Sustainable Smart Factory

Fund Details

Your project must apply digital technology development to improve manufacturing processes within a production facility, to deliver more environmentally sustainable production processes that reduce material or energy consumption. Your project must be an innovative development or novel application of data or an industrial digital technology (IDT). The competition comprises of two strands:

Strand 1: Digital Innovation with Manufacturing Data. Your project must be data-centric and can involve significant use of data sets. Data use will be the primary focus of your project, where the data element will be the main driver of the resource efficiency or energy efficiency improvements. You must provide a robust case for your project being data-centric for inclusion in this strand.

Strand 2: Digital Innovation in Manufacturing Processes. Your project can have a significant focus on other IDTs, but may still be supported by data sets. Data use will be secondary to the main technology focus, where the data element is likely to support resource efficiency or energy efficiency improvements.

Your project must focus on developing digital solutions to:

• reduce the amount of waste or other in-process material losses through the manufacturing steps
• reduce the energy consumed by a manufacturing process
• better sequence or schedule the manufacturing operations to reduce material or energy consumption
• better separate waste materials to facilitate material reuse

Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs) can include, but are not limited to:

• AI and machine learning
• industrial internet of things (IIoT) and connectivity
• robotics and automation
• augmented reality and virtual reality
• additive manufacturing
• digital twin

Eligibility

Your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £1 million and £8 million
• not exceed the maximum grant limit of 50% of your total eligible costs for strand 1
• not exceed the maximum grant limit of 40% of your total eligible costs for strand 2
• start by 1 September 2022
• last between 12 and 24 months
• involve a single factory or multiple factories
• include both manufacturing and digital technology capabilities in your consortium
• be applicable to at least 1 manufacturing sector
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

Projects that cover multiple manufacturing sectors are encouraged. Funding will NOT be provided for projects that:

• apply for a grant level in excess of the limit for the competition strand
• include an overseas partner
• are not showing how both manufacturing and digital technology capabilities are represented in the consortium
• are not focused on activities for manufacturing production processes
• are not delivering CO2e or kWh savings from within the manufacturing processes
• are primarily focused on design, use phase or end of life
• are general factory infrastructure for example heating and lighting
• are primarily focused on switching to a different energy source
• are construction, other than manufacturing activities carried out off-site within a permanent fixed factory
• are offsite repair and overhaul
• are activities focused on supply chain connectivity, warehouses, distribution centres or flying factories
• are projects where the main exploitation route is not within manufacturing
• are dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
• are dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

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