Key Features
UK registered micro, small and medium enterprise, can apply for a share of up to £1.5 million to increase and facilitate their engagement with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC). This funding is from Faraday Battery Challenge.
Programme: Innovate UK
Award: Share of up to £1.5 million
Opens: 8th Jan 2024
Closes: 6th Mar 2024
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with Faraday Battery Challenge to invest up to £1.5 million in innovation scale-up projects.
The aim of this competition is to:
Your project must demonstrate that you have developed or proven your innovation to a technology readiness level (TRL) 5 or above.
Your proposal must clearly demonstrate:
UKBIC operates an advanced and high throughput but conventional lithium iron (Li-ion) process line. This means that not all materials or processes will be compatible. Solid State processes are not viable on the existing line at this stage.
Your project must build and secure the UK supply chain for battery technologies.
Your project must focus on one or more of the following:
You can use the UKBIC facility for:
Note: the trials may be undertaken on UKBIC internal development runs, with opportunities for you to leverage on data generated from a number of internal runs at UKBIC to support your innovation whilst retaining your IP.
You can also focus on alternative materials or processes that will yield manufacturing energy reduction at scale, for example:
Your project must:
Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.
You must only include eligible project costs in your application.
Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
The majority of the costs for this grant funding must be subcontracting, of which UKBIC is the primary eligible subcontractor for this competition.
All other subcontractor costs above 10% of the value of the project, will be deemed ineligible.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the UK.
You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.
Number of applications
An SME can only submit one application.
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.
Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.
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 cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
Innovate UK are not funding projects that are:
Innovate UK cannot fund projects that are:
Up to £1.5 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.
For your experimental development project you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to 45% as a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
Note: only the costs for materials manufactured by the SME, used in the project, are eligible. This is where the total value of materials allowed is not more than 20% of the total project costs in this competition.
Material development at a suitable scale, at a third party location, can also be an eligible cost.
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.