Faraday Battery Challenge: Innovation R&D, Round 4

Key Features

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £10 million in grant funding for innovation in electric vehicle battery technology.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £10 million

Opens: 28th Sep 2020

Closes: 9th Dec 2020

! This scheme is now closed

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 support the research and development of the most promising innovative battery technologies for the propulsion of electric vehicles. In particular, to accelerate your technology towards commercialisation by building on the outputs of previous activity.

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
  • show a clear route to market beyond the end of this project, including how you intend to scale your technology for your chosen market, either through private funds, investment or late stage research and development competitions
  • show that you can realistically produce the technology at a price the market is willing to pay when it is commercialised
  • show how the future supply chain will be developed, or how your project contributes to this supply chain
  • plan to have real-world applications and meet the appropriate sector’s 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, including 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 sectors outside automotive where:

  • innovation is required to meet specific and challenging performance requirements and
  • such improvements could enable electrification in that sector.

Potential sectors include:

  • rail
  • marine
  • aerospace
  • defence
  • off-highway

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

 
Book a 30-minute consultation

Our team are available to discuss your innovative business, your project ideas and how we can help you to write a successful application for this Grant Funding opportunity.

Use the calendar to select and book a consultation with one of our experts, at a time that’s convenient for you.

Eligibility

Innovate UK are encouraging 2 types of projects through this competition. Your new project must show a significant value-add exploitation and build on

  • the outputs or outcomes of previously completed feasibility study or collaborative research and development projects funded by Innovate UK or
  • non-grant funded R&D activity

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 (RTO), 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, not-for-profit or public sector organisation or 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 are 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

We have allocated up to £10 million to fund innovation projects across the Feasibility Study and R&D strands of the Faraday Battery Challenge. This competition is for the Faraday Battery Challenge R&D strand.

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 industrial research 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

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 35% if you are a medium-sized organisation
  • up to 25% if you are a large organisation

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.

Your project must:

  • have total eligible costs between £300,000 and £1,500,000
  • plan to end by 31 March 2022
  • last between 3 and 12 months

Any project building on the outputs or outcomes of previously funded Innovate UK project/activity must clearly show a significant value-add and exploitation from the former project.

The new project must also:

  • be distinct in scope and costs from any previous, ongoing or concurrent projects.
  • clearly show a significant value-add and exploitation from the former project
  • be distinct in scope and costs from any previous, ongoing, or concurrent projects.

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.

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
  • R&D activity focused on early stage research