing Semiconductor Hardware For Critical Technologies

Key Features

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £5 million. These feasibility studies will investigate ways to improve semiconductor design and manufacture within the UK to support critical technologies.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £5 million

Opens: 14th Apr 2025

Closes: 29th May 2025

Overview

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £5 million in feasibility projects developing Semiconductor Hardware For Critical Technologies.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to encourage exploration of feasibility for innovative ideas with the potential to advance semiconductor hardware that can contribute to the global competitiveness of the UK in the critical technologies.

Your project must comprehensively address the feasibility of an advancement in hardware design or fabrication that has the potential to significantly impact the effectiveness of UK businesses operating in one or more of the critical technology areas. Output should include technical and commercial feasibility and identify potential barriers to achieving traction in the market as well as the opportunities.

Portfolio approach

Innovate UK aim to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets and technological maturities. Innovate UK call this a portfolio approach.

Specific Themes

Your project can focus on one or more of the following:

  • novel semiconductor materials or designs, or both
  • semiconductor fabrication techniques
  • manufacturing equipment innovation
  • multi-technology integration or interfacing
  • novel packaging materials and techniques
  • advanced packaging
  • thermal management
  • front end of line processes
  • back end of line processes
  • in line and end of line test
  • development of Process Design Kits (PDKs)

This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

Eligibility

Your project must:

  • have a total grant funding request of between £75,000 and £300,000
  • last up to six months
  • carry out all its funded project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • start by 1 September 2025
  • end by 28 February 2026

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.

If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.

Lead organisation

To lead a project or work alone your organisation must:

If collaborative you can work with other UK registered organisations.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

  • business of any size
  • academic institution
  • charity
  • not for profit
  • public sector organisation
  • research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each 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.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:

  • apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
  • include a rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in the application
  • ensure any one partner does not account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs

Non-funded partners

Your project can include non-UK partners, including partners based in the EU, who bring their own funding. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit results overseas. Their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

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

Number of applications

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

If an organisation is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to three 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 are not funding projects that involve the:

  • design or fabrication of printed circuit boards (PCBs)
  • assembly of end use systems

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

Up to £5 million has been allocated to fund innovation 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. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

Category 1 Feasibility studies

Funding available 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 more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Research participation

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. Of that 30% 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 a Je-S registered institution such as an academic

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

  1. Research organisations using the Je-S system must submit their costs through the Je-S system which calculates the 80% FEC figure.
  2. On IFS, only the 80% FEC output should be entered at 100% funding.
  3. Applicants do not need to show the remaining 20% on the finance table.

To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.

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.