Deadline: 26-Jan-22
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is accepting applications for innovation projects to reduce environmental impact within manufacturing processes. The aim of this competition is to develop digital innovations to improve the sustainability of manufacturing processes. This must result in either reduced material or reduced energy consumption.
This competition is split into 2 strands:
Strand 1 – Digital innovation with manufacturing data
- Data capture
- Data visualisation
- Pattern identification
- Autonomous decision & action
- IDTs within strand 1 can include AI and Machine Learning.
Strand 2 – Digital innovation in manufacturing processes
- Projects can comprise of any other Industrial Digital Technology (IDT) where the activity meets the scope of the call.
Your project must apply to either Strand 1 or Strand 2.
Focus Areas
Your project must focus on developing digital solutions to:
- Reduce the amount of waste or other in-process material losses through the manufacturing steps
- Reduce the energy consumed by a manufacturing process
- Better sequence or schedule the manufacturing operations to reduce material or energy consumption
- Better separate waste materials to facilitate material reuse
Funding Information
- Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £1 million and £8 million.
- For strand 1, the total grant funding for your project must not exceed 50% of your total eligible project costs.
- For strand 2, the total grant funding for your project must not exceed 40% of your total eligible project costs.
For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:
- Up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
- Up to 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation
- Up to 50% if you are a large organisation
Eligibility Criteria
- Have total eligible costs between £1 million and £8 million
- Not exceed the maximum grant limit of 50% of your total eligible costs for strand 1
- Not exceed the maximum grant limit of 40% of your total eligible costs for strand 2
- Start by 1 September 2022
- Last between 12 and 24 months
- Involve a single factory or multiple factories
- Include both manufacturing and digital technology capabilities in your consortium
- Be applicable to at least 1 manufacturing sector
- Carry out all of its project work in the UK
- Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
Ineligible Funding
- Apply for a grant level in excess of the limit for the competition strand
- Include an overseas partner
- Are not showing how both manufacturing and digital technology capabilities are represented in the consortium
- Are not focused on activities for manufacturing production processes
- Are not delivering CO2e or kWh savings from within the manufacturing processes
- Are primarily focused on design, use phase or end of life
- Are general factory infrastructure for example heating and lighting
- Are primarily focused on switching to a different energy source
- Are construction, other than manufacturing activities carried out off-site within a permanent fixed factory
- Are offsite repair and overhaul
- Are activities focused on supply chain connectivity, warehouses, distribution centres or flying factories
- Are projects where the main exploitation route is not within manufacturing
- 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
- Are 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
For more information, visit https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/1063/overview