Notice

Competition brief: innovation in infrastructure systems

Updated 14 September 2016

This notice was withdrawn on 21 September 2017

This competition is no longer open. Search current funding opportunities.

1. Dates and deadlines

Competition opens	4 July 2016
Brokering events	7 July 2016 (Glasgow) 12 July 2016 (London) 19 July 2016 (Bristol) 21 July 2016 (Manchester)
Briefing event	12 July 2016
Registration deadline	Noon on 14 September 2016
Application deadline	Noon on 21 September 2016

2. The competition scope

‘Infrastructure systems’ describes the systems that provide critical societal services. These include energy, mobility and those services that enable towns and cities to thrive. As these systems face increasing social and environmental pressures, we need innovation to ensure:

• resilience to change
• fitness for purpose in the future
• optimal value from investment

The aim of this competition is to speed up and broaden the innovation which creates UK business growth in infrastructure systems.

We are looking to fund a portfolio of projects. These may include technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development projects. We expect projects to last between 3 months and 3 years.

To be in scope, a project must show clear and significant innovation in one or more of the following areas:

• energy systems
• nuclear fission
• offshore wind
• connected transport
• urban living
• smart, resilient and sustainable integrated infrastructure

These areas are described in more detail in the specific competition themes section below.

The type of innovation project will depend on the nature of the challenges and opportunities facing your business.

You must also show how your proposal will improve business growth, productivity and/or create export opportunities for at least one UK SME involved in the project.

3. Specific competition themes

We are encouraging applications that will provide better infrastructure systems in the UK and beyond.

We welcome applications from one or more of the following areas:

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

Projects that we won’t fund

In this competition we will not fund:

• 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 automotive, rail, air 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

4. Find out if you are eligible to apply

To be eligible you must:

• include at least one UK-based SME
• carry out most of your project in the UK
• have a project that lasts between 3 months and 3 years
• have total eligible project costs of between £25,000 and £5 million. (If your project costs are outside this range, you should discuss this with us before 31 August 2016)
• have a project that meets the descriptions of feasibility study, industrial research or experimental development
• meet the criteria outlined in the competition scope

Find out if your business fits the EU definition of an SME

5. Funding allocation and project details

We have allocated up to £15 million to fund innovation projects. We expect projects to last between 3 months and 3 years.

We expect to make available up to:

• £5 million for projects with eligible costs of up to £100,000 and lasting 3 months to 1 year
• £10 million for projects with eligible costs of up to £5 million and lasting over 1 year and up to 3 years

We expect projects to range in total costs between £25,000 and £5 million. If your total project costs are outside this range, please contact us to discuss this before 31 August 2016.

Project costs of £25,000 to £100,000

If you are a UK SME and expect your total eligible project costs to be £25,000 to £100,000, you may run the project on your own. You may also work with other businesses and/or research organisations.

Project costs of £100,000 to £5 million

If you expect your total eligible project costs to be more than £100,000 you must work with at least one other organisation. At least one partner must be a UK SME.

Project types

Your project may focus on technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development, depending on the challenge you identify.

For technical feasibility studies and industrial research, you could receive up to:

• 70% of your eligible project costs if you are a small business
• 60% if you are a medium-sized businesses
• 50% if you are a large business
• research and technology organisations (RTOs) can receive up to 100% of eligible costs (80% of full economic costs for academics) with their total project costs capped at 30% of project size. RTOs can include universities, research institutes, not-for-profits, Catapults and local authorities

For experimental development projects, which are nearer to market, you could receive up to:

• 45% of your eligible project costs if you are a small business
• 35% if you are a medium-sized business
• 25% if you are a large business
• RTOs can receive up to 100% of eligible costs (80% of full economic costs for academics) with their total project costs capped at 30% of project size. RTOs can include universities, research institutes, not-for-profits, Catapults and local authorities

If individual work packages within your proposal correspond to different research categories, you should add the costs of each package together to find your total project cost.

For more information on the research category definitions read the guidance for applicants.

International partners are welcome to take part in a project but are not eligible for Innovate UK funding.

6. How to register and apply

To register and apply:

• register online
• read the guidance for applicants
• watch the 12 July briefing event recording.
• complete and submit your online application form

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
• reflect a range as described in the scope
• address opportunities across a range of industrial sectors
• reflect the potential for short, medium and long term return on investment for the company and the UK

Read the general guidance for applicants before you apply. It will help your chances of submitting a successful application

7. Background and further information

Infrastructure forms the backbone for economic stability, growth, competitiveness and productivity in modern society. It is vital for social well-being and environmental sustainability.

Connecting innovators to customers is a critical step in an innovation’s route to market. This is particularly true in the infrastructure systems sector. It is also important to provide follow-on support to proven solutions. This may help innovators achieve their first commercial contract and exploit their idea. We will support projects that offer disruptive solutions to challenges relating to infrastructure systems. These projects will develop business cases as well as testing their solutions.

Market opportunity

Estimates for the annual global capital project and infrastructure spend are over £6 trillion per year by 2025. There is £425 billion of planned public and private infrastructure investment in the UK according to the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2016-21. Transport and energy account for £390 billion of this total. The market for systems ensuring smart and resilient infrastructure is growing fast. Factors that will stimulate future growth include societal challenges such as a growing population. They also include urbanisation and the need for decarbonisation.

UK capability

The UK has a world-leading capability to provide infrastructure solutions. These serve a broad range of future demands. UK-based companies have expertise in providing radical solutions in many different areas. This includes engineering, architecture, energy, intelligent mobility of people and freight and communications. It also includes the digital economy, legal, insurance, security and finance. A strong base of creative start-ups is emerging. This is providing new disruptive solutions in high-growth areas. These are areas not usually associated with infrastructure delivery companies. This includes expertise in open data, the internet-of-things, plus robotics and autonomous systems. These capabilities are well supported by an excellent research base from across UK academia.

Timeliness and impact

Infrastructure is facing significant challenges, both in the UK and across the globe. We have an ageing infrastructure that needs upgrading and enhancing at a national level. There are increasing demands on industry to innovate to meet these challenges. This places UK businesses in an excellent position to provide innovative national infrastructure improvements. This can also help us showcase the nation’s capability to the world and to increase exports.

In developing nations, growth and urbanisation are fuelling major infrastructure projects. Globally, the number of urban residents is growing by almost 60 million every year. Environmental change and population growth highlight the lack of resilience in infrastructure systems. Examples of this include flooding, drought and capacity challenges. These issues are a priority for the UK government’s Aid Strategy and Prosperity Fund. Societal challenges such as fuel poverty, terrorism and lifestyle diseases are also prompting changes to infrastructure to make it more adaptable and better integrated with social systems.

Added value

New solutions for infrastructure are risky. They can be capital-intensive both to prove and to commercialise. These factors often inhibit private investment at the early stages of development. Public investment can catalyse disruptive ideas and unlock private investment once the early stages have been de-risked. Smart and resilient infrastructure solutions are likely to be multi-disciplinary in nature. They need collaboration across the economy between businesses in energy, construction and transport. They need to pull in new technologies from the digital, communications, sensors, electronics and novel materials sectors. These connections and collaborations are less likely to occur on their own. Innovate UK supports the development of radical solutions that businesses may not otherwise develop.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact the Knowledge Transfer Network

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