Guidance

Energy Entrepreneurs Fund 8A: questions and answers from applicant information presentation

Updated 19 February 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on 26 November 2024

This competition is closed: see the list of recipients of Energy Entrepreneurs Funding.

Questions and answers

These are answers to questions that were asked at the applicant information presentation on 12 February 2021.

Timelines

1. When registering, it asks for a Project Title. Can you change this later on or is the application stuck with that title?

Yes, the project title given in the registration form can be changed in the application form.

2. Are all expressions of interest proceeding to application? Or is it a gatekeeper?

There is no requirement to submit an application following your registration.

Eligibility

Straight forward areas (project status, project location, project duration, grant size)

3. How do you measure the proportion of the project to take place in the UK? Only in financial terms?

The fraction of the project that takes place in the UK is measured as the proportion of the cost of work that is spent on activity in the UK as opposed to outside the UK.

The Guidance Notes state that “Over 50% of the project’s activities must be conducted in the UK.” This does not preclude elements of the project, e.g., testing, from being conducted outside of the UK. Part of the project costs can be spent outside of the UK; however, it would be for you to justify that within your application as being reasonable to the reviewers’ satisfaction in the assessment.

4. Does the 50% UK requirement relate to project costs or duration or both? Alternatively, does it relate to where the technology is going to be manufactured?

The fraction of the project that takes place in the UK is measured as the proportion of the cost of work that is spent on activity in the UK as opposed to outside the UK.

The Guidance Notes state that “Over 50% of the project’s activities must be conducted in the UK.” This does not preclude elements of the project, e.g., testing, from being conducted outside of the UK. Part of the project costs can be spent outside of the UK; however, it would be for you to justify that within your application as being reasonable to the reviewers’ satisfaction in the assessment.

5. Our business relocated to UK from overseas 2 years ago. We are still pre-revenue, and with 5 employees. Could we still qualify as a start up?

If your business has been in existence for more than five years you would not qualify under ‘Aid for Start-ups’.

6. Do you have a position on follow-on funding for previously successful EEF winners - would this be looked upon favorably or are you aiming to fund new innovations?

Successful applicants from Phases 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 may apply for funding for additional activities or new projects under this phase. This work must extend the scope of the previous work to new applications or processes. There will be no advantage for existing EEF projects applying for further funding in the application process, as all applications will be treated on an equal basis in accordance with the competition criteria. You will be asked to declare any previous EEF applications during the application process. Failure to declare previous applications to the Fund will result in the failure of the Eligibility Criteria requirements to proceed to assessment.

Technology scope

The EEF is designed to support as wide a range of projects as possible. It is up to bidders to show how their innovation meets the eligibility criteria, and assessment criteria. In addition to the technology areas detailed in the Guidance Document for EEF 8A, the following technologies would also be in scope of the fund:

• hydrogen technologies
• sustainable biofuels
• low carbon heating sources e.g., heat pumps and thermal batteries
• deep geothermal
• novel solar technology
• hydrolysis
• carbon capture utilisation and storage
• smart energy and smart control approaches

7. Are there any technology areas excluded?

Projects must demonstrate their impact on the 2050 carbon targets and security of energy supply. Provided the project involved these elements and was at TRL 3 – 8, it would be eligible.

8. Does ‘technology’ include software services?

See answer to Question 7. Software services are not explicitly excluded from the fund.

9. Can alternative nuclear energy systems be eligible if they meet all the criteria?

See answer to Question 7.

10. Are technologies that improve the efficiency of biodigesters in scope for the fund?

See answer to Question 7.

11. Would prototype test and techno economic evaluation of a radically different version of airborne wind energy be too wild for the scheme?

See answer to Question 7.

12. Our innovation is about cost savings, configuration management and know-how, and would not normally fall under a patent - it is genuine IP - is that eligible?

See answer to Question 7. Your innovation does not need to be protected under a patent to be eligible for the fund.

13. Can eligible technology/projects that have previously been funded by BEIS (via other innovation funds) apply?

Yes, you can still apply for EEF even if you have been funded by other BEIS innovation programmes. You must be applying with a project that looks at a new development of the innovation and the innovation must be between TRL 3 – 8 at the start of the of the project.

