Deadline: 21-May-2024
Applications are now open for the Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) to support proof-of-concept projects that could lead to the development of successful new transport research products, processes, or services.
Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) provide early-stage funding for innovations in science, engineering, or technology delivered by The Department for Transport’s (DfT) project delivery partner, Connected Places Catapult. TRIG is designed to support organisations by providing easily accessible grants, alumni, and wrap-around support from Connected Places Catapult to bring innovations closer to the market. The programme also provides a collaborative space for innovators, including academics, SMEs, and large businesses, to work with DfT’s policy teams on realising shared goals. Since 2014, over £12 million has been awarded to 400+ projects.
TRIG aims to:
- Stimulate the development of new technology solutions to DfT challenges.
- Provide innovators with support to try out new ideas – to show early promise; or fail fast.
- Join up innovators with DfT colleagues in a safe setting and allow them to learn together.
- Help create future leaders in transport, whilst driving jobs and growth.
For TRIG 2024, DfT will offer innovators grants of up to £45k across four separate challenge areas, in addition to an Open Call challenge to undertake early stage feasibility studies.
Scope
- Under the open call, the DfT is seeking innovative ideas that have the potential to address a UK transport challenge, across all modes and technology areas. It should be noted that although the open call is available for solutions to all transport challenges, applicants should consider their proposals within the context of DfT’s priorities and innovation needs. There are four other calls within the 2024 programme, as detailed below.
- Open Call
- The purpose of the Open Call is to seek innovative ideas that have the potential to address a UK transport challenge, across all modes and technology areas. It should be noted that although the open funding call is available to solutions to all transport challenges, applicants should consider their proposals within the context of DfT’s priorities and innovation needs laid out below.
- Scope
- The Department is specifically seeking innovations that have the potential to address the DfT strategic aims and are not suited to any of the targeted calls.
- DfT’s Strategic Aims are:
- Grow and level up the economy – Improve the connectivity across the UK and grow the economy by enhancing the transport network on time and on budget
- Improve transport for the user – Improve transport users’ experience, ensuring that the network Is safe, reliable, and inclusive
- Reduce environmental impacts – Tackle climate change and Improve air quality by decarbonising transport
- They will consider any science or technology that could contribute to improving the transport system. For example, this could include:
- Investigating equality of access to transport services for all users
- Investigating the performance of a new low carbon fuel
- Exploring new ways of exploiting DfT and other transport datasets to improve services e.g., open bus data
- Designing new tools to increase the safety of women on public transport
- Creating tools for encouraging mode shift and active travel
- Budget and Bidding
- The total budget available for the open call is approximately £135,000. They are looking for up to 3 projects of up to £45k each; however, the final number of projects funded will depend on the number of quality applications received, value-for-money, and the policy needs of DfT.
- Local Transport Decarbonisation
- Transport is the largest emitting sector of greenhouse gases across the UK economy1 and local transport has a key role to play in helping the UK to achieve net zero by 2050.
- Considering transport decarbonisation at a local level recognises the importance of each individual city, town and village, and the unique challenges faced by local areas across the UK. They want every place in the UK to be cleaner, greener and healthier, and to make places more prosperous and pleasant environments to spend time in and enjoy. Developing innovative solutions to local challenges is crucial to reducing transport emissions and accelerating the transition to net zero.
- This call seeks to address these challenges. It will support SMEs, industry and academia to access research and development support to progress innovative proofof-concept projects. These will have the potential to deliver emissions reductions and other benefits including improvements to air quality and better-connected communities.
- Scope
- The Department is seeking innovative technologies and approaches that have the potential to accelerate the decarbonisation of local transport systems. These projects should take a place-based approach, demonstrating an understanding of the needs of local areas and communities, whilst also having the potential to be scaled-up across the UK in the future.
- Examples of previous projects include a replicable model for rural EV car clubs, a transport decarbonisation planning digital twin, and a sodium-ion powered battery quadricycle.
- Areas of interest include but are not limited to:
- Future of transport solutions such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS)
- Supporting the uptake of lower-carbon transport modes
- Integration of transport modes such as Mobility Hubs
- Shared mobility and micromobility solutions
- Planning tools to drive transport decarbonisation
- Tools or solutions to support active travel or measure the impact of active travel
- Improving transport connectivity in rural areas, including supporting lowcarbon tourism
- Accessibility in low-carbon transport modes
- Improving journeys and user experience of low-carbon transport modes through data
- The following examples are out of scope for this funding call:
- Projects which do not demonstrate the potential to be scaled up in a local area
- Projects which do not have the potential to deliver carbon reductions
- Projects which only focus on data collection
- Project which only focus on maritime or aviation (including passenger aviation)
- Budget and Bidding
- Applicants can apply for a project grant of up to £45,000.
- The budget available for the Local Transport Decarbonisation funding call is approximately £270,000. They are looking to fund 6 projects, however the final number of projects funded will depend on the number of quality applications received, value-for-money, and the policy needs of DfT.
