Funding competition Hydrogen Transport Hub Demonstration Phase 2 - Strand 2
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £20 million to demonstrate how hydrogen can be used to power transport solutions for end users.
- Competition opens: Thursday 6 October 2022
- Competition closes: Friday 2 December 2022 11:00am
This competition is now closed.
Competition sections
Description
The Department for Transport will work with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, to invest up to £20 million for innovative projects.
The aim of this competition is to create a long-term sustainable demand for hydrogen from transport and to de-risk hydrogen’s adoption for transport owners and operators.
This investment will support demonstrations of hydrogen powered vehicles across transport modes in real world operational settings across the Tees Valley.
This competition is split into two strands:
- Hydrogen Transport Hub Demonstrator phase 2 - Strand 1 – must include capital costs for fixed hydrogen refuelling stations
- Hydrogen Transport Hub Demonstrator phase 2 – Strand 2 (this strand)
Your strand 2 project must:
- demonstrate hydrogen transport solutions by 31 March 2025 for a minimum of 6 months with the expectation of continuing operations commercially after this period
- operate the demonstration in an open public setting or controlled environments, such as warehouses and distribution centres
- be part of the demonstration track vehicle performance against stated metrics to understand benefits or challenges for the benefit of other regions and industry
- report on the benefits for passengers, customers and residents in the Tees Valley
- develop plans for long-term activities to create a demand for hydrogen in the Tees Valley from 2025
It is your responsibility to ensure you submit your application to the correct strand for your project. You will not be able to transfer your application and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.Funding type
Grant
Project size
Your project’s total costs must be between £500,000 and £3.5 million
Who can apply
Your project
Your project must:
- have total costs of between £500,000 and £3.5 million
- start by 1 June 2023
- end by 31 March 2025
- last up to 22 months
- include vehicle demonstrations of at least 6 months
- carry out its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
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.
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. We will decide whether to approve your request.
Lead organisation
To lead a project your organisation must:
- be a UK registered business of any size
- collaborate with other UK registered businesses, academic institutions, charities, not for profit, public sector organisations, research organisations or research and technology organisations (RTO’s)
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance. This is a change from the EU definition unless you are applying under State aid.
Project team
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be a:
- business of any size
- academic institution
- charity
- not for profit
- public sector organisation
- research and technology organisation (RTO)
Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once accepted, partners will be asked to login or to create an account and enter their own project costs into the Innovation Funding Service.
The lead and at least one other organisation must claim funding by entering their costs 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.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
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
A business can lead or collaborate in any number of applications across the two strands of the competition.
An organisation can collaborate in any number of applications across the two strands of the competition.
Previous applications
You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.
We will not award you funding if you have:
- failed to exploit a previously funded project
- an overdue independent accountant’s report
- failed to comply with grant terms and conditions
Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)
This competition provides funding in line with the UK's obligations and commitments to Subsidy Control. Further information about the UK Subsidy Control requirements can be found within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation agreement and the subsequent guidance from the department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.
EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see our general guidance to check if these rules apply to your organisation.
Further Information
If you are unsure about your obligations under the UK Subsidy Control regime or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.
You must at all times make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.
This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.
If there are any changes to the above requirements that mean we need to change the terms of this competition, we will tell you as soon as possible.
Funding
Up to £20 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
The total funding available for the competition can change. The funders have the right to:
- adjust the funding allocations between the two competition strands
- apply a ‘portfolio’ approach
If the majority of 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.
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
For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance. This is a change from the EU definition unless you are applying under State aid.
If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.
Research participation
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. Of that 30% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:
- 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic
- 100% of your project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation
Your proposal
The aim of this competition is to demonstrate the use and refuelling of hydrogen for transport vehicles, while securing a sustainable demand of hydrogen from operators.
Demonstrations will test business models and user operating needs to inform ongoing adoption of hydrogen within Tees Valley and across the UK.
We are looking for projects that will significantly increase the demand for hydrogen transport and to support the development of the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub.
Projects are required to demonstrate realistic scale in their demonstrations.