Innovation and TRLs

14. Are projects that are closer higher TRL levels more likely to obtain funding as they are closer to their goal?

Projects must be at TRL 3 – 8 to be eligible for the fund, but no weighting is given at assessment stage to any particular TRL level. Therefore, no preference is given to projects that are higher up the TRL scale and closer to commercialisation.

15. You ask for TRL higher than 3, is it an issue if we are somewhat higher, quite close to market?

Please see the answer to Question 14.

16. We are eligible as a start-up, in this case can your project be more focused on scaling up and rolling out a product as we have developed and demonstrated the technology as a prototype and the main challenges are now in deployment and developing into a commercial product?

Projects must be at TRL 3 – 8 to be eligible for the fund.

17. The guidance asks, ‘Is it a UK market or a global one’? If the technology has a large export market (5 x UK size) but the UK version of the innovation being developed cannot be used due to local market differences, is the cost of developing the localised product eligible?

Projects must be innovation and be less than TRL 8 to be eligible for the fund. Specific product development for different markets is not innovation and will not generally occur until higher TRL is reached.

18. How is ‘innovation’ considered? It is the actual technology or a novel implementation of existing technologies?

‘Innovation’ is the use of new ideas, products or methods where they have not been used before. Existing technologies can therefore be innovation when they are combined in systems in ways that are novel.

Aid intensity

19. R&D spend percentage - “Certified by Auditor” - is this a registered Auditor, or a sufficient to be a Chartered Accountant in practice?

R&D spend can be certified by either a registered Auditor or a Chartered Accountant in Practice.

20. Can a company (consisting of one person) be created for the purpose of applying for this grant as a start-up? In this case the company will have no financial history to show expenses on research activity as required in the guidance notes. The R&D has been spent this financial, year & so the annual accounts have not yet been made up. How do we demonstrate this spend?

Yes, a company can be created for the purpose of applying for the grant. You do not need to supply annual accounts provided the spend has been certified by a registered Auditor or Chartered Account in Practice.

21. Does it make a difference what aid category you apply under if you fall under both?

No. You should apply under the aid category most applicable to your company and project proposal.

22. Is there a limit on the percentage of funding a university collaboration partner can claim individually or collectively? There is no explicit percentage stated in the guidance documentation?

A university collaboration partner can spend between 10% and 70% of the total costs in order for the partners to qualify for the increased grant rates that a collaboration brings.

To note, we welcome university partners when they can add value, but as with other government funding bodies funding higher education institutions, we will not pay more than 80% of the Full Economic Costs (FEC) calculated using the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodology. Any applications requesting items that would ordinarily be found in a department, for example non-specialist computers, should include justification.

23. What is the funding intensity for UK University participating an “Experimental Development - Collaboration” project? The intensities in the guidance documents are for enterprise (large, SMEs, start-up) only.

Please see the answer to Question 22.

24. If we fall within the definition of a start-up but the project involves collaboration with a university, are we automatically considered under Aid for Research?

You cannot apply under ‘Aid for Start-ups’ as a collaboration. You should apply under ‘Aid for Research & Developments projects’ if you are applying in a collaboration arrangement.

25. Is it a collaboration if the University is only subcontractor? Or only a collaboration if the University is a joint applicant?

Please see answer to Question 84 for detail on the differences between sub-contract and partner.

26. Is it possible to have a collaborative project funded as Aid to Start-Ups? If so, do all collaborative partners have to meet the definition? Or, can different partners get funded by different categories? i.e., some partners receiving Aid for R&D, and others via Aid for Start-ups?

It is not possible to have a collaborative project under ‘Aid for Start-ups’, you should instead apply under ‘Aid for Research and Development projects’ which each partner applying the grant intensity that applies to their organisation.

27. If the project is collaborative, can a start-up still access up to 90% start-up funding? Or does the start-up fall back to 80%?

Please see answer to Question 26.

28. Are all types of legal structures accepted for start-ups (Sole trader, partnerships, limited companies…)?

Sole traders are not eligible. Partnerships are only eligible when the partnership has articles of association and has accounts available that show the history of the partnership as an established business entity. For the ‘start-up’ grant, a company needs to have been registered at Company House a maximum of 5 years before the award of the grant offer letter. As legal structures can vary considerably, potential applicants with unusual business structures should contact the EEF email for specific advise on eligibility for their circumstances.