- Maritime Decarbonisation
- Within transport, maritime emissions are significant: UK domestic shipping alone emits more greenhouse gases than buses and rail combined, and without intervention, domestic shipping emissions will continue to rise. The UK has a legislative target of Net Zero by 2050, but the lifespan of vessels is approximately 25-30 years, so intervention is needed now.
- In March 2022, the Government allocated £206m research and development funding to the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions programme (UK SHORE) in the DfT to accelerate the technology necessary to decarbonise the domestic maritime sector.
- Through the UK SHORE programme, the Government is tackling the technical barriers that shipbuilders, their supply chains, and ship operators face in adopting clean propulsion technologies. This will help to bridge the gap between these and conventional technologies, driving the UK towards the domestic Net Zero targets. The UK SHORE programme will also help industry to capitalise on the emergence of new markets, placing the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacture of zero emission vessels.
- UK SHORE interventions are aimed at addressing different barriers to maritime decarbonisation over a range of technology-readiness levels (TRL). The successful TRIG projects will feed a pipeline of innovation, enabling the development of clean maritime technologies towards commercialisation and deployment. This will decarbonise maritime transport and develop the UK’s competitive edge in clean technologies. As a result, it will allow them to meet the DfT strategic aim of growing and levelling up the economy – contributing to the UK’s wider global impact.
- Scope
- Given the breadth and scale of UK SHORE interventions that are being delivered up to 2025, the DfT is using TRIG to support innovators conduct early-stage proof of concept of clean maritime solutions.
- Projects must be focussed on clean maritime solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the UK’s maritime sector, as set out in the Clean Maritime Plan and support the transition to Net Zero by 2050.
- Projects must have an innovative aspect, although this does include products being used in innovative ways, outside of their original intended use.
- Projects could focus on:
- Low and zero-emission fuels, energy sources and vessel technologies.
- Land side infrastructure to facilitate the update of low and zero-emission fuels, energy sources and vessel technologies.
- Energy efficiency measures to facilitate the uptake of low and zero-emission fuels, energy sources and vessel technologies.
- Smart shipping technologies, automation and artificial intelligence that delivers indirect emissions savings for any size of vessel.
- Example successful projects from previous rounds:
- A project exploring the safe bunkering of liquid hydrogen in congested port environments.
- A project developing an accessible auto EV-charger for use in the maritime sector, improving charging infrastructure for the diverse users of boats and vessels.
- A project designing and developing a prototype of a floating solar charge station for electric vessels.
- The following examples are out of scope for this funding call:
- Projects that have been awarded funding from other UK SHORE funded competitions for the same work.
- Projects derived from bids that were unsuccessful in securing funding via other UK SHORE funded competitions, that do not clearly meet the scope and eligibility criteria of this TRIG competition.
- Capability demonstrations of currently marketed or existing technology.
- Projects that focus only on increasing the efficiency of current conventional fossil fuels and powertrains of maritime vessels.
- Projects involving aqua culture.
- Projects focused on marine conservation and ecology, such as mapping the sea floor.
- Budget and Bidding
- Applicants can apply for a project grant of up to £45,000.
- The budget available for the UK SHORE funding call is approximately £360,000. They are looking to fund up to 8 projects, however the final number of projects funded will depend on the number of quality applications received, value-for-money, and the policy needs of the DfT.
- Critical and Emerging Technologies
- This is a time of great technology-driven change, not just in transport, but in all sectors. The jump in capability in systems they refer to collectively as AI has catalysed a set of second order changes in almost all other technologies, based on AI’s general-purpose ability to accelerate R&D. This group of technologies includes AI itself, but also 5- and 6g connectivity, quantum technology and a whole range of novel life sciences referred to as Engineering Biology. Government is responding to this opportunity through the creation of the Department for Science Innovation and Technology and publication of the Science and Technology Framework.
- In transport, they recognise that these emerging technologies have huge potential, but also that as primarily an engineering sector, transport is a great place to be trying out and demonstrating technologies of all types. The transport sector is a complex system which generates vast quantities of data from users, vehicles and infrastructure. It also is something that they use every day and hence understand well, no matter the worldview. This makes transport a great place for innovators, as well as for innovations and it is all these reasons that make them excited about being able to offer Emerging and Critical Technologies funding again in TRIG 2024.
- Scope
- The scope for this call is not constrained to one transport mode or outcome, but projects will need to be able demonstrate they are playing a role in the journey of emerging technologies in transport.
- Technology Areas
- The scope for this call is not limited to a particular transport mode or outcome, but all projects must have a transport focus and project types could include at least one of the following principal areas of interest:
- AI in transport across all modes: Projects which investigate the novel application of AI in transport or autonomy in the air, at sea, on the waterways, or on the ground. This can include projects on which focus on data, but they must have some AI implementation and can’t be purely about data.
