Funding competition SBRI: UKAEA Fusion industry challenges prototype development

Organisations can apply for a share of up to £5.6 million, inclusive of VAT, to develop solutions for fuel cycle services which use Lithium.

Competition opens: Thursday 25 May 2023
Competition closes: Thursday 20 July 2023 11:00am

This competition is now closed.

Start new application

Description

This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

This funding programme will support the UK’s leadership in economic, sustainable, and scalable fusion energy.

The aim of this competition is to encourage innovation in the development of Lithium in an economic, sustainable, and scalable fusion energy fuel cycle.

This is a single-phase competition.

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process.

Any adoption and implementation of a solution from this competition would be subject to a separate, possibly competitive, procurement exercise. This competition does not cover the purchase of any solution.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the date of the deadline.

Funding type

Procurement

Project size

Projects can range in size up to total costs of £1.5 million, inclusive of VAT.

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

start by 1 October 2023
end by 31 March 2025
last between 6 to 18 months
have total costs of up to £1.5 million, inclusive of VAT

Applicant

To lead a project, you can:

be an organisation of any size
work alone or with others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations or the third sector as subcontractors

This competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.

Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only. However, if you can justify subcontracting components of the work, you can engage specialists or advisers. As a funding body UKAEA cannot be a subcontractor in your project. This work will still be the responsibility of the main contractor.

Funding

A total of up to £5.6 million, inclusive of VAT, is allocated to this competition.

This competition will award up to 4 contracts to develop a prototype and undertake field testing for up to 18 months. Up to £1.5 million, inclusive of VAT, will be allocated for each contract.

The contract is completed at the end of the competition, and the successful organisation is expected to pursue commercialisation of their solution.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your project costs.

VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business. We will not provide any further advice and suggest you seek independent advice from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

VAT registered

If you select you are VAT registered, you must enter your project costs exclusive of VAT. As part of the application process VAT will be automatically calculated and added to your project cost total. Your total project costs inclusive of VAT must not exceed £1.5 million.

Not VAT registered

If you select you are not VAT registered, you must enter your project costs exclusive of VAT and no VAT will be added. You will not be able to increase total project costs to cover VAT later should you become VAT registered. Your total project costs must not exceed £1.5 million.

Research and development

Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service. This lets you incorporate the results of your exploration and design and demonstrate that you can produce in quantity to acceptable quality standards.

R&D does not include:

commercial development activities such as quantity production
supply to establish commercial viability or to recover R&D costs
integration, customisation or incremental adaptations and improvements to existing products or processes

Subsidy control

SBRI competitions involve procurement of R&D services at a fair market value and are not subject to subsidy control criteria that typically apply to grant funding.

Your Project

The aim of this competition is to encourage innovation in the development of Lithium in an economic, sustainable, and scalable fusion energy fuel cycle.

Your project must evidence that initial feasibility work has been undertaken in line with the theme of this competition.

Your proposal must:

reduce the risk involved in the take up of new technologies
outline plans to accelerate time to market
be pre-commercial
explain the rationale for the solution and describe the expected impact
define how the proposed solution would enable and support the delivery of sustainable fusion power plants
demonstrate a clear plan for commercialisation with a route to market for affordable, developed solutions
describe how solutions can be tested in a representative or real world
explain how any potentially negative outcomes would be managed, such as on the environment or society
demonstrate how you will work with at least one potential future customer throughout your project
how export control and regulation will be addressed

Your solution must:

be based on sound fundamental technical principles
be innovative
be practical and deliverable
take affordability into consideration
demonstrate the potential for cost-effectiveness
integrate with existing systems where necessary
consider user experience throughout the design and development process

Preference will be given to applications which:

help the innovation be formally accepted for future use in a fusion plant environment, for example by obtaining relevant regulatory certificates
offer innovations which consider existing infrastructure and potential interfaces

Contracts will be given to successful applicants.

You must demonstrate a credible and practical route to market, so your application must include a plan to commercialise your results.

Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies. We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific themes

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

Isotopic Enrichment

Technologies that can enrich the proportion of the minor isotope Lithium-6.

Enrichment will be essential to the fuel sustainability of many fusion power designs and, where it is not essential, can add value by boosting Tritium production. This will enable the commissioning and re-start of other fusion power plants.