29. R&D spend percentage - we registered the company a few months ago and the founders have largely not been taking salaries until now. We have however paid for some short consultancies, legal and accounting costs, which means our spending could fall under the R&D threshold despite R&D being a major part of the business. Can the R&D percentage take into account unpaid work by the founders?

Only if the founders have a contract with the company to undertake this R&D work before the work commenced and it is audited by an Auditor as R&D spend (See answers to Questions 19 and 20).

30. We are a startup that is 1 year old. For the last year 100% of our activity was R&D but because we are self-funded using savings, we didn’t put money in to pay a salary out. So spend looks like 0 but it is because we are just using our savings personally. Would our 1st year accounts be enough, or do we need to verify with an accountant?

See answer to question 29.

31. Your presentation suggested that it would be preferable for RTOs to be involved in collaborative proposals - can you confirm that RTOs are able to be lead partners for collaborative proposals?

RTOs are able to be the lead partners in collaborative proposals. The RTO role as lead partner should be justified within the project application.

32. Having spent 8 years self-funding a business focused on R&D developing and prototyping airborne wind energy devices are we unable to apply as start-up even though we have miniscule revenue stream from consultancy in that time?

In order to qualify for ‘Aid for start ups’ your company must have been in existence for less than 5 years.

33. Is there a limit on how many projects you can be involved in as a consortium partner?

There is not limit on the number of collaboration partners in a project.

34. Can one of the three partners be a large company i.e., two SMEs and one large partner.

Yes.

35. Would an end-user such as a Council need to formally ‘sign up’ to the project (e.g., their involvement costed even though it is in-kind)?

No, it is not a requirement for an end user to be a partner on a project.

Match Funding

36. Are in kind contributions applicable against the match funding requirements (e.g., staff time against projects)?

We would not accept contributions in kind as match funding, as these are ascribed a notional cost. However, where money changes hands (e.g., for the time of managers or experts who are paid by yourselves or another partner) this would be considered match funding. This applies to all organisations which are required to provide match funding for the BEIS grant.

37. Our contribution is matching Smart grant funding - does that count? Do we count the whole amount or just our 30% match contribution?

Match funding may come from a company’s own resources or external private sector investors but may not include funding attributable to any public authority.

38. Can you provide further guidance around match funding?

Match funding needs to be demonstrated by a transfer of money. The simplest form of match funding is therefore cash. Staff time is acceptable as the staff are paid for their time and therefore money has changed hands in respect of the staff time. In kind match funding, i.e. where a good or service is gifted to the project, cannot be considered as match funding. This is due to audit issues in assigning a value to this type of match funding.

39. What kind of match funding will be available if you are a private equity backed company? The company have <50 employees but private equity is a large company with a multiple portfolio.

Please see answer to Question 38.

40. What do you mean by monetary value in terms of match funding - does this need to be cash paid into the applicants business account or can a consortium partner pay/provide £x value of materials towards a scheme via products you need to procure from them?

Please see answer to Question 38.

41. Are RTOs subject to the same match funding requirements in the guidance documents?

Yes.

42. In the project examples you showed the match funding was way higher than 10%, is a higher share of match funding a criteria for likely success of project application?

No, we do not favour projects that show a higher match funding contribution than required under their aid category. As detailed in the guidance document, the assessors will be looking at the following criteria in the question on value for money:

• has appropriate progress been demonstrated in the innovation given the level of funding received to date?
• is the case for public funding justified?
• how strong is the case for public funding?
• have alternative sources of funding been explored and explained?

43. Will an application score higher if additional match funding than what is required is provided? For example, will this improve our score on value for money?

Please see answer to Question 42.

44. Is ‘large’ as in Table 2 of the doc, actually greater than 250 people. (i.e., defined as medium size as in business definition)?

