Funding competition APC26: Industrialising net zero automotive technology

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £40 million for late stage R&D projects. These projects will help accelerate the UK transition to zero emission vehicles and towards a net zero automotive future.

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Competition sections

Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), the automotive industry and academia. We want to accelerate the industrialisation of strategically important vehicle technologies, digital optimisation and manufacturing processes. These processes support the UK’s transition to a zero emissions automotive industry.

APC’s in-depth knowledge and expertise in new propulsion technologies, will help you with building and advising your project and supporting you to start quickly. Your supported project will deliver increased value, safeguard skilled jobs and keep the UK automotive industry competitive.

We are working to drive innovation and encourage collaboration to build the foundations for a successful and sustainable UK automotive value and supply chain.

The aim of this competition is to support collaborative R&D projects that design, develop and manufacture technology. These projects will support the UK’s transition to zero-emission vehicles and a pathway to a net zero automotive industry.

In this competition, Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) to invest up to £40 million, of UK Government grant funding in innovation projects.

Your proposal must be a collaborative, pre-production research and development (R&D) project that:

  • supports securing long term R&D investment
  • creates or safeguards high value jobs when undertaking the project and as a result of any post project R&D and manufacturing activities
  • develops the UK’s automotive supply chain

Your project will ensure the UK meets the future demand of vehicle makers and users. The outcomes will strengthen the UK’s global impact and, anchor added value across the whole supply chain.

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s total eligible grant funding request must be between £2.5 million and £20 million. Your project must be a minimum of 50% match funded; see eligibility section for more details. A maximum of six partners is recommended.

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 making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

  • have a total eligible grant funding request of between £2.5million and £20 million
  • be a minimum of 50% match funding, for example, if you are asking for £2.5 million in grant your total eligible project costs need to be a minimum of £5 million
  • have a minimum of 70% of your project’s total eligible costs being incurred by commercial organisations
  • last between 18 and 36 months
  • carry out all of its project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • start by 1 August 2025
  • end on 31 July 2028

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.

If your project’s total grant funding request or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to info@apcuk.co.uk at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by APC, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.

Lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business of any size
  • collaborate with other UK registered organisations
  • involve at least one grant claiming micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME)
  • be a grant claiming recipient
  • include in your consortium a vehicle manufacturer or Tier 1 supplier who supplies parts directly to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM)

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.


Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

  • business of any size
  • academic institution
  • charity
  • not for profit
  • public sector organisation
  • research and technology organisation (RTO)

Non-UK registered businesses and research organisations are only eligible to apply for funding if:

  • an active UK registered business is set up through which the funded project work will be carried out
  • evidence is provided of an intention to expand the R&D activity in the UK during and after the project

A company registration number starting with a FC or BR is not considered as a UK registered business and not eligible to apply for funding.

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.

Non-funded partners

Your project can include non-UK partners, including partners based in the EU, who bring their own funding. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit results overseas. 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 cannot 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

There is no limit on the number of applications an organisation can be involved in.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

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.

Previous applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

If you have previously submitted an application that reached our assessment stage, you can re-apply once more with the same proposal.

If there are minor differences to the proposal, but it is judged by us to be ‘not materially different’, the same rule applies.

We will not award you funding if you have:

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to Innovate UK in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

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 the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must always 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.

This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.

Funding

Up to £40 million UK Government grant funding has been allocated to fund late stage R&D projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

These are pre-production projects and you must apply for the minimum amount of grant funding required to make your project viable.

Your total grant funding request must be no more than £20 million and no more than 50% of your total eligible project costs. This is regardless of your individual partners’ grant claims.

A minimum of 70% of your project’s total project costs must be incurred by commercial organisations.

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.

The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.

For industrial research projects, you can 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 can 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.

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 can 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 eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

Advanced Propulsion Industrial Contribution

A 3.5% industrial contribution is payable to the APC by all partners on grant received.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to support collaborative R&D projects that design, develop and manufacture technology. These projects will support the UK’s transition to zero-emission vehicles and a pathway to a net zero automotive industry.

