ATI Programme Grant Funding has returned for 2022

We’re pleased to share that the first ATI Programme Grant Funding opportunity for 2022, will open for Expression of Interest applications on 4^th April 2022. This is a great chance for aerospace companies to apply for grant funding support to help strengthen the civil aerospace sector in the UK, following a pause in funding from ATI throughout 2021.

What caused the pause in ATI Funding?

During 2021, following the outbreak of COVID-19, ATI announced that they would not be running their usual ATI Funding Programme, so they could focus on supporting projects that had already successfully received funding.

Their statement on 19^th April 2021, in conjunction with BEIS (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) and Innovate UK, stated, “Demand for ATI Programme funding is high and has been increasing. In the past, we have sought to commit to as much activity as possible while leaving budget headroom to start new projects each year. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed this. R&D activity due in FY2020/21 has been delayed and is now forecast to take place in FY2021/22. Our latest spending forecasts, generated from the live portfolio of 175 projects, shows that we have no scope to commit to new projects this financial year. To manage this, we will suspend new applications to the Programme, including expressions of interest. We will review forecast spend each month to test when we can re-open the Programme for new applications. Based on the latest data we do not think this will happen until the start of FY2022/23.”

ATI Programme – Competition Details

The ATI Programme represents a £3.9billion joint government and industry investment. The programme funds industrial research and investment aid for research infrastructures to make the UK civil aerospace sector more competitive.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, applicants must:

• be a UK registered business of any size for research projects
• be a UK registered business of any size, a research and technology organisation (RTO), research organisation or academic institution for capital infrastructure projects
• carry out your aerospace research or capital infrastructure project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

Applications can be submitted by single company applicants and consortia.

Scope

Your project must align with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, ‘Accelerating Ambition’, which is split into these areas:

• vehicles: strengthening the UK’s whole-aircraft design and system integration capability, and positioning it for future generations of civil aircraft
• advanced systems: developing UK advanced systems technologies to capture high-value opportunities in current and future aircraft
• aerostructures: ensuring the UK is a global leader in the development of large complex structures, particularly wings
• propulsion and power: advancing a new generation of more efficient propulsion technologies, particularly large turbofans
• cross-cutting enablers: developing high value design capabilities, advanced materials, manufacturing and assembly, advanced through-life engineering technologies

Funding Limits

Industrial Research projects can receive up to 70% funding for eligible project costs. The exact percentage will depend on the applicants business size, and the grant funding limit for a single organisation is £18 million.

Infrastructure projects can receive total grant funding of up to £18 million and the total project grant funding must not exceed 50% of the total eligible project costs.

How to Apply for the ATI Programme

The April 2022 Expression of Interest (EOI) window opens on 4^th April 2022 and closes on 27^th April 2022. Further EOI windows will open on a monthly basis.

Applicants must submit an EOI, and is successful, they will be invited to apply during a full stage application window.

You can view the full funding competition information here.

How can TBAT help

Our Grant Funding experts are happy to help you decipher if your project is eligible to apply into the ATI Programme, and support you in refining your project details before applying. We can assist during both the Expression of Interest stage, and full application stage, by assisting you to write your applications.