Lithium enrichment represents a front-end fuel cycle service that will be demanded by fusion reactor operators around the world.

Examples of performance measures that would constitute an improvement over existing Lithium enrichment technologies include:

product quality, for example, maximum enrichment level (percentage), purity and product form (metal or compound)
economics, for example, production rate, capital cost, energy and resource consumption or value of co-products
environmental and worker protection, for example, hazards, waste production, obstacles to licensing such as the Minamata Convention

Tritium Extraction

Technologies that can extract Tritium from a Lithium breeding material and make it available, fast and efficient enough to fuel the ongoing Deuterium-Tritium (DT) reaction.

Performance parameters relevant to a fusion energy plant’s fuel cycle system include:

rate of extraction
continuous operation
availability of recovered Tritium
energy cost

Conversion and Manufacturing

Technologies or techniques that can convert Lithium from the form available in existing supply chains into either:

a form suitable for an isotopic enrichment process
a form required by the Tritium breeding system of a fusion energy plant

Aspects relevant to a sustainable and competitive supply chain include:

raw material input forms for example, Lithium Chloride, Carbonate, Hydroxide
product output forms, for example, suitability for a variety of enrichment processes or breeding systems
potential to recycle Lithium, for example, use of recycled Lithium from other sectors in fusion, or recycling of Lithium after its use in a fusion energy plant

Research categories

Prototype development and evaluation

This can include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions. The primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set.

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund projects that:

do not engage with potential future customers to understand needs
do not address how any potentially negative outcomes, including environmental or societal, would be managed
create the potential for international transfer of Lithium enrichment material or technology without addressing export control compliance
are not suitable for use within the UK fusion industry sector
duplicates existing innovation
are not commercially viable
are early stage feasibility studies
would directly duplicate other UK government or EU funded initiatives you have already been funded to deliver
include UKAEA as a subcontractor

25 May 2023: Competition opens
5 June 2023: Online briefing event: watch the recording
20 July 2023 11:00am: Competition closes
21 August 2023: Interviews start
1 September 2023: Interviews end
11 September 2023: Applicants notified
18 September 2023: Contracts awarded
18 September 2023: Feedback

Before you start

By submitting an application, you agree to the terms of the draft contract which is available once you start your application. The terms of the contract are non-negotiable and are included in the draft contract. We reserve the right to change the terms and conditions if necessary.

The final contract will include any milestones you have agreed with the funding authority and will be sent to you if your application is successful. The contract is binding once it is returned by you and signed by both parties.

When you start an application, you will be prompted to create an account as the lead applicant or sign in as a representative of your organisation. Using your account, you will be able to track your applications progress.

As the applicant you are responsible for:

collecting the information for your application
representing your organisation in leading the project if your application is successful

You will be able to invite colleagues from your organisation to contribute to the application.

What happens next

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) will select a panel of assessors who will review and score your application. You will be notified of the outcome and feedback will be provided by UKAEA.

Contracts for this competition will then be issued to successful applicants.

What we will ask you

The application is split into 3 sections:

Project details.
Application questions.
Finances.

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Information included in your application and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) identifiable data, gathered during the application stage, will be shared with UKAEA. UKAEA have control over this process and the data is held in accordance with UKAEA’s own policies.

As part of the application process, each individual will be asked to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) survey. The responses will be shared with UKAEA in an identifiable format, along with the full application. The EDI data will be shared with UKAEA who will analyse it for the demographic range of applicants to SBRI Fusion Industry Challenge competitions. For more information on what UKAEA will do with your data, read UKAEA’s privacy notice.

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

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

Accessibility and inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes providing support, in the form of reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us. Read more on how we have made our application process accessible and inclusive to everyone.

You must contact us as early as possible in the application process. We recommend contacting us at least 15 working days before the competition closing date to ensure we can provide you with the most suitable support possible.

You can contact us by emailing support@iuk.ukri.org or calling 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Interviews

If your application passes the first stage of assessment, you may 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 team. Up to 3 people from your project can attend, ideally one person from each organisation involved. 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
be no longer than 20 minutes
have no more than 12 slides
not include any video or embedded web links

You cannot change the presentation after you submit it or bring any additional materials to the interview.

Interview

After your presentation the panel will spend 20 minutes asking questions. You will be expected to answer based on the information you provided in your application form, presentation and the response to feedback.