Your project must:

  • contribute to the UK’s strategic aims and direction of travel towards zero- emission transport vision, such as the Automotive Council’s Roadmaps
  • deliver on-vehicle technologies or associated manufacturing processes which support the transition to a net zero automotive industry
  • support growth, transition and security of the UK’s automotive supply chain, increasing capability, whilst improving productivity, efficiency and competitiveness
  • target post project commercialisation

Your project must advance technologies in one or more of the following areas:

  • energy storage batteries, their components, management and integration systems
  • fuel cells, fuel cell systems and associated balance of plant
  • electric machines and associated driveline
  • power electronics
  • internal combustion engine (ICE) for on-road applications, we will only fund project proposals which aim to achieve zero harmful tailpipe emissions utilising non-fossil fuels
  • internal combustion engine (ICE) for off-road applications, we will fund project proposals that support a transition to zero emissions, utilising non-fossil fuels
  • lightweighting materials, methods and processes
  • hydrogen storage and management systems

 Your project can:

  • be focussed on design for circular economy, including the disassembly, recovery, and reuse of materials used in the project technologies
  • be focussed on physical, digital, or a combination toward the development of zero emission vehicle innovation, manufacture of vehicle systems and sub-systems, data analytics, redesign, test and validation and verification

The economic benefit of your project will be assessed on criteria including but not limited to:

  • scale and impact on the UK economy
  • foreign investment anchored in the UK
  • jobs created or safeguarded
  • upskilling or reskilling of workforce
  • automotive supply chain in the UK: upstream, mid-stream and downstream
  • lifetime environmental impact of the vehicle and circular economy models

Your proposal must evidence:

  • a clear route to market exploitation, that can be evidenced, including intellectual property (IP) generated for the UK
  • a credible consortium-led approach to the project, agreed in principle and able to proceed to a formal collaborative agreement
  • what would happen should the project not be funded
  • a demonstration of the outcomes by all partners, the costs can be claimed only if conducted before the end of the project duration

 You are encouraged to disseminate your results to bring benefit to the wider UK automotive industry.

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, technological maturities and research categories. We call this a portfolio approach.

Research categories

We will fund industrial research projects and experimental development projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that are:

  • only focussed on the development of clean fuels
  • not aligned with the UK net zero research innovations framework
  • requesting more than 50% grant for total project costs
  • developing either e-Scooters or e-Bikes

We cannot fund projects that are:

  • dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
  • dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

10 December 2024
Recorded briefing event: watch the recording
Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information
14 January 2025
Competition opens
14 March 2025 11:00am
Competition closes
11 April 2025
Invite to interview and Economic feedback issued
25 April 2025
Response to Economic Feedback
30 April 2025
Response to technical feedback
2 May 2025
DBT VfM discussion
2 May 2025
Provision of presentation and list of attendees closes 11am
7 May 2025
Vfm changes to be returned
12 May 2025
Interview panel at APC start
16 May 2025
Interview panel at APC end
3 June 2025
Applicants notified
1 August 2025
Project start

Before you start

Text update 22 January 2025: we have made changes to the project summary, public description and scope requirements in the Project Details section.

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 three sections:

  1. Project details.
  2. Application questions.
  3. Finances.

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 making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Application team

Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

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

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

What are the targeted outcomes of this project, what will they deliver to the consortia members, describe why this project is important.

We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application, as well as conducting a portfolio approach.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.
Public description

Describe your project in simple terms 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 can happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be eligible for funding.

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

2. Application questions

The technical assessors will score all your answers for questions 5 to 11, questions 1, 2, 3 and 4 are not scored. Questions 12 to 17 are appraised as part of the DBT economic assessment. You will receive feedback for scored questions 5 to 11. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions. 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 your project.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

  • Yes
  • No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences required to undertake your project.

You must select one option:

  • Yes
  • No
  • In process of being applied for
  • Not applicable

Question 4. Marketing and communications project lead (not scored)

You must provide the full name and email address of a marketing and communications contact for the lead partner in your project.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 5. Why this project?

Summarise the strategic rationale for this project.

Describe: 

  • how this project supports realisation of each consortium members corporate strategy
  • your organisation’s internal justification for undertaking the project
  • the problem; the customer problem that the outcomes of this project will solve, be specific about the needs of your target customers
  • if your customer is internal to your organisation, you can also describe internal challenges or problems that this project is looking to address
  • the solution; how this project will provide a viable solution to these problems
  • business opportunity; the business opportunities for the organisations undertaking this project
  • if appropriate how the use of digital solutions will add value to this project, the resultant outcomes, and your organisation’s wider digital strategy

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 6. Identify the market and your plan to address it

What is the target market for the outcomes of this project? How will you bring this technology to market and exploit its commercial potential?

