India – UK Collaborative R&D for industrial sustainability

Fund details

Your proposal must include at least one business partner from the UK and one business partner from India.

Your project must demonstrate:

• a clear game-changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
• a strong and deliverable business plan addressing market potential and needs
• sound, practical financial plans and timelines
• value for money
• a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
• clear potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
• the benefits and value of participants from the countries working together
• a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
• a clear route to exploitation

Your project must focus on one or both of the following themes.

Sustainable materials and manufacturing

Your project must focus on at least one of these areas:

• enabling technologies for sustainability, including digital solutions, sensors and controls, bio-based feedstocks, waste recycling and value-added processes for waste streams
• new supply chain and business models for the manufacturing, materials or foundation industries (glass, paper, cement, ceramics, chemicals and metals), including, but not limited to, the move to a circular economy,
• industrial symbiosis, co-location and servitisation
• new and efficient production processes for the manufacturing, materials or foundation industries, including, but not limited to, transformative low-temperature processes, waste heat capture and recovery systems,
• planning optimisation
• smart design for resource efficiency and through-life value using effective design methods​
• next generation materials involving the discovery, scaling, processing and adoption of advanced and sustainable materials​
• other sustainability improvements for the manufacturing, materials or foundation industries

Power electronics, machines and drives

Your project must focus on one or more of these areas:

• power electronic semiconductor fabrication or device packaging, including innovations in Gallium Nitride and Silicon Carbide
• power conversion innovations including invertors and convertors for any application, such as electric vehicles or energy systems
• electric machine design innovations, including design for manufacture, for any application
• electric machine control innovations, including design and manufacturing
• magnet manufacturing and end-of-life recycling solutions
• electric vehicle (EV) chargers
• 2 and 3-wheeler electric vehicle powertrains

Innovate UK will not fund projects that:

• work on non-civilian applications
• are not in scope
• do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria
• do not have an eligible Indian partner
• do not submit all mandatory documentation
• request grant of below £100,000 or more than £300,000 from Innovate UK

Eligibility

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of between £100,000 and £300,000
• start by 1 March 2024
• end by 31 August 2025
• last between 6 and 18 months

Projects must:

• be innovative
• be a new product, process or service
• involve a technological risk
• have a high market potential in the participating countries

UK project partners must carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.

The consortium must include at least one business registered in India that is a separate legal entity, not linked to the UK partners.

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be a UK-registered business of any size
• be or involve at least one grant claiming UK-registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
• collaborate with an Indian registered business, which must be a separate legal entity, not linked to the UK partners

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition, but they are limited to no more than 20% of the total eligible costs of the UK participation.

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

Talk to us today if you would like to apply for this opportunity.