A large company is defined in the table below:

Company Category	Staff Headcount	Turnover	OR	Balance Sheet Total
Large	>250	>£45m		>£39m
Medium	<250	≤£45m		≤£39m
Small	<50	≤£9m		≤£9m
Micro	<10	≤£2m		≤£2m

45. How is application evaluated if the business setup is change during the funding. For example, currently we are expecting a change in investors and may spin out the renewable business in a new entity with new investors. How does this impact match funding ratio?

The criteria test is applied at the point the Government issues the grant offer letter if the application is successful and subsequent changes are not relevant.

Your application and application process

46. Where to download the application form?

Once you have registered for the fund you will receive a password to enter the online application form. The application form can then be downloaded from the cover page of the online application form. Please note, final applications can only be submitted via the online application form.

47. We can’t access the application form until we have completed the registration. Is the registration a ‘hurdle’ that has to be passed?

No, the registration is not a hurdle to be passed. You must submit a registration form by the 26th February 2021, this is to allow BEIS to plan resource accordingly as we will be able to predict the number of applications we are likely to receive.

There is no requirement for you to submit an application form once you have submitted a registration form.

49. Can you lead one application and be a partner in another or sub-contractor?

A lead company can only submit one application to a specific funding phase. However, you can be a lead company in one application and a partner in another application so long as the applications are for different innovations and you are only the lead company in one application.

50. It was mentioned that there are 10 questions that are assessed? That looks like the process of InnovateUK grants? Are the questions similar?

Yes, there are 10 assessed criteria questions in the application form.

The application may have similarities to other public body innovation programmes, but there will also be distinct differences. We would always recommend you read the EEF 8A Guidance Document that is specific to this fund, as criteria and specifications are likely to vary across funds.

51. Do you have any preference of sole applications vs consortia?

We do not have any preference for sole applications vs consortia. However, you will be expected to state and justify in your project application the amount of sub-contract funding (if any) within the expected spend of the project. You will be expected to explain the necessity for this spend as opposed to the addition of collaboration partners within the project proposal.

52. Are some regions more likely to win support? Or are you looking to spread support across the UK Regions?

There is no weighting given at assessment for any particular location within England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. No location is more likely to win support than another.

53. What is the word limit per question?

Word limit varies across the assessment criteria. If you download the application form (see Question 46) you will be able to see the word limit allocated to each assessment criteria.

54. Apart from carbon reduction criteria, is number of jobs created a criteria for higher success?

No, the number of jobs created is not an assessed criterion in the application form. If you are successful you will be expected to report against several Key Performance Indicators, one of which will be the number of jobs created as a direct result of the project.

A key question is around carbon footprints and how the technology reduces this. It is very difficult to ascertain the carbon footprint that a competitive technology currently creates to benchmark this accurately? It’s often confidential information.

An applicant is responsible for explaining the method used for assessing the carbon footprint and this will be reviewed by the technical reviewers as part of the assessment process.

56. Q5 guidelines advises ‘you should justify cost/tonne CO2 saved, for example explaining where the product/technology would sit on THE Vattenfall/McKinsey abatement curve’. You refer to THE Vattenfall/McKinsey abatement curve and not A Vattenfall/McKinsey abatement curve. Which particular curve are you referring to and can you provide a link please?

Use of Vattenfall/McKinsey curves is just one example that carbon dioxide abatement cost could be explained. It is up to the applicant to decide on the best method for any particular innovation.

57. As an attached doc, would you want corroborating evidence re performance statistics detailed within the submission? These can be very lengthy docs or is this part of the offer as a condition precedent?

A maximum of 5 supporting documents, with a maximum file size of 10MB can be submitted in the ‘Further Information’ section of the online application form. All additional information supplied should be appropriately referenced within the application form text so that assessors can readily refer to it. If information is not appropriately referenced it will not be considered during the assessment process.

Supporting documents should only be attached if you think they serve to provide robust and relevant evidence to the answers given in the assessed criteria.

Having never completed such an application, it is very hard to determine the detail required inc. Gannt chart and Risk register. Are there any “anonymous” completed submissions to view to give a better guide to completion? Otherwise, this could become a competition base upon who writes the best application not the best project?

We cannot provide anonymous completed submissions for guidance. Details of the requirements for the risk register are given in Question 58. In the application form we ask that you submit a detailed Gantt chart, or equivalent project plan.