Explain:

  • the size of the markets which you are targeting with the outputs of this project and ensure you cover the primary markets for the main project outcomes, as well as important additional markets targeted by consortia members, it may include secondary markets outside of the automotive market
  • the scale and geographical distribution of the overall market, as well as the segments you plan to address and provide evidence of your working and calculations
  • your market exploitation strategy including customer segmentation, your plan to make sales to your initial market, your growth plans and any barriers to entry and how you will overcome them
  • who the competitors are, how you will manage this challenge and make it clear why the outputs of this project put your consortia partners in a strong position to win in your target market segments
  • the target cost or price point requirements that you need to hit to be successful in the market

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

You can also submit letters of intent from potential suppliers or customers as an appendix to support your answer. These must be PDFs no larger than 10MB. They can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 7. Benefits of this collaboration

What are the benefits of this collaborative project to the consortium members?

Explain:

  • the benefits of the collaborative project to each of the partners, in detail
  • the financial returns for each consortium member that might be delivered as a result of this project
  • how this project will lead to jobs created or safeguarded within each consortium member
  • how the project will lead to development of long lasting new skills and capabilities within the consortium members
  • why the consortium is essential to deliver the project, and how the formation of this consortium is an opportunity for all involved
  • how knowledge will be shared between partners
  • how this project will leverage the consortium to deliver capability improvement across the companies engaged
  • any key areas of subcontract which fill capability gaps in the consortium

Following successful delivery of the project, explain:

  • the plan within the consortium for forming longer-term partnerships based on the successful outcomes of this project
  • how the project will unlock technical and commercial opportunities beyond the core aims of this project
  • what opportunities for future wider R&D activities in the auto industry you envisage as a result of this project
  • how you will disseminate these outcomes in the public domain

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 8. Benefits to the UK Supply Chain

How will the project support the UK automotive supply chain within and beyond your project consortium?

Describe:

  • how this project will increase the consortium’s access to UK supplied content and evidence the opportunity to increase UK Bill of Materials (BOM) content against current position
  • how this project impacts the sustainability and security of the UK supply chain through clustering, localisation, and growth
  • the number of jobs safeguarded, created, changed or displaced, outside of the consortium partners
  • further benefits for businesses outside of the consortium
  • the lasting effect and scale of the benefits
  • how the project will reduce supply chain risk

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 9. Innovation and Technical approach

Which elements of the project are technically innovative and how will these outcomes be achieved? Provide an overview of the technical approach the project will take, identifying the main objectives for this project.

Describe:

  • the technically innovative elements of the project and evidence why they are innovative
  • the current development status of elements of the project, for example, before the project starts and evidence any proof of concept or demonstration work undertaken prior to this application
  • the targeted technical outcomes of the project, including their envisaged development status at the end of the project
  • how the resulting technologies will compare to the best in class
  • the technical steps through which these outcomes will be realised
  • the digitalisation tools and techniques that you will deploy or develop
  • the test and validation activities which will be completed during and after the project
  • any expected resulting intellectual property (IP), including trade secrets and patents

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Project management

What are the project deliverables, and how will you manage the project effectively?

Describe:

  • the deliverables and the physical outputs from this project, clearly justifying quantities and responsibilities
  • your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to achieve a successful outcome
  • your proposed work breakdown structure (WBS), showing a cost for each work package
  • your project plan in enough detail to identify significant milestones and gateways, and any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones
  • specific detail on how your project startup will be managed including resource availability and planned recruitment
  • the project sponsors within each consortium partner 
  • the project team with key members profiled
  • how escalation will be managed

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 11. Risks

What are the main risks for this project? How will risk be collaboratively managed across the proposed project?

Describe:

  • the main risks and uncertainties that could impact this project, including the technical, commercial, markets, managerial and environmental risks
  • how you will mitigate these risks
  • any key risks during the project startup phase and how they will be mitigated
  • any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, data sets and test facilities, for example, proving grounds
  • any output likely to be subject to detailed New Product Introduction processes, including but not limited to, regulatory requirements, certification and ethical issues 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 no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 12. Value for Money (VfM) workbook

The Value for Money (VfM) workbook and questions 13 to 17 of the application, relate to the economic value for money assessment.

You must download and complete the VfM workbook.