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 your application and is not scored.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Who made you aware of the competition?

Select a category to state who made you aware of the competition. You cannot choose more than one.

How long has your organisation been established for?

Select a category to state how long has your organisation been established for. You cannot choose more than one.

What is your organisation’s primary area focus?

Select a category to state your organisation’s primary focus area. You cannot choose more than one.

Project and scope summary

Please provide a short summary of your project.

Describe your project briefly. Be clear about what makes it innovative and how it relates to the scope of the competition. How does it tackle different aspects of the challenge and how will it provide an integrated solution?

Give details of the lead organisation. Before you submit, we expect you to have discussed your application within your organisation.

Your answer for this section can be up to 600 words long.

This section is not scored, but we will use it to decide whether the project fits the scope of the competition. If it does not, it may be rejected.

Public description

Please provide a brief description of your project. If your application is successful, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project. This question is mandatory, but we will not assess this content as part of your application.

Describe your project in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. We have the right to amend the description before publication if necessary but will consult you about any changes.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Applicant location

You must state the name of your organisation along with your full registered address.

You must also state the name and full registered address of any potential or confirmed subcontractors.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all participants of a project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

UKAEA will select a panel of assessors to review and score your application.

Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. Do not include any URLs in your answers unless we have explicitly requested a link to a video.

Question 1. Proposed idea or technology

How does the project meet the challenge described in the competition scope?

Provide a description of your proposed idea or technology.

Include a description of the current state of development or readiness of the idea.

You can submit a single appendix as a PDF containing images and diagrams to support your answer. It can be no larger than 10MB and up to 4 A4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘How well does the proposal meet the challenge?’.

The weighting for this question is 10%.

Question 2. Technical project summary

What are the main technical challenges you are addressing?

Explain:

how you will address the challenge
what the innovation is
the main technical deliverables
the research and development that will prove the scientific, environmental and commercial merit of the project
what might be achieved by deploying the innovation to address the selected challenge

This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘How valid is the technical approach?’.

The weighting for this question is 20%.

Question 3. Current state of the art and intellectual property

Are similar products currently available in the market?

How is your proposed project differentiated from them?

You must include details of:

any existing intellectual property (IP)
its significance to your freedom to operate
novel concepts you develop or employ
new approaches or technologies you use
new tools or technologies

This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: ‘How innovative is this project? How much does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or technologies for this area?’.

The weighting for this question is 15%.

Question 4. Project plan and methodology

Describe your project plan and identify the main milestones.

The project plan must be comprehensive. The emphasis throughout should be on practicality.

Provide evidence that the technology works, can be made into a viable product and can achieve the proposed benefits.

You must:

describe resources that will be needed to deliver the project
describe what the main success criteria will be
identify the project management processes that will ensure you achieve the milestones
provide a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility
describe the main technical, commercial and environmental risks and what you will do to mitigate them
provide a clear plan for development of a working prototype

You must explain how you would handle any intellectual property (IP) issues which might arise during the project.

Include details of how you will maintain freedom to operate and fulfil the IP requirements detailed in the contract if you are working with subcontractors.

You must upload a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix in PDF format no larger than 10MB and up to 2 A4 pages. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Your milestones must:

be clear
be defined using SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) criteria
be associated with the appropriate deliverables and payments
indicate your payment schedule by month

This question will be assessed against these assessment criteria:

does the proposal show a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility and the development of a working prototype
is there a clear management plan
what are the main technical, commercial, and environmental risks to the project’s success
how will these be effectively managed
are the milestones and evaluation procedures appropriate

Information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed milestones and associated payments stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application.

The weighting for this question is 15%.

Question 5. Technical team and expertise

Who is in the technical team? What expertise do they offer?

Provide a brief description of your technical team, including any subcontractors.

Describe:

how each organisation has the skills, capabilities, and experience to deliver the intended benefits
how much of their time will be spent on the project

This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: Does the applicant have the skills, capabilities and experience to deliver the intended benefits?

The weighting for this question is 15%.

Question 6. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost? How does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?

Describe:

the total costs inclusive of VAT (If applicable) you are requesting in terms of the project goals
how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer

Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary.

All costs quoted must reflect actual costs at a ‘fair market value’ and not include profit.

