Innovation competitions

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25 competitions

  • National Materials Innovation Programme: CR&D Rd1

    UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £12 million for collaborative industrial research to speed the translation of advanced materials innovations in three prioritised high growth themes and one strategic opportunity theme.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to collaborations only.
    To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

    Open now

    Opened:
    1 September 2026
    Closes:
    28 October 2026

  • Investor Partnerships – ACT and Semiconductors

    UK registered SMEs can apply for grant funding alongside private investment from selected investor partners.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to single applicants only.

    To apply your organisation must:

    • be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized business (SME)
    • carry out its project work in the UK
    • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
    • have been invited to apply by an investor from our pool of selected investor partners

    Open now

    Opened:
    1 September 2026
    Closes:
    14 October 2026

  • Farming Innovation Programme: Small R&D Partnership Projects Rd 5

    UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £13 million for small R&D partnership projects. This funding is from the industry led R&D Partnerships Fund, a part of the Defra Farming Innovation Programme.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to collaborations only.

    To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

    Open now

    Opened:
    1 September 2026
    Closes:
    14 October 2026

  • CfI: Engineering Biology for Defra and FSA Phase 1

    Organisations can apply for a share up to £3 million inclusive of VAT, to develop and scale Engineering Biology platforms, products and services.

    Eligibility

    To lead a project, you can:

    • be a UK based organisation of any size
    • work alone or with other organisations as subcontractors

    Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only.

    Open now

    Opened:
    1 September 2026
    Closes:
    14 October 2026

  • Advancing innovation in accelerated cancer diagnosis

    Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences’ (OLS) Cancer Healthcare Goals programme, will invest up to £25.4 million, to support the clinical validation and evaluation of early cancer diagnostic technologies and devices.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to collaborations only.

    To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size, an academic institution or an NHS organisation. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

    Open now

    Opened:
    1 September 2026
    Closes:
    28 October 2026

  • Advanced Manufacturing: Measurement and Sensing Pilot

    UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million as part of a pilot. This is to support high potential businesses developing a technology, product or service in measurement, instrumentation or sensing for UK manufacturing.

    Eligibility

    This pilot is open to single applicants only.

    To be eligible to join the pilot, your business must be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME).

    Open now

    Opened:
    26 August 2026
    Closes:
    7 October 2026

  • UK-Singapore CRD 2026

    UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £3 million for the purpose of developing innovative proposals with Singapore. You must collaborate with at least one Singapore business applying under the equivalent Enterprise Singapore programme.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to UK and Singapore collaborations only.

    To lead a project your organisation must:

    • be a UK registered business of any size
    • collaborate with a Singapore registered business, which must be a separate non-linked entity to the UK project partner or partners

    Open now

    Opened:
    24 August 2026
    Closes:
    16 December 2026

  • Electricity Demand Turn Up trial: EOI for flexibility providers

    UK registered businesses providing flexibility services can submit an expression of interest for a trial assessing if DTU can reduce renewable electricity curtailment in Great Britain. Successful applicants can apply for a share of up to £16 million.

    Eligibility

    This EOI competition is open to single applicants. To apply your organisation must be a UK registered businesses acting as a Flexibility Service Provider (FSP) in the Great Britain electricity market.

    Open now

    Opened:
    20 August 2026
    Closes:
    16 September 2026

  • ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 11

    Farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England can apply for a grant of £2,500, to engage an external Project Facilitator to support the development of a Full ADOPT Grant application.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to single applicants only.
    To apply for this grant your organisation must:

    • be an active farming, growing or forestry business of any size based in England
    • be able to evidence that you are an established business, including sole traders and partnerships
    • have a UK bank account

    Open now

    Opened:
    20 August 2026
    Closes:
    30 September 2026

  • Full ADOPT Grant: Round 9

    Farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England can apply for a share of up to £5 million for on-farm trial and demonstration projects, to improve adoption of new ideas or solutions in the agricultural sector.

    Eligibility

    This competition is open to collaborations only.

    To lead a collaborative project your organisation must:

    • be an active farming, growing or forestry business of any size based in England
    • be able to evidence that you are an established business, including sole traders and partnerships
    • collaborate with at least one other farming business of any size based in the UK

    Open now

    Opened:
    14 August 2026
    Closes:
    7 October 2026

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