To complete the VfM workbook, you must complete the following steps:

  1. Download the VfM workbook from question 12
  2. Complete tabs question 13 to 18, following the guidance in each worksheet
  3. Enter data into the grey cells and select an option from a drop-down list in the orange cells
  4. Add extra rows in the ‘Jobs’ worksheet (in the middle of rows of input cells to preserve the formatting) so you can define jobs separately for each project partner for the required number of national vocational qualification (NVQ) levels
  5. Use blank lines to title project partners and group the jobs according to your preferences
  6. You must upload the completed worksheet as an appendix to question 12
  7. You must write 'Worksheet uploaded' as your response to this question

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 13. Additionality

Why does your project rely on APC funding and why do you need the amount you have applied for?

Using the appendix to provide supporting evidence, explain:

  • why your project cannot go ahead without APC support
  • why your project cannot be funded internally or through other private sources providing supporting evidence, for example, notices of declined credit
  • why this specific amount of grant funding is required, reference can be made to the financial summary table
  • what would happen if your application was unsuccessful
  • if you decided not to internally fund, explain the decision making process and provide evidence, such as any business case comparison (with or without APC funding), internal rate of return analysis or other comparative financial analysis of the project with and without APC funding
  • if the project could not go ahead in the UK without APC funding, where would it be located and why
  • provide information about alternative locations and type and size of operations, expected cost structure, wages, building, transport, energy, any financial support available, the availability of a qualified workforce

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with evidence to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 14. Funding model

How is each partner funding their share of the project costs, and any follow-on R&D and capital investments required to scale up production?

Explain the source of each project partners’ financial contribution to the project, for example:

  • retained earnings
  • external debt
  • equity investment
  • other funding sources such as government grants

Note: Match funding must be private funds, and not other UK Government grants. In accordance with APC competition rules, project match-funding must be greater than the sum of the APC grant and any other UK Government grants.

You must:

  • explain how the consortium partners will fund any post-project R&D and capital investment to commercialise the technology
  • set out any risks and uncertainties around availability of funding for the project, and any required follow-on investment

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with evidence of your funding sources to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

You must:

  • explain how you calculated project costs and anticipated post-project investments in the relevant boxes in tab Q13 of the VfM workbook
  • provide a summary of the project costs, the financial contribution from each project participant and the grant funding required in the financial summary table in the application form
  • declare any other funding from public bodies, including any tax relief, that relates to this project or application and that the consortium has applied for or received
  • indicate the size of the funding received, the relevant body with details of the type of funding and conditions

Question 15. Project expenditure

How have you estimated the required investment in R&D, skills and capital for this project, and any follow-on investment to commercialise the technology?

You must:

  • explain your calculations and assumptions made to quantify the amounts of spending and investment required
  • justify why your project costs and follow-on investments are realistic estimates

Note: it is important that you explain your estimates of both direct project costs and any post-project expenditure to commercialise the technology and scale-up production.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with evidence and details of your calculation methods to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 16. Jobs

How have you quantified the number of jobs created or safeguarded by the project and as a result of any post-project R&D and manufacturing activities?

You must:

  • explain your calculations and assumptions made to quantify the number of jobs directly related to the project
  • your explanation must also cover any jobs included in your VfM workbook that are the result of post-project R&D and manufacturing activity that is directly related to the project
  • explain why the number of jobs and salaries are realistic, considering productivity and efficiency gains
  • for safeguarded jobs, explain and provide evidence to show that these jobs would be lost without government funding for this project

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with your evidence and details of your calculation methods to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 17. Sales and emissions

Provide further detail about the vehicle-related information you have given in tab Q15 in the VfM workbook.

You must:

  • justify the vehicles you have selected in the VfM workbook (vehicles 1 to 4)
  • explain how you have quantified vehicle sales, what assumptions you have used in your sales forecast, and justify why the sales forecast is realistic
  • explain why the comparator vehicles included in the VfM workbook are the best alternative for consumers by the time your technology reaches the market
  • explain any assumptions used in establishing fuel or energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the comparator vehicles selected in the VfM workbook
  • explain the specific contribution of this project to the future vehicle drivetrain, to quantify the impact of the overall emission savings your technology will achieve versus comparator vehicles

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with evidence and documentation of your sales forecast and justification of comparator vehicles to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

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 an overview on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance. Note this is general guidance, for specific guidance please see the eligibility section in this competition. You can also view our application finances video.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by five independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Interviews

If your application passes the first stage of assessment, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Value for Money (VfM) appraisers may want to call you to clarify the information you shared in the written economic assessment feedback questions.

