Funding competition UK-Sweden EUREKA proposals for aerospace research and development

UK organisations can apply for a share of up to £2.25 million to develop aerospace technology in partnership with Swedish companies through EUREKA Network Projects.

This competition is now closed.

Register and apply online

Competition sections

Description

The UK and Sweden are announcing a joint funding competition for aerospace research and development (R&D) projects under the EUREKA Network Projects programme. You must develop projects which have strong market potential for the UK and Sweden. All applications must follow the aerospace strategies guidance of both the UK and Sweden.

We welcome project ideas covering any aspect or aspects of civil aerospace or aeronautics.

The national funding agencies will fund their respective participants in the projects. Please contact your agency for further guidance.

UK contact details

Innovate UK Customer Support Services: support@innovateuk.gov.uk

Sweden contact details

Lars Nybom, Vinnova: +46 847 33 123, lars.nybom@vinnova.se

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s total costs must be between £200,000 and £1 million. Projects can last between 12 and 36 months. You must have started your project by 1 July 2019. Earliest start date is 1 March 2019

Who can apply

You are invited to present joint proposals for industrial research and development (R&D) projects. Any organisation can apply, including research institutes, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and larger businesses.

We encourage you to include at least one SME.

Your collaboration must:

  • be led by a business
  • include at least one business in the UK and at least one in Sweden
  • only include partners that are separate, non-linked legal entities

Each partner must carry out the majority of their funded work within the country from which they receive funding. This is the UK for Innovate UK funding and Sweden for Vinnova funding.

A UK business must be eligible to receive state aid. If you are unsure please take legal advice. For further information please see our general guidance.

Organisations from other EUREKA member states can participate, provided:

  • your project meets the minimum participation levels for UK and Sweden organisations
  • the partners have secured funding

Funding

We have allocated up to £2.25 million to fund innovation projects in this competition. The amount of funding available per project partner is subject to national rules and regulations.

Your project will not be funded for more than 50% of the total eligible and approved costs for its R&D at national level. The funding level for businesses will be limited to the EU General Block Exemption Regulations (GBER).

No individual partner or individual country’s partners can take more than 75% of the total eligible project costs.

Subcontract costs must not exceed 20% of each partner’s total costs.

UK requirements

The Innovate UK research, development and innovation scheme provides state aid in accordance with GBER. All UK projects and applications must comply with state aid rules.

Sweden requirements

We will fund businesses’ eligible costs up to the levels presented in table 1 of the Vinnova funding guidance (this document is in Swedish).

Your proposal

We welcome ideas covering all aspects of civil aerospace or aeronautics.

Your project must align with the national aerospace strategies of the UK and Sweden, which include:

  • structures
  • materials
  • systems
  • propulsion
  • manufacturing processes
  • through-life engineering services (TES)

We are looking to fund a portfolio of projects across a variety of technologies.

Your proposal must say how intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries.

Your proposal must explain:

  • why this research is being conducted internationally
  • the benefit of participants from the 2 countries working together
  • how this adds value

Project types

For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a small business
  • up to 60% if you are a medium-sized business
  • up to 50% if you are a large business

Public sector, academic and research institutes can receive funding of up to 100% of their eligible costs provided your project is part of their non-economic activities.

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund projects that:

  • have non-civilian applications
  • do not include at least one UK and one Sweden based company

23 July 2018
Competition opens
20 August 2018
Briefing event for UK applicants.
7 September 2018
UK and Sweden briefing event in Stockholm.
24 October 2018 12:00pm
Registration closes
2 November 2018 12:00pm
Competition closes
10 December 2018
Funding agencies' consensus meeting.
31 January 2019
Applicants notified

Submission and assessment procedures

This is a description of the UK application process only. Further details are available in the guidance for applicants.

Stage 1

The lead applicant must download and complete the EUREKA project application form on behalf of their consortium.

Email the form to projects@eurekanetwork.org. The subject line must be: UK-Sweden Aerospace competition 2018

Applications will be checked for eligibility by the EUREKA National Project Coordinators.

You must also submit your application form and supporting documents by clicking the green register button above. You will be asked to create an account.

Only give costs and duration for the implementation phase. As this is not a 2-stage application for funding you can leave definition phase empty.

We recommend you notify ATI of your intent to submit an application to ensure adequate provision is made for suitable assessment.

Stage 2

Independent assessment will take place in both the UK and Sweden. Panels will include a set of independent experts from the UK and Sweden.

At the same time projects will be assessed by panels led by the ATI in the UK and Innovair in Sweden for eligibility against the respective national strategies. National decisions will be made at this stage.

Stage 3

A joint UK and Sweden consensus panel will agree which projects to fund. It will use a portfolio approach. The EUREKA Network will decide which of the successful projects will be put forward for a EUREKA label.

Vinnova and Innovate UK will make the final decision on which projects to fund.

Background and further information

EUREKA is an intergovernmental network launched in 1985. Its aim is to support market-oriented R&D and innovation projects by industry, research centres and universities across all technological sectors. It is composed of 41 member states, including the European Union, represented by the European Commission, and 3 associated states:

  • Canada
  • South Africa
  • South Korea

With its flexible and decentralised network, EUREKA offers project partners:

  • rapid access to skills and expertise across Europe
  • national public and private funding schemes

The joint UK-Sweden call for proposals is an initiative between the UK Aerospace Research and Technology (UKART) Programme in the UK and Innovair, the national strategic innovation programme for aeronautics in Sweden.

The UK Aerospace Research and Technology (R&T) Programme represents a £3.9 billion joint UK government and industry investment to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace design and manufacture. The programme is co-ordinated and managed by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK. The 3 organisations work in close collaboration to deliver a coherent portfolio of projects to meet the objectives and priorities of the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy.

Innovair is Sweden’s national strategic innovation programme for aeronautics. The aim of the programme is to co-ordinate and support stakeholders from industry, universities, institutes, associations and government agencies active in the aeronautics sector. The main objective is to promote favourable conditions for a strong aeronautics industry in Sweden and to strengthen this sector through increased collaboration, research and information dissemination. Innovair is a strategic innovation programme funded by Vinnova and Swedish defence authorities.

If you need more information, contact the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357 or email us at support@innovateuk.gov.uk.

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