Projects which demonstrate non-passenger car vehicles are encouraged to apply. Projects which address use cases that are hard to decarbonise and are yet to demonstrated are also encouraged to apply.
Your project must:
- be aligned to wider Tees Valley strategic priorities and integrate with other hydrogen activity in the region or nationally where feasible
- commit to provide results and learnings from your project to reinforce the Hydrogen Transport Hub’s commitment to encouraging hydrogen adoption in the UK
- agree to support the Hydrogen Transport Hub’s training and skills development remit where agreeable
- integrate with the Tees Valley hydrogen cohort and network to be facilitated by the Hub
- outline how post-March 2025 operations will transition into a commercially viable ongoing hydrogen-fuelled transport activity or a larger deployment encompassing hydrogen production and its wider use beyond transport
We encourage projects to demonstrate links to other initiatives, such as the OFGEM Strategic Innovation Fund, Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstration, Aerospace Technology Institute and the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.
Demonstration
Your proposed project must use a hydrogen vehicle or vessel in an operational setting to replace, complement or add to existing transport fleets or operations.
Projects can include demonstrations of single mode operations using one vehicle type, multi-mode operations and end-to-end operations where a mix of vehicle types are used to undertake a defined journey or operation.
Your project must:
- demonstrate an on vehicle hydrogen transport solutions by 31 March 2025 for at least 6 months
- operate the demonstration in an open public setting or controlled environments, such as warehouses and distribution centres
- track your solution against performance indicators to understand benefits or challenges, this includes addressing air quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with vehicles powered by hydrogen combustion
- deploy your solution as part of the demonstration
- report on the benefits for passengers, customers and residents in the Tees Valley
- utilise the identified or secured refuelling infrastructure which is to come online within the demonstration period
- create the conditions for long-term adoption of your solution post March 2025 under a commercial setting
- include operator training and vehicle familiarisation to aid useability
Your project can operate vehicles partly outside the Tees Valley but must maintain your main logistical connection with the area.
Hydrogen refuelling
You can incorporate temporary hydrogen refuelling solutions into your project. Temporary solutions must be sited in the Tees Valley and meet volume, quality, and pressure requirements of the vehicles they intend to refuel.
Temporary solutions include mobile refuellers or access to hydrogen via other sites where an agreement can be reached. Projects must provide assurance at the point of application that a source of hydrogen has been secured in principle.
Temporary stations must use either 'green' hydrogen or hydrogen that meets the UK’s draft low carbon hydrogen standard.
Your project must put in place an aggressive roadmap to move towards solely green hydrogen by March 2025. The use of grey hydrogen is not permissible.
Your project must:
- undertake site selection and all preliminary design and planning and permission requirements
- meet all required safety and regulatory requirements, including current and emerging international standards
- address operator and user needs with respect to refuelling efficiency and ease of use
- where possible, ensure refuelling capacity funded through the programme is accessible to other operators outside the consortia by appointment or separate agreement
- ensure dispensing of hydrogen that meets the UK’s draft low carbon hydrogen standard, such as that produced using renewable electricity
- ensure infrastructure funded through the programme is accessible to other operators outside the consortia by appointment or separate agreement
- ensure infrastructure is located in a accessible and strategically viable location or locations
- utilise a proportion of state of the art infrastructure, capable of refuelling multiple vehicles rapidly and back-to-back
Innovate UK reserves the right to drive cost efficiencies in its funding of refuelling infrastructure by requesting the projects make use of suitable alternative refuelling capacity within the Tees Valley. You may be invited to discuss efficiencies if your project application is successful and to create a network of accessible and viable refuelling sites in the Tees Valley
The cost of supplied hydrogen should be provided at no less than the cost of diesel within that period. Projects are expected to be engaged with the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation scheme.
You can use any number of vehicles in your project including:
- freight vehicles between 3.5 - 39 tonnes,
- light commercial vehicles under 3.5 tonnes
- mobile construction plant
- maritime or inland waterway vessels
- trains
- buses
- forklift trucks
- aircraft
- airside vehicles
Any form of hydrogen propulsion is in scope however, hydrogen combustion technologies must be advanced in pursuit of zero emissions and restricted to use on certain applications such as non-road applications.