The appraisers will talk to you about any of the following: 

  • project risks
  • why grant funding is required for your project 
  • any anticipated technology spill-over benefits 
  • job projections 
  • expected vehicle sales 
  • CO2 savings 
  • project expenditure

 The call will happen after you have given DBT your responses to their economic assessment feedback. This will be before the interviews, and we provisionally expect the calls to take place on 2 May 2025.

The APC will inform the lead contact of a one hour time slot for the call with DBT. The time slot is not flexible, due to the number of calls we need to make. We aim to keep calls to a maximum of four attendees from the applicant side to ensure the discussion is effective. 

On the call we will want to talk to the person who filled out the VfM worksheet and anyone else needed to answer questions about the written economic assessment feedback responses. We will not ask representatives from each project partner to attend the call.

After the call and 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 during the week beginning 12 May 2025. 

Before the interview and by the deadline stated in the invitation email, you must send: 

  • a written response to the DBT economic assessment feedback before the provisional call dates 
  • a written response to the technical assessors’ feedback
  • a list of who will attend the interview 
  • your interview presentation slides 

You must be aware that the dates for these submissions are different. You cannot send them together. You must send your written response to the DBT economic assessment feedback before the others, so that the VfM call can take place on 2 May 2025

You cannot make changes once these are submitted.

List of attendees

Agree the list with your consortium. Up to nine 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
  • be no longer than 30 minutes
  • have no more than 30 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.

Written response to technical assessor feedback

This is optional and is an opportunity to answer the assessors’ concerns. It can:

  • be up to 10 A4 pages in a single PDF or Word document – template to be provided
  • include charts or diagrams as part of the 10 pages

All of the information including charts and diagrams must be legible at 100% zoom. If they are not they will not be considered.

Written response to the DBT economic assessment feedback

This is mandatory and is an opportunity to answer the assessors’ concerns. It must:

  • be up to six A4 pages in a single PDF or Word document: template to be provided
  • include charts or diagrams as part of the six pages

All of the information including charts and diagrams must be legible at 100% zoom. If they are not, they will not be considered.

Interview

Interviews will take place at the APC in Warwick. You should allow up to two and a half hours for your interview.

You must email a mature draft of the collaboration agreement ahead of your interview. After your presentation the panel will spend up to 60 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.

Economic assessment

This is carried out by professional economists employed by DBT, in both the written and interview stages. They assess whether the project is good value for money for taxpayers and the UK.

HM Treasury will only release grant funding if your project reaches an acceptable threshold of value for money. This analysis is quality assured by senior economists within DBT to ensure the judgement is an accurate and independent reflection of the information that has been provided.

Report on economic outputs

As a condition of APC project grant funding, you must provide DBT and APC with annual records which show the realised and expected economic outputs your project has produced.

You must provide robust, credible and timely data on your project’s progress. This data helps policymakers evaluate whether the APC programme is good value for money.

Each partner must:

  • flag any information they consider too costly to collect
  • agree report timings
  • report on economic monitoring information annually, or at an alternative schedule agreed with APC, Innovate UK and DBT

You must provide other data if requested. Project monitoring and meetings will be carried out by representatives of Innovate UK, DBT and APC, and any other individuals as agreed with you.

Background and further information

The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) collaborates with UK Government, the automotive industry and academia to accelerate the industrialisation of technologies, supporting the transition to deliver zero emission vehicles.

UK Net Zero Research and Innovation Framework: Delivery plan 2022-2025.

Since its foundation in 2013, UK Government through APC has funded 302 low-carbon projects involving 529 partners, working with companies of all sizes, and has helped to create or safeguard over 59,000 jobs in the UK. The technologies developed in these projects are projected to save over 410 million tonnes of CO2.

With its deep sector expertise and cutting-edge knowledge of new propulsion technologies, APC’s role in building and advising project consortia helps projects start more quickly and deliver increased value. In the longer term, its work to drive innovation and encourage collaboration is building the foundations for a successful and sustainable UK automotive industry.

In 2019 the UK government committed the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to accelerate the development of a net-zero vehicle supply chain, enabling UK-based manufacturers to serve global markets.

ATF investments are awarded through the APC to support strategically important UK capital and R&D investments that will enable companies involved in batteries, motors and drives, power electronics, fuel cells, and associated supply chains to anchor their future.

For more information go to APC or follow us @theapcuk on X (formally known as Twitter) and Advanced Propulsion Centre UK on LinkedIn.