58. There is no standard format for project Gantt chart. Do you have a standard risk register format to download?

We do not provide a template for the risk register as this will differ according to project. Instead, we give the following guidance in the application form; please submit a risk register covering; key commercial, regulatory, operational, environmental risks including how these will be monitored and managed. Use the column headings below in your reply:

• risk description
• likelihood (Low, Medium, High)
• impact (Low, Medium, High)
• mitigation
• risk assessment (Red, Amber, Green)

59. In the Project Cost Breakdown Form - UK Region - is that the physical location, or where we are registered as a company?

The guidance given at the top of the sheet explains that the UK region should be one of the 12 in the drop down box where the main activity of the project is taking place.

60. The Project Cost Breakdown spreadsheet gives day rates against 220 working days. Are we able to amend this, if our day rates are based against a different assumption of working days?

This figure is given as an example of how the day rate may be calculated, so you can ignore it. You may amend the working days in your own calculations to suit the requirements of the project plans.

62. The Project Cost Breakdown spreadsheet suggests that we should use a day rate against staff members, and an overhead. Is this overhead in addition to salary, or should we be using actual salaries to calculate a day rate?

Overheads (indirect costs) are defined as all those eligible costs that cannot be identified and calculated by the grant recipient as being directly attributed to their Energy Entrepreneurs Fund project.

63. The guidance document states that Overheads are set at 20%, but under some circumstances can be between 10-40%, are you able to advise further against these circumstances?

It is up to the applicant to justify why the standard overhead rate is not applicable to their project based on the nature off the work and we will look at the strength of these arguments in assessing the application.

64. Can you add collaboration partner to share the funding later in the project? How does this impact funding and process of claims?

Yes, it is possible to add a collaboration partner later in the project. This would be dealt with through a formal change request procedure with suitable justification provided for the change. The levels of funding adjusted with the consortium would be managed on a case-by-case basis. We would expect to agree to add a collaboration partner only when it could be demonstrated that the need for this partner could not have been foreseen at application stage.

65. With Consortium applications, having completed the Partner Details form (3 partners max) where do we include information about additional partners?

In the online application form you can add up to 3 Partners. If you need to add additional partners please click on this link to download the excel spreadsheet where you can add contact and organisation details. You then need to upload this form to the section on Further Information at the end of the online application form.

66. Is there any additional support to applicants in terms of helping them to find partners, helping them to complete the application form and to check if their project idea is in scope?

Other than the guidance given on the EEF 8A webpage, no additional support is given to support applicants in finding partners or in completing the application form. If you have any specific questions that are not answered here or in the EEF 8A Guidance Document, or if you have any specific accessibility requirements you can email entrepreneur@energysecurity.gov.uk, where we will endeavor to advise you.

67. What If I am successful?

Will the current EEF processes be applied or are, given that the delivery of the EEF is subjected to a new tender, new procedures anticipated for this round.

The current EEF process and procedures described here and in the EEF 8A Guidance Document will not be subject to material change. The existing Acceleration Support contract is currently in the process of being re-tendered, therefore we cannot stipulate exactly how this service will structured, however the detail given on Acceleration Support in Part 1, Section 2 of the Guidance Document accurately describes the service to be provided. Any additional procurement of a third-party delivery partner for monitoring services to the fund will not effect any of the stated processed and procedures of the fund.

68. Grants need an “Independent Accountants Report” - a Chartered Accountant in practice, or does it have to be a registered auditor?

BEIS would expect the accountant to be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The lead grant recipient typically leads on identifying and engaging with an appropriate accountant. Individual consortium members are however permitted to have accountant report undertaken separately on their incurred eligible expenditure. Under these circumstances, the separate accountant reports are still expected to cover to full value of incurred eligible grant costs across all consortium members during the relevant period.

Other

69. Please could you tell us for the earliest-stage start-up that you have funded, approximately how old it was, how many staff it had and how large its turnover was?

This information is not available.

70. Can you claim funding for domestic customer recruitment. It may help support early stage start-ups?

You can claim for customer recruitment for a trial of a new technology, but generally sales and promotion costs are not innovation and are not eligible costs.

71. A new start- up company with no trading income - a director is currently unpaid and will have responsibility of driving and delivering this project. Can their salary costs be included in the project costs funded by this grant?

