SBRI: tackling non-exhaust and non-road vehicle air pollution

Overview

Innovate UK, working on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will fund organisations to develop and demonstrate new products or services which reduce the harmful emissions from one or more of:

• road vehicle brake and tyre wear and/or road surface wear
• non-road mobile machinery used for construction, such as excavators, bulldozers, front loaders, cranes and compressors
• transport refrigeration units

The overall programme will be delivered in 2 phases. This is phase 1. A decision to proceed with phase 2 will depend on the outcomes from phase 1. Only successful applicants from phase 1 will be able to apply to take part in phase 2.

Scope

Your proposed solution must:

• be innovative
• be practical and deliverable
• take affordability into consideration

Innovate UK particularly encourage applications that:

• demonstrate a clear plan for commercialisation and route to market for developed solutions
• demonstrate a strong connection to relevant academic research which links proposed activities and solutions to current research
• demonstrate scalability and replicability
• set out clearly how solutions might be tested in a real world setting or test environment as part of phase 2
• gather and analyse data to demonstrate the long-term benefits of the solution

Themes

This competition is looking to procure R&D services for technologies that address air quality issues caused by one or more of:

• emissions which come from brake and tyre wear, or from road surface abrasion
• vehicles or transportable industrial equipment used on construction sites not intended for carrying passengers on the road but equipped with a combustion engine
• refrigeration systems designed to cool perishable products transported by road in vehicles including vans or heavy goods vehicles

Eligibility

To lead a project, you can:

• be an organisation of any size
• work alone or with others from business, the research base, the public sector or the third sector as subcontractors

The aim is to award development contracts only to individual organisations. However, if you can show that collaboration will benefit your overall project, you can sub-contract specific tasks. Ideally subcontractors will be sector specialists and/or demonstrate a strong connection to the academic community. Any subcontracted work is the responsibility of the main contractor.

Universities and registered charities can apply but must demonstrate a route to market, including a plan to commercialise the results.

Funding Costs

A total of up to £300,000, including VAT, is allocated to phase 1. Phase 1 is focused on supporting feasibility studies. These should result in a technical and commercial specification, detailed design package and test plan for a technical solution.

Individual feasibility study research and development (R&D) contracts will be up to £50,000, including VAT.

Projects must start by the end of April 2019, be completed before the end of July 2019 and can last up to 3 months.

Exclusions

They will not fund projects which:

• focus on exhaust emissions from the engine of road vehicles
• focus on removing pollutants from the air rather than reducing the causes of emissions
• address air quality issues unrelated to road vehicle brake and tyre wear, non-road mobile machinery used in construction or the operation of transport refrigeration units
• shift the pollution to other areas, or make an overall negative contribution to the environment