Faraday Battery Challenge: Innovation Feasibility Studies, Round 4

Overview

The ISCF Faraday Battery Challenge will work with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, to invest up to £10 million in innovation projects across the Feasibility Study and R&D strands of the Faraday Battery Challenge. These will be to support innovation in the design, development and manufacture of batteries for the propulsion of electric vehicles.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to accelerate innovation in battery technology for the propulsion of electric vehicles by supporting business led feasibility studies. This will draw on the most exciting, high potential impact, early stage research where a 12 month feasibility study can catalyse the route to commercialisation.

Your proposal must clearly show how this feasibility study will accelerate the development of technologies or business practices which have the potential to significantly advance the performance characteristics of batteries for electric vehicles.

Your project must:

• describe how you will mitigate any potential restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic so that you can deliver the project on time
• be able to progress following the end of the project either by other funding or internal investment
• have a clear route to scale beyond the project to meet the requirements of your target market
• plan to have real-world applications and meet the appropriate sector’s cost, performance and regulatory targets
• show a thorough understanding of the system your technology will fit into
• consider end of life implications
• support the overall goal of the Faraday Battery Challenge

The goal of the challenge is for the UK to become a global leader in the design, development and manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. We expect successful projects to increase productivity, competitiveness and growth for UK businesses.

Your project can focus on technological improvements or developing new business models across the battery value chain, but not limited to:

• cell materials and components
• cells
• modules and packs
• recycling
• enabling technologies

Your project can be focused on battery technology development for automotive applications and sectors outside automotive.

Potential sectors include:

• rail
• marine
• aerospace
• defence
• off-highway; or,
• other applications.

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

• cost reduction – at the cell and pack level, as well as minimising manufacturing costs
• energy density – increasing Wh/kg per cell
• power density – increasing kW/kg per pack
• safety: eliminate thermal runaway risks for enhanced safety
• first life – lengthen cell and pack life
• temperature: broaden the temperature ranges that a pack efficiently operates at
• predictability – new models to better predict range and battery health
• recyclability – by enabling 2nd life, design for end of life, reuse or recycling
• technologies enabling the efficient design, development or manufacture of batteries
• next generation battery technologies such as Li metal anodes

Exclusions

This competition is not funding projects which focus on:

• vehicle integration
• business as usual projects
• projects developing technology that cannot demonstrate a clear route to market i.e. fundamental research
• funding for capital equipment which could be accessed elsewhere

Eligibility

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business of any size
• collaborate with other UK registered businesses, research and technology organisations (RTOs), public sector organisations or charities
• carry out its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit/public sector organisation, research and technology organisation (RTO)
• carry out its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• be invited by the lead organisation

You’re encouraged to include a partner with expertise in scaling of battery technologies.

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project.

The lead and at least one other organisation must claim funding by entering their costs into the Innovation Funding Service during the application.

Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Funding Costs

Up to £10 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects across the Feasibility Study and R&D strands of the Faraday Battery Challenge.

If your organisation’s work on the project is mostly commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically.

For feasibility projects, you could get funding 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

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 50% 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.

Your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £100,000 and £1,000,000
• plan to end by 31 March 2022
• last between 3 and 12 months

If your project’s total eligible costs or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@innovateuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. Innovate UK will decide whether to approve your request.