Yes, this would be an eligible cost.

72. What fraction of applications typically meet the 60% threshold for the continuation for the appraisal process?

Please see the table below for the total number of applications funded in each EEF Phase. Unfortunately, the number of applications passing the 60% threshold is not available.

Phase	Available Funding	Total Number of Applications	Number of Projects Funded
1	£16m	206	31
2	£10m	135	22
3	£9m	96	19
4	£4.5m	78	14
5	£13m	153	27
6	£10m	116	22
7	£10m	105	23

73. Presumably as few as 11 projects could be funded, is there a higher likelihood of success if you apply for less than the £1m maximum?

Successful applicants will be those with the highest scoring applications, regardless of the grant size.

74. Can you clarify point 7.5 of the Guidance Document? - Grant Use : “Companies should note that the grant may not be used to subsidise commercial activities and that where BEIS awards a grant for the purpose of the development of commercially usable prototypes or pilot projects, any revenue generated from such commercial use will be deducted from the grant (and, where the grant has already been paid, will be required to be returned to BEIS).” Does that mean any revenue generated from EEF funded commercially usable prototypes must be returned to BEIS?

Yes, but this only applies when demonstrators and examples of the technology funded directly through the grant are then sold.

For an early stage start-up, can you claim funding if the idea leads to a positive gross margin as part of the sale to customers? The margin does not take into account development & people cost for which match funding will be claimed for.

This is an innovation programme and is not meant to fund specific product development. Please see the answer to Question 73 about when BEIS will claim a return when demonstrators are sold.

75. If unsuccessful, does this prohibit future applications for funding?

Applicants who did not receive funding in the EEF Phases 1 to 7 will be eligible to re-apply for funding in this phase. However, applicants are only permitted to submit an application for the same technology development project twice. If they are unsuccessful on both occasions, they are not allowed to resubmit the same project a third time. This guidance would also apply to future EEF competition rounds.

76. Will the “winners” be spread around the various technologies or is it genuinely the best projects regardless i.e.,10 projects all in battery tech and non in wind?

Successful applicants will be those with the highest scoring applications, regardless of technology area.

77. With regard follow-on funding for previous EEF projects, how different do they need to be?

If you have been previously received funding from EEF, any follow-on application must be for a project that looks to make a new development in the innovation.

78. Could you comment please on the import and integration or a technology being developed overseas. As a licensee implementing this technology in the UK would you be eligible for funding?

This competition is for developing innovation, and an import of technology developed overseas into the UK is not eligible.

79. If we work closely with a University running an analogous project funded by EPSRC does this have any bearing, given they are both funded from government sources? Should this be declared in the application?

In Question 9 of the Assessment Criteria in the application form you will be asked to “Please list all grant funding received to date and currently being applied for include funding body, project/activity funded, amount, date”. There is no bearing on the application so long as the funding you have already received is for a distinctly different aspect of the development of the innovation.

80. Can you please explain what happens if a milestone is not delivered because the business had to adapt to changing consumer-regulatory-market landscape? What flexibility exists to tweak the milestone delivery and what it is being measured as and the Tolerance to underclaim funding than the budgeted amount?

Successful applicants will be assigned a Project Monitoring Officer (PMO). The PMO will then become the projects main point of contact BEIS. PMOs are ultimately responsible for reviewing and approving evidence at milestones claims so that invoices may be paid by BEIS finance. It is therefore really important to engage your PMO as early as possible when you are aware that changes may need to be made to your milestone delivery schedule. Your PMO will then work with you to help you make any changes. We except tolerances of ±10% on milestone claims, anything greater than this would need additional BEIS approval. We aim to be as flexible as possible within the bounds of the Grant Offer Letter Terms and Conditions.

81. If the reason for the grant is to help fund the project, you have stated to claim against Milestones for drawdown of the grant the invoice has to be already paid. It may be that the drawdown is required in order to pay the invoice - how is this situation managed in this situation?

