New Innovators in Marine and Maritime, Great South West

Key Features

UK registered micro and small businesses can apply for a share of up to £2.3 million for projects that grow their innovation activities in the marine and maritime cluster in the Great South West.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £2.2 million

Opens: 2nd Jun 2025

Closes: 2nd Jul 2025

! This scheme is closing soon

Overview

This funding is from Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme which supports the UK government’s goals for local economic growth. This Launchpad is also supporting Maritime UK South West as the local cluster management organisation.

Innovate UK will work with Cornwall Council, Plymouth City Council and Dorset Council to invest up to £2.3 million in innovation projects.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to provide a package of targeted support to enable ambitious UK registered micro and small businesses to develop affordable, adoptable and investable innovations in the marine and maritime cluster in the Great South West.

Your project must grow your innovation activities in the marine and maritime cluster in the Great South West, both during and after your project.

This could be demonstrated by:

  • your local innovation activities during and after your project
  • the value that your innovation activities create in the cluster
  • your engagement with other innovation active organisations in the cluster, such as with Maritime UK South West, this Launchpad’s cluster management organisation

For this competition, the Great South West consists of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

Your application may be considered ineligible if you do not describe clearly how your main project activities and work packages meet the scope of this competition.

This includes the main project activities of any subcontractors. If you do not describe clearly how your activities in the cluster will continue after your project, then you are unlikely to be offered funding in this competition.

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

  • marine autonomy
  • clean maritime
  • digital ocean technologies

In your application, you must demonstrate that you:

  • have an innovative idea
  • need public funding
  • have the capability to deliver the project

Innovate UK are particularly interested in how your proposal will help you:

  • develop both your ambitious idea and your business
  • create a new revenue stream, for example new products, services or IP
  • evidence and enable your market, funding and commercialisation plans
  • show what is feasible, in helping you decide whether to pursue your idea further
  • catalyse further innovation on your path to commercial success
  • respond to changing market conditions

Portfolio approach

Innovate UK want to fund a variety of projects across different categories. Innovate UK call this a portfolio approach.

Innovate UK reserve the right to prioritise projects that:

  • demonstrate more innovation activity or value creation in the cluster or outside the Greater South East of England, during and after the project
  • demonstrate more engagement in the innovation cluster, during and after the project
  • demonstrate closer alignment to this competition’s scope and specific themes

Specific Themes

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

  • Monitoring and autonomy

Developing or using disruptive technologies to replace traditional ship-based alternatives for equipment inspection and other marine monitoring operations and enhance safety of the seas, such as in the offshore renewable energy industry.

  • Clean maritime

Transitioning to alternative fuel powered vessels using energy from low or zero emission sources or highly efficient batteries, also integrating ports into a decarbonised energy network and supplying the fuels of the future.

  • Digital ocean technology

Advancing sensor and communication technology and their connectedness and interoperability, to enhance our understanding of the ocean and the impacts from offshore operations, including in aquaculture and the emerging ocean economy.

This list is not exhaustive. Where you can show your proposal fits within the scope of this competition you can focus on other themes.

Eligiblity

Your project must:

  • have total project costs and grant funding request of between £25,000 and £50,000
  • have total project costs that equal your grant funding request
  • start from 1 October 2025
  • end by 31 May 2026
  • last between 3 and 6 months
  • carry out all of its project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the project outcomes from the UK for domestic or global benefit

Projects must always start on the first of the month. 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 exceed the total project costs of £50,000 you will be ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment. If your grant funding request does not equal your total project costs, you will be ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment.

You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.

Lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must be a UK registered micro or small business.

If your business has been funded directly by Innovate UK previously, you are not eligible to apply for this competition. If however you have received funding directly from Innovate UK Business Growth (previously Innovate UK EDGE) or a Catapult scheme, you are still eligible to apply for this competition.

Businesses with directors who have previously received a grant or Innovation Loan from Innovate UK as part of a different company, are eligible to apply but will be considered on a case by case basis.

A business with a previous award to a parent or subsidiary would also be eligible to apply, but the parent company must be classified as a micro or small business. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

If you are unsure, contact our customer support team by email at least 10 working days before the submission deadline.

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 cannot use non-UK based subcontractors.

Innovate UK expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. Innovate UK will not accept a cheaper cost as a reason to use a non-UK subcontractor.

Number of applications

An eligible UK business can submit one application only. Innovate UK will only award grant funding to one project per business.

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:

  • do not meet the competition eligibility or scope requirements
  • have a grant funding request that is not equal to the total project cost
  • purely result in reports, academic papers or similar
  • do not evidence potential for the proposed innovation to lead to significant and positive economic or societal impact
  • do not evidence value for money

Innovate UK cannot fund projects that:

  • involve primary production in fishery and aquaculture
  • involve primary production in agriculture
  • are not allowed under De minimis regulation restrictions
  • are not eligible to receive Minimal Financial Assistance
  • are dependent on export performance, for example, giving an award to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another country
  • are dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, if we give an award to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their product

Funding Costs

Innovate UK have allocated up to £2.3 million to fund innovation projects in this competition.

Your total project costs will be 100% funded. Total project costs and grant funding request detailed within your application must not exceed the maximum project size of £50,000. If your total project costs or grant amount are below the minimum of £25,000 or exceed the maximum of £50,000 then your application will be ineligible.

Your grant funding request must match your total project costs. If your grant funding request is not 100% of your total project costs then your application will be ineligible.

Innovate UK will aim to pay:

  • 70% of your grant request within a month of your agreed project start date
  • a further 20% in arrears, after approval of your 70% claim and the evidence of spend made, submitted with your claim
  • the remaining 10% of the grant 10 to 14 days after Innovate UK approve your final claim

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the Company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under European Commission 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.

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.