Funding competition APCUK: ARMD4 Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator 4
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £25 million for late stage R&D projects that help accelerate the UK transition to zero emission vehicles and towards a net zero automotive future.
- Competition opens: Monday 27 January 2025
- Competition closes: Wednesday 2 April 2025 11:00am
Or sign in to continue an existing application.
Competition sections
Description
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and the automotive industry and academia, to invest up to £25 million of DBT grant funding in the Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator 4 (ARMD4) competition.
The aim of this competition is to develop a product or process demonstrator, to enable increased capability, and create commercial exploitation opportunities as a result of the project. The project will develop future zero emission technology as a key element in the UK’s transition to a zero emission automotive industry.
Your proposal must explain how zero emission vehicle technology development will be significantly accelerated through your project and must clearly describe how these products will be brought to market.
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. Any final decisions on the grant award will require ministerial approval.
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 grant funding request must be between £500,000 and £1.5 million. Your project must be a minimum of 50% match funded, with 65% of the grant being utilised before 31 March 2026.
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 grant funding request of between £500,000 and £1.5 million
- be a minimum of 50% match funded, for example, if you are asking for £500,000 in grant your total eligible project costs need to be a minimum of £1 million
- utilise 65% of the grant budget by 31 March 2026
- last between 9 and 12 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- start by 1 October 2025
- end by 30 September 2026
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.
Lead organisation
To lead a project or work alone your organisation must:
- be a UK registered business of any size
- have an active registered business base in the UK
- be a grant recipient
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:
- they set up an active UK registered business where the funded project work will be carried out by the start of the project
- provide evidence of an intention to expand their R&D activity in the UK during and after the project
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.
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 subcontractors 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 are no limits 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:
- failed to exploit a previously funded project
- have an overdue independent accountant’s report
- failed to comply with grant terms and conditions
- have overdue industrial contribution payments to the APC
- cannot demonstrate the source of match funding
Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us 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 £25 million has been allocated by DBT to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
A minimum of 70% of your 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
The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC)
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 develop a product or process demonstrator to show increased capability and commercial exploitation opportunity, as a result of the project. The project will utilise future zero emission powertrain technology as a key element in the UK’s transition to a zero emission automotive industry.
Your project must work towards delivery of zero emission on-vehicle technologies for on-road or off-road vehicles.
Vehicle applications in scope must include:
- on-highway including last mile
- off-highway including agriculture and mining
In the case of on-road solutions, we will only support project proposals which aim to achieve zero harmful tailpipe emissions.
Capability demonstration can be through:
- a physical vehicle or subsystem
- a process demonstration in the relevant environment
- an equivalent digital demonstrator
Technology maturity expectations for this competition should be achieving TRL 5-6 or MRL 4-5 by completion, based on published Automotive Technology and Manufacturing Readiness Levels.
As a key component of the dissemination requirements for this competition, there will be an opportunity to showcase project outcomes at the 2026 CENEX Expo. All projects should be prepared for potential selection to represent the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) at this event.
Your project must demonstrate the advancement of on-vehicle technologies in one or more of the following areas:
- energy storage, batteries and their components and integration systems
- fuel cell systems and their components and integration systems
- electric machines and their components and integration systems
- power electronics and their components and integration systems
- internal combustion engines (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 engines (ICE) for off-road applications, we will fund project proposals that support a transition to zero emissions, utilising non-fossil fuels
- lightweight materials, methods and processes
- hydrogen storage and management systems
Projects can include:
- design for circular economy and sustainability, including the disassembly, recovery, and reuse of materials used in the project technologies
- digitalisation of design for manufacture and recycling, development of zero emissions vehicle innovation, manufacture of vehicle systems and subsystems, data analytics, redesign, test and validation and verification
You will be required to provide a close-out report and case study at the end of your funded project.
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, vehicle applications, markets, technological maturities and research categories which are aligned to policy and regulatory deadlines to enabling automotive transformation. This includes the transition to fully zero emission vehicle manufacturing. We call this a portfolio approach.
Research categories
Projects we will not fund
We are not funding projects that are:
- focused only on the development of clean fuels
- not aligned with the UK’s net zero research innovations framework
- requesting more than 50% grant for total project costs
- predominantly off-vehicle
- 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
- 27 January 2025
- Competition opens
- 11 February 2025
- Online briefing event at 11am: watch the recording
Briefing slides are now available to download from Supporting Information.