Before your project starts, BEIS will ask for credible evidence that you have the funding mechanisms in place to manage your cash flow across the life of your project. This could include letters of credit, letters of intent to invest from individuals or organisations or other such mechanisms. We do not expect you to have cash deposits to cover the entirety of your project at the start. If you do not complete your project due to cash flow problems that you could have anticipated and managed, we may request repayment of any grant already issued to you.

BEIS will not make payments in advance of need. BEIS understands, however, the difficulties which small businesses may face when financing this type of project. BEIS will explore cash flow issues with the applicant as part of developing the financial and milestone profile within the Grant Offer Letter. BEIS will offer flexibility in terms of profiles and payments, within the confines of the requirements for use of public money within which it operates.

82. Can you clarify how the claims for payment (assuming successful) work? Is it just in line with the agreed milestone schedule or is it back to back with company invoices?

Claims are paid in accordance with your milestone schedule which is detailed within your Grant Offer Letter. These have to be costs incurred and proof of these are required (at different levels depending on the magnitude of the claim and as outlined in the grant offer letter- see also the answer to question 85).

83. Will technologies that could ultimately be deployed in the UK be favoured over others where the eventual end-use would likely be outside the UK?

No, technologies will not be favored either way.

84. Can you please define the difference between subcontractor and a collaborator? Partly because of Covid we will have to spend over 50% of any grant with subcontractors, some are large companies not an SME like us. The subcontractors will not retain any IP or share of exploitation of the product.

A partner is named within the Grant Offer Letter and the relationship between the lead and partner is governed by a collaboration agreement. A partner’s costs must be reimbursed at cost, i.e., unlike a sub-contractor they may not include a profit in the costs they are paid. A sub-contractor is selected by the lead to complete specific tasks. They can make a profit and, if not named in the application, must be appointed following a formal competitive procurement process.

You will be expected to state and justify in your project application the amount of sub-contract funding (if any) within the expected spend of the project. You will be expected to explain the necessity for this spend as opposed to the addition of collaboration partners within the project proposal.

85. Can you explain the report duties for successful applicants? Can the reporting duties be accounted for in the labour costs under a heading such as ‘Reporting Duties’?

Yes, reporting duties can be accounted for under eligible labour costs.

The following key processes will be part of the reporting duties for successful applicants:

• your Monitoring Officer will contact you monthly to understand your progress
• you will submit a quarterly report using a prescribed template
• you will submit Key Performance Indicator (KPI) spreadsheet on a quarterly basis

When making a claim against a milestone you will be required to provide the following documentation:

• evidence as specified on your milestone schedule 
• invoice with the project specific Purchase Order number
• signed Director’s Declaration (template in the GOL)
• claim form detailing spend
• invoices for spend above £10,000 including evidence that you paid them i.e., bank statement

Single claims over £100,000 need an Independent Accountants Report (Where an assurance report is required, the grant recipient is responsible for paying the accountant’s fees and the grant cannot be used to do so. The accountant’s fees, together with VAT and out-of-pocket expenses, should be agreed directly with and billed to the grant recipient).

86. Who runs the Acceleration Support Services?

The existing Acceleration Support contract is currently in the process of being re-tendered, we therefore do not know who will be delivering the acceleration support service to EEF 8A. We do know that these services will be provided by an external delivery partner contracted to BEIS. Carbon Limiting Technologies Ltd provide these services to the existing EEF Phases 5,6 and 7.

87. Please can you confirm how grants are awarded or recognised from a tax/accounting perspective?

BEIS cannot give tax and accounting advice; we would recommend you seek expert advice from a tax consultant or accountant. The answer to this question will depend on the individual company circumstances.

Questions added 23 March 2021

88. Are non-university RTOs able to claim 100% of costs?

Yes, non-university RTOs e.g., catapults can claim 100% of project costs so long as they do not claim any central funding from government for research. Universities can only claim costs at 80% FEC. In all cases, the reviewers will be asked to consider value-for-money for the resources requested, so it is important that only resources required to deliver the work are requested.

89. Can you apply under ‘Aid for Start-ups’ in a consortium?

No. If you are applying as a consortium you must apply under ‘Aid for Research and Development Projects.

90. Will BEIS consider a project that includes both Industrial Research tasks and Experimental Development tasks?

Yes, you are allowed to apply at the appropriate grant rate for the proportion of the project that is defined under the given categories.