Innovate UK reserves the right to prioritise fuel cell vehicles through its portfolio process.
Vehicles can be retrofits or new builds or a combination of both within the same project. Retrofits must offer a scalable solution which is underpinned by a commercial model.
If you would like to check your project is in scope you must email a short overview of your project to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes.
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies and markets. We call this a portfolio approach.Specific themes
Your project can focus on one or more of the following demonstrations:
- hydrogen fuel-cell transport of any size or designation
- hydrogen combustion transport – please refer to the ‘Projects we will not fund' section
- road, maritime, rail, aviation transport
- non-road mobile machinery, such as forklift trucks and construction machinery
- agricultural and forestry tractors
- emergency and rapid response vehicles
- special purpose vehicles
Research categories
Projects we will not fund
We are not funding projects that are:
- exclusively outside of the Tees Valley
- duel fuel vehicles which are not wholly zero emission, for example rely partly on fossil fuel
- heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) of 40 tonne or above
- Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) projects.
- dedicated technology development projects which do not have the required demonstration
- not intended to lead to commercial activity after the project end date
- infrastructure projects related to hydrogen generation
- desk based studies into a future demonstration outside of the demonstration period
- dependent on export performance
- dependent on domestic inputs usage
We are also not funding projects that are Hydrogen combustion where the transport application falls into the one or more of the following classifications:
- light commercial vehicles under 7.5t, category N, O 1-3
- buses of any weight or size classification, category M2 and M3
- motor caravan, campervan, motorhome
- lorries (trucks) – 2 axels or more with a maximum gross weight (tonnes) of 7.5 or above
- special purpose vehicles including emergency response vehicles
- 6 October 2022
- Competition opens
- 7 October 2022
- Online briefing event: watch the recording
- 2 December 2022 11:00am
- Competition closes
- 11 January 2023
- Interviews start
- 8 February 2023
- Interviews end
- 20 July 2023 3:52pm
- Applicants notified
Before you start
You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.
Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:
- that all the information provided in the application is correct
- your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
- all sections of the application are marked as complete
- that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)
You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.
What we ask you
The application is split into 3 sections:
1. Project details.
2. Application questions.
3. Finances.
Accessibility and inclusion
Innovate UK is committed to making support for applicants accessible to everyone.
We can provide help for applicants who face barriers when making an application. This might be as a result of a disability, neurodiversity or anything else that makes it difficult to use our services. We can also give help and make other reasonable adjustments for you if your application is successful.
If you think you need more support, it is important that you contact our Customer Support Service as early as possible during your application process. You should aim to contact us no later than 15 working days before the competition closing date.
You can email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.
Our phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Interviews
If your online application is assessed as eligible, you will be invited to attend an interview, where you must give a presentation. Your interview will take place either online or at a designated location. The date and time of your interview will be included in your invitation.
Before the interview and by the deadline stated in the invitation email, you:
- must send a list of who will attend the interview
- must send your interview presentation slides
- can send a written response to the assessors’ feedback
List of attendees
Agree the list with your consortium. Up to 9 people from your project can attend, ideally one person from each organisation. They must all be available on all published interview dates. We are unable to reschedule slots once allocated.
Presentation slides
Your interview presentation must:
- use Microsoft Powerpoint
- not include any video or embedded web links
Depending on your grant request, the length of your interview varies. Please allow up to 3 hours for each interview. You cannot change the presentation after you submit it or bring any additional materials to the interviews.
Written response to assessor feedback
This is optional and is an opportunity to answer the assessors’ concerns. It can:
- be up to 2 A4 pages in a single PDF or Word document
- include charts or diagrams
Interview
After your presentation the panel will ask questions based on your presentation. You will be expected to answer based on the information you provided in your application form and presentation.