You can submit a single appendix as a spreadsheet in PDF format, no larger than 10MB and up to 2 A4 pages long to support your answer. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Please note that all payments are made in arrears on submission of an invoice. The invoice must be submitted to UKAEA within 30 days of the end of each monitoring period for all completed milestones.

Full Economic Cost (FEC) calculations are not relevant for SBRI competitions. SBRI is a competitive process and applications will come from a variety of organisations. Whatever calculation you use to arrive at your total eligible project costs your application will be assessed against applications from other organisations. Bear this in mind when calculating your total eligible project costs. You can include overheads but remember that this is a competitive process.

The assessors are required to judge the application finances in terms of value for money. They will score your finances against this assessment criterion: ‘Are the budget and costs realistic, justified and appropriate for the aims and methods?

Please note information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application.

The weighting for this question is 10%.

Question 7. Commercial potential

What is the commercial potential of your project? You must focus on your proposed customer’s needs.

Describe your:

timescales
projects commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service
delivery plan
expected route to market

Describe the competitive advantage that your project has over existing or alternative technologies that meet market needs.

Describe any existing commercial relationships relevant to the project.

With the focus on your proposed customer’s needs, you can also mention the future commercial potential across the public or private sector and international markets.

This question will be scored against these assessment criteria:

is there a clear commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service
is there a clear plan to deliver that and a clear route to market
how significant is the competitive advantage of this technology over existing technologies that meet the market’s needs

The weighting for this question is 15%.

3. Finances

Enter your project costs, organisation details and funding details.

You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your project costs. We advise you answer the VAT registered question first before entering your costs. Your total project costs must not exceed £1.5 million.

If you select you are VAT registered, you must enter your project costs exclusive of VAT. As part of the application process VAT will be automatically calculated and added to your project cost total.

VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business. We will not provide any further advice and advise you to seek independent advice from HMRC.

For full information on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance.

Background and further information

About Small Business Research Initiative competitions

SBRI provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector. This can lead to better public services and improved efficiency and effectiveness.

The SBRI programme:

supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services through the public procurement of R&D
generates new business opportunities for companies
provides a route to market for their ideas
bridges the seed funding gap experienced by many early-stage companies

SBRI competitions are open to all eligible organisations that can demonstrate a route to market for their solution. Under current regulations, SBRI contracts are open to applications from organisations registered in the UK, European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). The SBRI scheme is particularly suited to small and medium-sized businesses, as the contracts are of relatively small value and operate on short timescales. Developments are 100% funded and focused on specific identified needs, increasing the chance of exploitation.

SBRI is a procurement of R&D services. If successful, you will receive a contract to deliver the proposed activity. Costs quoted must reflect actual costs at a ‘fair market value’ and not include profit.

You must submit an invoice for the work undertaken. All payments are made in arrears on submission of an invoice. Invoices must be submitted to UKAEA within 30 days of the end of each monitoring period for all completed milestones.

If you are VAT registered, your total costs are expected to include VAT that you would charge as a service provider. VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business, and applications are expected to list total costs inclusive of VAT.

Suppliers for each project will be selected by an open competition process and retain the intellectual property generated from the project, with certain rights of use retained by the contracting authority. This is an excellent opportunity to establish an early customer for a new technology and to fund its development.

UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)

UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise the scientific and economic benefit.

The four interconnected strategic goals to deliver on this mission are:

be a world leader in fusion research and development
enable the delivery of sustainable fusion power plants
drive economic growth and high-tech jobs in the UK
create places that accelerate innovation and develop skilled people for industry to thrive

Fusion, the process that powers the sun, can play a big part in our low-carbon energy future. UKAEA manages the UK fusion programme. Our scientists and engineers are working with partners around the globe to develop fusion as a new source of sustainable energy for tomorrow’s power stations. UKAEA’s research can be accessed at the UKAEA Scientific Publications site.

UKAEA researches fusion energy and related technologies, with the aim of positioning the UK as a leader in sustainable nuclear energy.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) (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 will be passed on to UKAEA and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants
EDI data obtained at application

Innovate UK, and UKAEA 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, and UKAEA 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.

Further help and guidance

If you want help to find an organisation to work with, contact the Innovate UK KTN.

If you have any questions about the scope requirements of this competition, email FIPProcurement@ukaea.uk.

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, 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).

Need help with this service? Contact us