Notice

Competition brief: manufacturing and materials round 2

Updated 19 January 2017

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-competition-manufacturing-and-materials-round-2/competition-brief-manufacturing-and-materials-round-2

1. Dates and deadlines

Competition opens Monday 21 November 2016
Briefing event(s) for applicants Wednesday 23 November 2016
Registration deadline Midday (12.00pm) on Wednesday 18 January 2017
Application deadline Midday (12.00pm) on Wednesday 25 January 2017

2. The competition scope

The aim of this competition is to stimulate and broaden innovation in manufacturing and materials. Innovate UK will fund a range of projects that address identified technical or commercial challenges. These aim to lead to increased productivity, competitiveness and growth for UK businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A project may focus on technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development. This will depend on the challenge identified.

Innovation to enable competitiveness and growth in manufacturing and materials may come from many avenues. For example:

  • addressing the manufacturing readiness of growing sectors
  • the development of more flexible or efficient processes
  • processes that enable greater customisation of products to fit diverging consumer needs
  • the development of materials for targeted performance specifications
  • the development of materials for ease of manufacture
  • the diversification of product and service lines to address new markets
  • the development of novel services that open up new sources of revenue from manufacturing

A project must cover at least one of the following areas:

  • innovation in a manufacturing system, technology, process or business model. For example, in process engineering, industrial biotechnology, mechanical conversion processes, coatings, surface engineering, textiles, supply chain management, new product introduction processes or remanufacture
  • innovation in materials development, properties, integration or reuse. For example, for light-weighting, energy generation and storage (heat and electricity), electronics/sensors or operation in demanding environments

For this competition, materials include but are not limited to:

  • nanomaterials
  • ceramics
  • metals and inter-metallics
  • polymers
  • composites
  • coatings
  • smart materials
  • joining of dissimilar materials

You must show how your proposal will enable a step change in competitiveness and productivity for at least one UK SME involved in the project.

Your project must focus on a manufacturing or materials innovation, rather than a product innovation. This means the main challenge and risk in the project will be in the manufacturing process or materials development.

An element of production innovation could be in scope. For example, a process or materials innovation could depend on a product innovation (such as a tool or piece of equipment). The main purpose of that product innovation would be to enable the manufacturing process or materials innovation.

We encourage projects for manufacturing and/or materials innovations with the potential to impact more than one application sector.

3. Projects that we won’t fund

In this competition, we are not funding:

  • projects focused on compound semiconductor applications. There was a recent competition on this
  • product or prototype development where the main innovation, challenge or risk is not in the manufacturing process or materials
  • projects that apply existing and well-known manufacturing processes to develop a new product, without significant innovation challenges in the processes themselves
  • projects that involve choosing a suitable material for a product from a library of known materials, where there is no further significant technical development of the material or innovation in the manufacturing process

For example, the following projects would be in scope:

  • a project focused on developing new material properties for a sensor or probe to allow it to operate in a harsh environment
  • a project using sensor data to optimise a manufacturing process (for example, in a factory or refinery)

But a project developing a new sensor or probe, without a focus on manufacturing or materials challenges, would not be in scope.

4. Find out if you are eligible to apply

To lead a project, you must:

  • be a UK-based business
  • carry out your project in the UK
  • be an SME if you wish to work alone on a project no longer than 12 months and with costs of less than £100,000
  • work in collaboration with others (businesses, research base and third sector), if your project has costs over £100,000 or is longer than 12 months

Projects may include non-grant-receiving partners (for example, non-UK businesses), but they will not count as collaborators for projects with costs over £100,000.

In addition, companies can only:

  • lead 1 project per competition
  • be involved in 2 projects per competition
  • apply twice with the same project to any competition, that means 1 re-submission only

5. Funding and project details

We have allocated up to £15 million to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is divided up as:

  • up to £5 million for projects lasting up to 1 year
  • up to £5 million for projects lasting up to 2 years
  • up to £5 million for projects lasting up to 3 years

All projects must involve at least one SME and a business must lead the project.

Project costs of up to £100,000

If you are an SME and expect your eligible project costs to be up to £100,000 and the project to last no longer than 12 months, you may run the project on your own. You may also work with other businesses or research organisations.

Project costs of £100,000 or above

If you expect your eligible project costs to be more than £100,000 or the project to last longer than 12 months, you must work with other organisations. At least one of these must be an SME.

Project types

Your project may focus on technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development. This will depend on the challenge.

For technical feasibility studies and industrial research, you could get:

  • up to 70% of your eligible project costs if you are a small business
  • up to 60% if you are a medium-sized business
  • up to 50% if you are a large business

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

  • up to 45% of your eligible project costs if you are a small business
  • up to 35% if you are a medium-sized business
  • up to 25% if you are a large business

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

We expect projects to last 6 months to 3 years. We expect them to range in size from total costs of £50,000 to £2 million. This will depend on the type of research activity you are carrying out. We may consider projects outside this range. Please contact us at least 10 days before the registration deadline to discuss further.

6. How to apply

To apply:

We will not accept late submissions. Your application is confidential.

External, independent experts assess the quality of your application. We will then select the projects that we fund, to build a portfolio of projects as described in the competition guidance for applicants. Please read this carefully before you apply.

Please read the general guidance for applicants. It will help your chances of submitting a quality application.

7. Background and further information

All industrial sectors rely on manufactured products, materials and associated services. The UK ranks as the 9th largest producer in the world (output of $247 billion). It accounts for 3% of global manufacturing output. Manufacturing accounts for 11% of UK GVA (gross value added). It represents 50% of exports and 69% of business research and development.

The manufacturing process and the materials used can be sources of competitive advantage. New manufacturing technologies or new materials can enable new types of products or service. This can drive productivity and profitability by increasing output or reducing inputs required. This competition is seeking to support manufacturing and materials as enablers of product innovation.

The High Value Manufacturing Catapult is the catalyst for the growth and success of UK advanced manufacturing. It helps industry speed up the journey from technology concept to commercialisation. The 7 Catapult Centres work with companies of all sizes and sectors. They offer open access to industrial-scale cutting-edge equipment, expertise and collaborative opportunities.

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

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