Deadline Date: March 11, 2026
The DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Demonstrate invites UK-registered organisations to apply for a share of up to £33 million to support late-stage demonstration research and development projects that accelerate the UK’s transition to zero emission vehicles and contribute to a net zero automotive industry.
The focus areas of the DRIVE35 Innovation Fund include promoting zero emission vehicle technologies, enhancing manufacturing competitiveness, and supporting future vehicle innovation through Software Defined Vehicles (SDV) and Electrical & Electronic (E/E) architectures. Projects should support growth, transition, and security of the UK automotive supply chain while increasing capability, productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. Proposals must contribute to UK strategic priorities, deliver on-vehicle technologies or enable manufacturing capabilities for zero emission vehicles, target post-project commercialisation, create and safeguard high-value jobs, and support long-term R&D investment.
This fund is led by the Department for Business and Trade in collaboration with Innovate UK, the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, industry, and academia, and forms part of the government’s Industrial Strategy to drive growth in key sectors. Strand 2 of the programme focuses on developing a product or process demonstrator to show increased capability and commercial exploitation opportunities. Eligible projects must request grant funding between £500,000 and £1.5 million, with a minimum of 50% match funding, achieve TRL 5-6 or MRL 4-5 by completion, carry out all work in the UK, and be completed within 9 to 12 months, starting no earlier than 1 September 2026 and ending by 31 August 2027.
Theme 1, Promote Zero Emission Vehicle Technologies, covers product and process innovations in electrical energy storage, electric machines and driveline, power electronics including V2X, internal combustion engines using non-fossil fuels for on- or off-road applications, lightweight vehicle and powertrain structures, fuel cell systems, and hydrogen storage and management. Projects may include upstream supply chains, circularity and design for disassembly, and digitalisation of validation and design processes.
Theme 2, Enhance Manufacturing Competitiveness, focuses on innovations that improve productivity, reduce carbon emissions, and increase cost competitiveness in zero emission vehicle manufacturing. This includes digital transformation using AI, digital twins, IoT and vision systems, manufacturing process decarbonisation, lean manufacturing principles, and supply chain development to improve capacity, capability, and sustainability.
Theme 3, Future Vehicle Innovation, targets SDV and E/E architectures to enable new software-defined vehicle features. Projects should focus on rapid software development, embedded software and connectivity, advanced control systems, scalable E/E architectures, high-performance computing, vehicle and system-level simulation including digital twins, and safe and secure use of AI in functional software, as well as innovations in tools, processes, and design practices for SDV and E/E architectures.
For more information, visit GOV.UK.
