Competition brief: first of a kind deployment of innovation
Updated 24 August 2016
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1. Dates and deadlines
| Competition opens | Monday 18 July 2016 |
| Briefing event for applicants | Tuesday 12 July 2016 |
| Registration deadline | Noon on Wednesday 24 August 2016 |
| Application deadline | Noon on Wednesday 31 August 2016 |
2. The competition scope
The aim of this competition is to enable selected innovative infrastructure systems solutions to take the final step to market readiness by proving:
- repeatable financing and business cases for the innovation
- that the innovation delivers the expected outcomes when integrated in complex real-world applications
The competition will support innovative solutions for system challenges in:
- energy generation and supply
- connected transport
- urban living
You should base your proposal on at least one of the following:
- solutions for affordable, sustainable and secure energy delivery
- solutions for connected transport through the integration of multimodal transportation systems
- integrated solutions to systemic challenges in urban areas
- resilience of infrastructure and cities to environmental and societal pressure
The competition will be in 2 phases:
Phase 1
Phase 1 will fund the integration of new solutions into complex real-world projects. At the end of this phase, you will need to provide a business case for using the solution in a commercial environment. You must tell us the amount of funding you will need from Innovate UK to carry out your project.
You will also need to tell us how you would use alternative finance products, if available in the future, to develop a similar project. You should apply for the lowest amount of funding needed to carry out your project. This is public money so you should show how you are providing value.
Phase 2
In Phase 2 we will award funding to the best business cases. This funding will be for testing your innovation in a user-facing project. We will judge business cases on the future growth impact of the innovation and value for money.
You must have an innovative solution that is field-tested and ready for use with an end customer by 1 April 2017.
3. Specific competition themes
The competition aligns with Innovate UK’s priorities for the infrastructure systems sector. This is to speed up the commercialisation of new scalable solutions into:
energy systems
- Innovations in the ability to match energy supply and demand. These should create significant improvements in value proposition, energy affordability, security and environmental sustainability.
nuclear fission
- Innovations that lead to major cost reductions, improved asset integrity and supply chain development for current and future UK and global civil nuclear markets including decommissioning.
offshore wind
- Innovations that, when in use, will result in substantial reductions in the cost of energy from offshore wind
connected transport
- Balancing transportation infrastructure peak demands through innovative system design and integration. Connecting people and goods through intermodal transport. At the same time, improving network capacity, efficiency and operational cost
urban living
- Citizen-centric solutions to meet the changing needs of cities and urban areas. These solutions should integrate different urban infrastructure systems. This will provide significant improvements in costs and user experience. These systems include:
- ’hard’ systems such as energy, transport, waste, water and communication
- ’soft’ systems such as data, security and sensors
- ’social’ systems including law and justice, health, social care and education
- ’environmental’ systems
smart, resilient, sustainable integrated infrastructure
- Innovations that could lead to an improvement in the integration of energy, transport and urban systems with each other, and with other infrastructure systems:
- to provide better intelligence, functionality, productivity, security, flexibility, capacity and/or lifetime performance
- to lower the risk of failure
- to reduce costs and/or emissions
- Developing the UK supply chain to create cross-cutting innovations. These could include digital, sensors or autonomous systems in infrastructure systems
You must:
- develop business models and value propositions that are repeatable following this first deployment
- provide a route to market for new innovations by helping SME innovators partner with lead customers. You can also help them work with regulated industries and local authorities
4. Projects that we won’t fund
In this competition we are not funding projects that cover the initial development of innovations. You must have an innovative technology that is well developed. It must be ready for use in a real-life environment.
Innovations that focus only on the following themes are not in scope:
- innovations in technologies to generate only one of the following - electric power, motive power, light, heat or cooling. Note that civil nuclear fission and offshore wind are in scope
- energy end-use efficiency, for example in domestic appliances, industrial processes, vehicles or building fabric
- single transport modes or propulsion systems (for example cars, rail or marine)
- fossil fuels (exploration, appraisal, production, processing, transport, distribution or end use)
- minor incremental innovations that are unlikely to improve UK economic/SME growth
5. Find out if you are eligible to apply
To lead a project you must:
- be a business of any size
- carry out your project in the UK
- work alone or in collaboration with others (businesses, research base and third sector)
- involve an end customer and an SME in your project
6. Funding and project details
We have allocated up to £19 million to fund innovation projects in this competition, with funding of up to 100% available.
The competition will be in 2 phases:
Phase 1 - funded study
We expect projects to range in size up to total costs of £50,000. Projects should last up to 3 months.
Phase 2 – testing the innovation in a commercial environment
We expect projects to range in size from total costs of £250,000 to £5 million. You must deploy your project within 1 year but you can take a further year to show outcomes. All claims must be complete by March 2018.
At least 50% of the contract value must be for research and development services. You will be able to keep any intellectual property generated through this contract.
7. How to apply
To apply:
- register by noon 24 August 2016 and apply
- read the guidance for applicants for this competition - a link will be available here when the competition opens
- watch the 12 July briefing event recording.
- complete and upload your online application on our secure server
We will not accept late submissions. Your application is confidential.
Our assessment processes changed in May 2016. External, independent experts assess the quality your application. We will then select the projects that we fund, to build a portfolio of projects that are:
- high quality and good value for money
- reflect a range as described in the scope
- address opportunities across a range of industrial sectors
Read the general guidance for applicants before you apply. It will help your chances of submitting a successful application
8. Background and further information
Major trends and challenges are creating enormous pressures on the complex and interdependent social and technical infrastructure systems that underpin modern societies. These trends and challenges include: * ageing populations * urbanisation * changes in the ways we live and work * climate change
These pressures and planned major infrastructure projects will create domestic and export opportunities for UK businesses. These businesses must be able to develop, commercialise or adopt innovative solutions that are quick, easy, cost-effective and provide:
- extra capacity
- adaptability
- resilience
- future-proofing
- other novel functionalities
The Innovate UK priority areas are:
- energy systems
- supply of nuclear and offshore wind energy
- connected transport
- smart and resilient infrastructure
- urban living
Innovation is essential if society is to get the most value out of its infrastructure over the coming decades. But disruptive innovation in these sectors needs to overcome significant barriers. Innovators need to prove their products will work in a commercial environment. Their products also need to work when integrated within complex socio-technical infrastructure systems. Proving all these things is essential for SMEs with disruptive solutions. Without this, they are unlikely to be able to sell their products or get insurance against warranty provision. This programme enables SMEs to achieve both of these objectives.
If you want help to find a project partner, contact the Knowledge Transfer Network
If you need more information, contact the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357 or email us at support@innovateuk.gov.uk