- 2 April 2025 11:00am
- Competition closes
- 1 May 2025
- Feedback questions issued
- 9 May 2025
- Applicants response to feedback questions
- 4 June 2025
- Applicants notified
- 1 October 2025
- Project start by
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
- if collaborative, 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:
- Project details.
- Application questions.
- 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
Describe your project briefly and be clear about the demonstrator which will be delivered. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.
Your answer can be up to 100 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 can happen before you start your project.
Your answer can be up to 100 words long.
Scope
We expect that the technologies or processes being developed through this competition will already have reached an appropriate level to ensure you are able to deliver an on-vehicle demonstration or manufacturing capability proven in the relevant environment by the end of the project.
Applicants must describe how their project aligns to the competition objectives and associated technology themes, providing up to date evidence where possible.
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 400 words long.
2. Application questions
The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 13. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.
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 your project.
We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.
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 in place by your project start date.
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.
Question 5. Strategic rationale and market opportunity
Describe why this project is critical to each applicant’s business strategy outlining the customer problem that this application can solve.
Additionally, quantify and explain:
- the market size, trends and potential
- the competitive market conditions which the project seeks to change or take advantage of
- your realistic serviceable and obtainable market, including identification of potential applications in other sectors
- growth potential and scalability of the product or service
- the distribution and route to market strategy including potential partnerships, supply chain opportunities and intellectual property rights advantages
A credible route to market must be identified and you must specify any letters of support you have received.
For large organisations, evidence of senior sponsor and parent company support for the project should be provided.
You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF, up to two A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 6. Innovation
Describe:
- what is innovative about your project and evidence why it is innovative both commercially and technically comparing it to what is currently available on the market
- the current development status of elements of the project. Clearly state the starting TRL and MRL for the innovation. Concisely evidence and justify the reasoning for the development status provided
- how the know-how or intellectual property of the consortia members is likely to advance because of the project
- in terms of commercial innovation, how the existing technology or process is being applied in a new way and how this will deliver business benefit to the partners: if applicable, describe where any areas of technology transfer should have been specified, for example, where technology is migrating across sector boundaries
Question 7. Technical approach and Project Management
How will you approach the project to ensure efficient, effective and timely delivery?
You must:
- provide an overview of the technical approach your project will take clearly stating its deliverables and outputs
- describe the structure and content of the work packages indicating lead partner assigned and cost of each
- describe the technical design and validation and engineering challenges to be addressed
- outline your key milestones including the frequency and nature of project reviews
- identify the simulation, test and validation activities to achieve the sufficient TRL/MRL for this competition
- justify quantities and responsibilities for the significant engineering spend items
- show your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones
- describe your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to achieve a successful outcome
- show the project management reporting lines including how governance and executive sponsorship will be implemented
As the project must start on or before 1 October 2025, project start up is critical, therefore explain your delivery plan to achieve this, and provide confidence that you can start within this time, including the ability to match fund as per Question 8 and 11.
You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to two A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 8. Team and Supply Chain
Can the project team be assembled, with the necessary skills and experience to deliver the project objectives?
Explain:
- why and how the team will be ready to start by 1 October 2025 highlighting any required recruitment plans
- the complementary capabilities of your team and any consortium members and the specific know-how or expertise they will contribute
- your capacity and the capacity of any partners in terms of design, test and development, prototyping and manufacturing activities
- how any gaps in the team’s capabilities will be addressed, including the use of identified subcontractors where applicable along with any future relationships established as a result of the project
- how your organisation and any partners fit into a manufacturing supply chain for the product
If projects are single entity, then you need to justify how you have the capability to deliver the project as such, and why this is the best solution for the successful delivery of the project.
Question 9. Risk management
What are the risks affecting the project and how will the consortium manage them?
Describe:
- the main risks and uncertainties of your project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks
- how you will mitigate these risks
- the key tools and mechanisms that will be utilised, to provide confidence that effective controls will be in place
You are encouraged to avoid understating risk levels, as this may be interpreted as failure to recognise the importance of risk management to the success of the project.