- Resilient and novel Position Navigation and Timing Technologies: New ways of understanding where they are and how to set routes, plus any technologies that support accurate timekeeping to support transport system operations and their resilience.
- Digital Connectivity and Sensors: 5G, 6G and other digital connectivity networks which can support the efficient movement of people and goods across the transport system, the operation of vehicles and craft, and the understanding of how the infrastructure is performing.
- Engineering Biology: Novel applications of biological technology to transport system challenges, such as novel fuels, cementitious materials, or components of vehicles, craft or infrastructure.
- Novel use of drones on the transport system: Any emerging use of drones either as part of the transport system (e.g. delivery) or in support of it (e.g. inspection of transport infrastructure)
- Pathway to personal air mobility: Solutions to the challenges on the pathway to personal air mobility. This could include components of craft, systems that help them complete journeys or technologies that underpin the wider system.
- Pathway to smart infrastructure: Innovations that help them make the infrastructure truly smart including low-cost sensors, low energy communications and the monitoring systems that make use of the data outputs.
- Digital Twins: Application of Digital Twinning technology in transport to support private sector to realise the benefits through innovation, enable federation between stakeholders, and align with the DfT priorities and National Digital Twin programme.
- The scope for this call is not limited to a particular transport mode or outcome, but all projects must have a transport focus and project types could include at least one of the following principal areas of interest:
- Budget and Bidding
- Applicants can apply for a project grant of up to £45,000.
- The budget available for the Emerging Technologies and Digital Twins funding call is approximately £225,000. They are looking to fund up to 5 projects, however the final number of projects funded will depend on the number of quality applications received, value-for-money, and the policy needs of DfT.
- Nation-Specific Transport Solutions
- All parts of the United Kingdom are faced with geographic, technological and behavioural barriers to improving connectivity and delivering cleaner, greener and more sustainable transport systems. These barriers are more pronounced in some places than others.
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland face unique challenges, across all modes, most of which can be attributed to physical geography and population distribution. In addition, some areas are disproportionately affected by socioeconomic and environmental factors that have exacerbated connectivity issues and limited the capacity to reduce carbon emissions.
- To address these challenges, deliver better transport outcomes, and accelerate the transition to Net Zero, the Department is drawing upon the knowledge, expertise, and creativity of innovators across the UK to help find tailored solutions.
- This call seeks to underpin a collaborative approach to tackling nation-specific transport challenges by supporting SMEs, industry and academia to access research and development funding to progress innovative proof-of-concept projects.
- Scope
- The Department is seeking innovative technologies and approaches that have the potential to improve connectivity and reduce emissions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. With limited funding options available, they need to work collaboratively with partners to deliver creative solutions to these challenges.
- Projects should take a place-based approach, demonstrating an understanding of local, regional and national needs.
- Applicants should set out how the challenge they are seeking to tackle is particularly problematic in, or unique to, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. If the challenge is shared, to varying degrees, with other parts of the UK, applicants should consider how and where their project might have broader applications.
- Areas of interest include but are not limited to:
- Decarbonisation
- Emerging technologies/digital adoption
- Data sharing
- Better EV infrastructure
- Rural connectivity
- Tackling skills shortages/upskilling transport planning
- Mitigating adverse weather/environmental factors
- Developing transport applications utilising links to, or by-products from, heavy industry
- The following examples are out of scope for this funding call:
- Projects which do not have any demonstrable applications in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
- Budget and Bidding
- Applicants can apply for a project grant of up to £45,000.
- The budget available for the Nation-Specific Transport Solutions funding call is approximately £225,000. They are looking to fund up to five projects, however the final number of projects funded will depend on the number of quality applications received, value-for-money, and the policy needs of DfT.
- Open Call
Why Apply?
- Innovation Funding
- Up to 100% funding to develop your innovation
- DfT Collaboration
- Gain insight from policy teams at DfT
- Networking
- Join a cohort of like-minded innovators, shaping ideas and exploring new opportunities
- Business Support
- Support from Connected Places Catapult covering a range of business areas including investment readiness
- Solution Showcase
- Opportunities to showcase your innovation projects to industry experts and representatives from DfT
Eligibility Criteria
- TRIG provides 100% grant funding and is open to all businesses (including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) and universities to support research, proof of concept and prototyping work. Organisations must be based in the UK (excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) but are able conduct elements of work through overseas contractors. However, projects and technologies or services must be fully delivered and deployed in the UK.
- TRIG is open to public, private and third sector organisations in addition to universities and research and technology organisations.
- Mandatory requirements for entry:
- Proposals should all prove an innovative concept, taking an idea typically from TRL 2 (basic research) to TRL 4 (proof of concept/small scale prototype)
- Your organisation must have a UK registered company number and office
- They will consider proposals from consortia. However, the lead applicant who will receive the funding must be identified
- Applicants submitting more than one competition entry need to demonstrate the ability to deliver the projects concurrently
For more information, visit Connected Places Catapult.