After your interview
The panellists will individually score your application and these will be averaged for your overall interview score. This score will supersede the one you received from initial assessment unless stated otherwise in the competition brief. We will notify you whether you have been successful or not by email and you will receive feedback on your interview within a week of notification.
1. Project details
This section provides background for the assessors and is not scored.
Application team
Decide which organisations will work with you on the project. Invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.
Application details
The lead applicant must complete this section. Give your project’s title, start date and duration.
Research category
Select the type of research you will undertake.
Project summary
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Public description
Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Scope
Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope it will be immediately rejected and will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.2. Application questions
The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 and 2. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess.
You must answer all questions. Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.
Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)
You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on the project. We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 2. Operation location (not scored)
You must state the intended locations of your proposed refueling infrastructure both fixed and mobile where applicable. You must also provide the operational specification and refueling capacity.
We are collecting this information to understand the potential geographical location of all refuellers proposed in the Tees Valley area. This will aid Innovate UK and DfT in determining any available efficiency savings.
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 3. Need or challenge
What is the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity behind your demonstration?
Explain:
- the main motivation for the project
- the specific business need, technological challenge or market opportunity you are addressing
- any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example if the project focuses on building upon previous demonstrations or developing an existing capability
- whether the project will use existing transport technologies, or require the development of new technologies or a totally disruptive approach
- the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations, using our Horizons tool if appropriate
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 4. Approach and innovation
What approach will you take to address the competition scope?
Describe:
- how you will respond to the requirements set out in the scope
- the transport solutions you are demonstrating, how these will be sourced, secured and demonstrated in the intended operational capacity including approvals and permissions
- the construction, temporary deployment and use of refuelling infrastructure in support of the demonstration
- your security of supply for the required hydrogen
- the freedom you have to operate – infrastructure and transport solution
- how you will support the UK’s hydrogen cluster including around the Tees Valley and align with the Tees Valley strategic priorities
- how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings
- how it will make you more competitive
- the timeframes associated with delivery of your project across all phases
- your plan to track and report on performance throughout and after the demonstration phase
Your answer can be up to 800 words long.
You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 5. Team and resources
Who is in the project team and what are their roles?
Explain:
- the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking
- the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them
- the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors and infrastructure (refueller) providers who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
- the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project
- any roles you will need to recruit for
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You can submit one appendix with a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 4 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 6. Market awareness
What does the market you are targeting look like?
Describe:
- the target markets for the project outcomes, any other potential markets (domestic, international or both)
- the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available
- the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
- the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist
- the current UK position in targeting these markets
- the size and main features of any other markets not already listed
If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:
- what the market’s size might be
- how your project will try to explore the market’s potential
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 7. Outcomes and route to market
How are you going to sustain and grow the deployment of hydrogen transport after the projects conclusion? How will your business increase long term productivity as a result of the project?
Explain:
- your plans for any continuation of the demonstration into a fully commercial operation. How will this be achieved and what might need to change to enable this
- your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position
- your target customers or end users, and the value to them
- your route to market
- how you are going to profit from the demonstration, including increased revenues or cost reduction
- how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term
- how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model
- your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project
If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:
- your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale
- how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 8. Wider impacts
What impact might this project have outside the project team?
Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:
- external parties
- customers
- others in the supply chain
- broader industry
- the UK economy
Describe and, where possible, measure:
- any expected impact on government priorities
- any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative
- any expected regional impacts of the project
Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative on, for example:
- quality of life
- social inclusion or exclusion
- jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them
- education
- public empowerment
- health and safety
- regulations
- diversity
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 9. Project management
How will you manage your project effectively?
Explain:
- the main work packages of your project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one
- your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome
- the management reporting lines
- your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 10. Risks
What are the main risks for this project?
Explain:
- the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks
- how you will mitigate these risks
- any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, and data sets
- any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and so on, and how you will manage this
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 2 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 11. Added value
How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on the organisations involved?
Explain:
- what advantages would public funding offer your project, for example, appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market (this list is not exhaustive)
- the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved
- what other routes of investment you have already approached
- what your project would look like without public funding
- how this project would change the R&D activities of all the organisations involved
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
Question 12. Costs and value for money
How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?