This is not an approach we see very often so the application form and project cost breakdown form may not be entirely suited to applying both categories (and thus grant rates). We would therefore recommend you give detail on your approach in a short doc attached in the supplementary document section at the end of the application. That way assessors will be able to understand your thinking.

91. I am planning to apply as the lead applicant of a proposal on X technology. I also got an invitation from another company to participate in their proposal on another subject. Is it allowed?

Your company can be the lead applicant on one proposal and part of a consortium in another proposal, but the innovations for the two projects must be different. You can only submit one application as the lead applicant.

92. Do carbon emissions at UK Overseas Territories count as UK emissions?

No, not for the purposes of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund.

93. Do we need to price staff time using actual staff salaries rather than any standard day rates?

To price staff time you should include all direct costs relating to and including salary e.g., national insurance contribution, company car etc. This costing should not include overhead rates, these are ‘indirect costs’ and should be calculated separately. Therefore, day rates would not be applicable as these usually include overheads and frequently a profit margin.

94. Is EEF for the development and demonstration of technologies specifically for the UK’s decarbonisation target?

EEF is for the development and demonstration of technology not for the sale of products arising from the technology. The development and demonstration of the technology has to demonstrate an impact of carbon savings or security of supply in its potential market – this is not UK specific.

95. The guidelines advise that at least 50% of the project activities must be conducted in the UK. Are only project activities conducted internationally that directly relate to developing a technology specifically for the UK’s decarbonisation target eligible?

So long as the project is for the development and demonstration of a technology and 50% of the project costs are UK based, then other directly related project activities conducted internationally are likely to be eligible. However, it would be for the applicant to justify that within your application as being reasonable to the reviewers’ satisfaction in the assessment.

96. Could you comment please on the import and integration or a technology being developed overseas. As a licensee implementing this technology in the UK would you be eligible for funding?

This competition is for developing innovation, and an import of technology developed overseas into the UK is not eligible.

97. Can a non-UK company lead an application?

The lead applicant for the fund must be a UK registered company. You can be a non-UK registered company if you are a partner on an application so long as 50% of the project activities are within the UK.

98. For collaborative proposals, does the match funding need to be provided equally from all collaborators, or can for example a Lead Collaborator contribute all of the match funding, with a research body not contributing match funding?

The match funding does not need to be provided equally – the consortium can decide for themselves who is going to provide the required funds.

99. As a start-up our company does not have any financial history. How do we show 10% of total operating expenses is on R&D and have an auditor certify this if nothing has yet been spent?

So long as the R&D work for the new company accounts for at least 10% of the total operating costs in the first financial year of its existence, that would suffice. As you are a new company you do not need to show financial history at application stage.

100. Do universities need to apply through the JeS system, with a copy of the JeS form included in the application?  

Universities do not need to apply through the JeS system.

101. Does having a large company within our consortium mean that the entire group is only eligible for a grant of up 40% of the project costs? Or does funding available for each company change based on the company? e.g., the two small companies can have up to 65% of their costs covered, and the large company only 40%?

Each company within the consortium should apply the grant rate eligible to them – having a large company in the consortium does not preclude the other companies receiving the higher grant rates.

102. Does a company need to be VAT registered to apply for the fund?

No, a company does not have to be VAT registered to apply. Please note that the grant will count against income for the business, and this might mean that you pass the threshold and need to get registered if you are successful in winning a grant. Grant recipients cannot charge recoverable VAT on invoices submitted for payment to BEIS.

103. Please may BEIS provide some kind of schedule of acceptable hourly/daily rate and provision of office space, computers etc?

Hourly/daily rates will depend on grade of staff and their skills. Therefore, you will need to calculate a reasonable market rate of pay for a person of this skill level and add onto that other costs which are a direct result of employment- for example employer national insurance figures. These will be then reviewed in the value for money assessment as whether these are reasonable by our panel of technical experts.

We cannot give a specific figure as this will depend on what the role is doing in the project and their required skills.

104. The Q&A document mentions that “A university collaboration partner can spend between 10% and 70% of the total costs” – does this also count for non-university RTO collaborators?

Yes, no single undertaking in a consortium should bear more than 70% of the costs.