APC competitions are formally delivered in partnership between APC, Innovate UK and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

APC will:

  • work with consortia to support bid development
  • support the competition process, including hosting both launch and guidance events and interviews
  • act as advocates for consortia to improve future competitions
  • support project delivery once contracts are awarded, through APC staff
  • act as a source of guidance for consortia during the critical project start-up phase, and while projects are running, through APC-appointed project delivery leads
  • monitor the impact of the project portfolio

APC can help by:

  • providing general guidance regarding interpretation of competition rules and guidelines on an informal basis
  • helping your consortium to structure the bid development process
  • explaining common pitfalls
  • answering questions regarding whether or not your project is within scope

Innovate UK will:

  • deliver the competition process and technical assessment framework
  • support and manage applicant queries about the competition process
  • issue and manage grant contracts
  • provide formal assurance that projects are meeting their commitments once they are running, known as project monitoring
  • approve financial claims and issue funds

DBT will:

  • assess the benefit that the proposed project will deliver to the UK economy through value for money assessment
  • make a recommendation to ministers to support funding if the benefit meets an acceptable level and all other assessment criteria are met
  • formally monitor delivery of economic outputs on an annual basis and after delivery of the project

Any information received by Innovate UK for this competition may be shared with APC and DBT. Innovate UK has a data sharing agreement in place with these bodies which safeguards both personal and commercial data in accordance with data protection legislation.

Extra help

Note that the APC’s role is to provide indicative guidance rather than formal advice. To contact APC email info@apcuk.co.uk.

Briefing slides

Recorded briefing event: watch the recording.

Briefing slides are available to download here.

If your application is successful

If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.

You will be notified by email on the date published for this competition. Notifications may be sent any time up to 5pm.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your Innovation Funding Service (IFS) Set Up portal, where we gather the information to set up your project.

Watch our video on what steps there are before a project starts.

During the project set up you will be assigned a delivery executive who will guide you through the whole project set up process.

Following your email notification, you will need to provide the following within 5 days (including weekends and bank holidays):

  • the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
  • a finance contact for all partners
  • your bank details

You will need to provide the following within 30 days (including weekends and bank holidays):

  • a collaboration agreement,
  • an exploitation plan

You will have 90 days (including weekends and bank holidays) to complete all of your project set up. Within this time, you will also be required to submit:

  • project location
  • any answers to financial queries we have requested
  • any requested documentation to support your project such as a spend profile

Your funding offer may be withdrawn if project setup is not completed within this or an alternative timeframe as advised by Innovate UK.

In order for us to process your claims, you must make sure you have a valid UK business bank account. It can take several weeks for a new account to be created if required. We recommend starting this process as early as possible to avoid any delays to your project start date.

The bank account which grant is to be paid into must:

  • be a business account in the same name as the organisation listed in IFS
  • be from a UK bank regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
  • have a cheque and credit clearing facility

Online accounts are eligible as long as they meet the above criteria.

Innovate UK will accept most banking societies apart from:

  • Viva Wallet
  • Intesa Sanpaolo
  • Equals Money UK Limited
  • Modulr FS Limited

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.

During our financial due diligence checks you must provide evidence of how you will finance your project costs for the duration of your project. Grant claims are submitted three months in arrears.

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 for us to approve. Once approved we will send you an email with permission to start your project on your confirmed start date.

You must not start your project before the date stated on your email and GOL. Any costs incurred before your agreed start date cannot be claimed as part of your grant.

If your GOL is approved on or before the fifteenth of the month it will be dated from the first of that month. If your GOL is approved after the fifteenth, it will be dated the first of the next month.

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 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 has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

We would like to remind you that eligible non-funded business can still benefit from fully funded and bespoke support from the Innovate UK Business Growth service.

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth

Innovate UK Business Growth helps innovation focused businesses make the best strategic choices and access the right resources, in order to grow and ultimately achieve scale.

Our innovation and growth specialists provide our fully funded and bespoke support to clients nationwide. Please visit the service’s website to discover whether you could benefit from this advisory support, which is available to Innovate UK funded and non-funded businesses alike.

Protecting your innovation

A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.

This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, Department of Business and Trade (DBT) and Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (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 DBT and APC 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 Service Provider (MSP) reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK DBT and APC 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, Innovate UK Business Connect, DBT and APC will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Department of Business and Trade’s (DBT) Privacy Policy

Advanced Propulsion Centre UK’s (APC) Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

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 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff

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