You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to two A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Question 10. Project dissemination
How will you plan to disseminate the results of your project following successful delivery, this can include, but is not limited to:
- new web content
- customer presentations
- industry exhibits
- conferences and seminars
- written publications
You must provide:
- a clear description of what will be delivered
- an accurate description of all aspects of the demonstrator with clear owners
- information on potential interactions with the Cenex Expo attendees
- details of how potential outputs of the demonstrator can be exploited, for example, products or services, processes or applications
List or describe how the potential outputs of this demonstrator project can be exploited, such as: products or services, processes, or applications. Be clear how these outputs will be exploited by partners and organisations within the project and beyond, where applicable.
You will be required to provide a close-out report and case study at the end of your funded project.
Question 11. Costs
How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?
Explain:
- your total project costs
- the grant you are requesting
- how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer and provide evidence on how each partner will finance their contributions to your project
- 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
- justification for any high value spend items
Question 12. Added value
How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation?
You must provide evidence that the funding will increase the total amount that the consortia partners spend on R&D in the UK.
Explain and evidence:
- the advantages public funding would offer your project, for example, accelerated development
- what your project might look like without public funding
- the benefits from involvement of the partners
- the wider benefits to the UK supply chain and automotive sector
- potential economic and environmental benefits, such as jobs created or safeguarded
- projected investments and additional spend required to achieve your ambitions, highlighting the sources of funding.
- growth in sales and profitability and any carbon or air-quality savings
Question 13. ARMD Economic Monitoring Form (not scored)
You must download and complete the ARMD Economic Monitoring form.
You must upload the completed worksheet as an appendix to Question 13 and write “Worksheet Uploaded” as your response to this question.The information provided will be used as part of the assessment process.
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.
Following initial scoring the independent assessors will pose a set of additional questions for the applicant to provide clarity on outstanding concerns. These questions will be consolidated and a set of consolidated questions will be sent to the lead applicant to respond. You have eight days to respond to these questions as a consortia or individual applicant.
Your responses will then be shared with the original technical assessors and they will be asked to review their scoring in light of these responses.
All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding recommendation unless you are notified otherwise
You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.
Background and further information
The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) collaborates with UK government, the automotive industry and academia to accelerate the industrialisation of technologies that support the transition to zero emission vehicles and towards a net zero automotive supply chain in the UK.
Established in 2013, the APC, with the backing of the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT), has facilitated funding for 302 low-carbon and zero emission projects involving 529 partners. Working with companies of all sizes, this funding is estimated to have helped create or safeguard over 59,000 jobs in the UK. The technologies and products that result from these projects are projected to save over 425 million tonnes of CO2.
With deep sector expertise and cutting-edge knowledge of new propulsion technologies, the APC’s role in building and advising project consortia helps projects start more quickly and deliver increased value, accelerating new technologies to market. The APC works to drive innovation and encourage collaboration, building the foundations for a successful and sustainable UK automotive industry.
In 2020 the UK Government established 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 accessed through the APC and awarded by DBT 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 apcuk.co.uk or follow us @theapcuk on X and Advanced Propulsion Centre UK on LinkedIn.
APC competitions are formally delivered in partnership between the APC, Innovate UK and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).
This competition is part of a wider set of investments across transport at Innovate UK.
Working with our partners, we are investing to accelerate innovation across Aerospace, Road, Rail and Maritime. Our work covers key themes such as net zero and the future opportunities presented by new technologies, such as autonomy and to tackle practical challenges seen every day in the transport system.
This is aligned to our Transport Vision 2050 which we have published after extensive engagement with UK industry and stakeholders. You can read the Vision and contribute to the debate at UK TRANSPORT VISION 2050.
You can also find out more information about what we do across our transport programmes at Innovation in transport.
The 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 the 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:
Please note that the APC’s role is to provide indicative guidance rather than formal advice. To contact the APC email info@apcuk.co.uk.
Briefing recording and slides
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
- a copy of your bank details
You will need to provide the following within 30 days (including weekends and bank holidays):
- a collaboration agreement, if collaborative
- 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 all organisations are UK registered with access to the funds necessary to complete their project.
You must check your IFS portal regularly and respond to any requests we have sent for additional information to avoid any delays.
If you are not a UK registered organisation or fail to complete project setup this 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
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. 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, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) (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 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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