In terms of your project goals, explain:
- your total project costs
- the grant you are requesting
- how each partner will finance their contributions to your project
- how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer
- how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise
- the balance of costs and grant across the project partners
- any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project
Your answer can be up to 400 words long.
3. Finances
Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.
For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance.Background and further information
The Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub will be an ecosystem that accelerates the adoption of hydrogen solutions for transport decarbonisation. It will strategically position the Tees Valley region and the UK at the forefront of the hydrogen transport sector.
This will bring skills, jobs, exports, growth and provide evidence to support investment decisions over the next 5 to 10 years. These will be on what technologies the UK needs to back to reach net zero.
This competition will help address the market failure associated with hydrogen supply and demand. A multi modal, demand and scale, co located approach will support a critical mass of activity. This will create efficiencies in cost, learning while incentivising industry investment.
The Hub is fundamental to understanding and realising the potential of hydrogen in transport, and is an enabler for parallel modal proposals (UK-SHORE, ZERFT, ZEBRA, Aviation, Teesside Hydrogen Trains).
Impact & Evaluation framework
Innovate UK will work with projects awarded grants or contracts, to implement a new Impact & Evaluation framework. Your project will be required to collect and report key metrics and data as specified by the programme and in line with the centralised evaluation framework. This will include the collection of both evidence and counterfactual data to support impact and attribution claims.
You will be required to work with Innovate UK to analyse and interpret the data using the techniques specified in the evaluation plans, to support the production of reports at an agreed annual reporting schedule.
You will be briefed on the specific metrics and evidence following notification of your award. For planning, forecasting and budgeting purposes, each organisation within a consortium will be expected to allocate 3 working days to supporting this requirement over the life of the project.
You will also be asked to respond periodically to further requests, following your project’s conclusion, recognising Innovate UK’s obligations, and the benefits of, evaluating impact over time.
Data sharing
This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, the Department of Transport (DfT) and the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) (each an ‘agency’).
Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.
This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to DfT and TVCA and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:
- the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants
- scoring and feedback on the application
- information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Officer reports and Independent Accountant Reports
Innovate UK, DfT and TVCA are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, DfT and TVCA will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application. Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy is accessible here.
Innovate UK complies with the requirements of GDPR, and is committed to upholding the data protection principles, and protecting your information. The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.
Find a project partner
If you want help to find a project partner, contact Tees Valley or Innovate UK KTN.
Support for SMEs from Innovate UK EDGE
If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an innovation and growth specialist at Innovate UK EDGE. This service forms part of our funded offer to you.
These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensuring that projects contribute to their growth. Working one-to-one, they can help you to identify your best strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale.
We encourage you to engage with Innovate UK EDGE, delivered by a knowledgeable and objective specialist near you.Next steps
If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.
You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your IFS Set Up portal, the tool that Innovate UK uses to gather necessary information before we can allow your project to begin.
You will need to provide:
- the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
- a redacted copy of your bank details
- a collaborative agreement
- an exploitation plan
In order to process your claims, we need to make sure that the bank details you give to us relate to a UK high street bank that is regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The account must have a BACS clearing facility and be in the same company name as your application.
If you have any doubts that your bank account will not meet Innovate UK's funding criteria, you can use the sort code checker. If you input the sort code and find a tick next to the ‘BACS Direct Credit payments can be sent to this sort code’, this will give you an indication that the bank account you hold is acceptable.
Finance checks
We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company with access to the funds necessary to complete the project.
You must check your IFS portal regularly and respond to any requests we have sent for additional information to avoid any delays.
Failure to complete project setup may result in your grant offer being withdrawn.
Your Grant offer letter (GOL)
Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your GOL.
The GOL will be made available on your IFS portal. You will need to sign and upload this before you start your project.
Your GOL will show the start date for your project, do not start your project before this date. Any costs incurred before your start date cannot be claimed as part of your grant.
If your application is unsuccessful
If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following your notification
Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project did not fit within the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.
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