APCUK: ARMD4 Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator 4 (United Kingdom)

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and the automotive industry and academia, to invest DBT grant funding in the Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator 4 (ARMD4) competition.

Scope

• The aim of this competition is to develop a product or process demonstrator to show increased capability and commercial exploitation opportunity, as a result of the project. The project will utilise future zero emission powertrain technology as a key element in the UK’s transition to a zero emission automotive industry.
• Your project must work towards delivery of zero emission on-vehicle technologies for on-road or off-road vehicles.
• Vehicle applications in scope must include:
  • on-highway including last mile
  • off-highway including agriculture and mining
• In the case of on-road solutions, they will only support project proposals which aim to achieve zero harmful tailpipe emissions.
• Capability demonstration can be through:
  • a physical vehicle or subsystem
  • a process demonstration in the relevant environment
  • an equivalent digital demonstrator
• Technology maturity expectations for this competition should be achieving TRL 5-6 or MRL 4-5 by completion, based on published Automotive Technology and Manufacturing Readiness Levels.
• As a key component of the dissemination requirements for this competition, there will be an opportunity to showcase project outcomes at the 2026 CENEX Expo. All projects should be prepared for potential selection to represent the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) at this event.
• Your project must demonstrate the advancement of on-vehicle technologies in one or more of the following areas:
  • energy storage, batteries and their components and integration systems
  • fuel cell systems and their components and integration systems
  • electric machines and their components and integration systems
  • power electronics and their components and integration systems
  • internal combustion engines (ICE) for on-road applications, they will only fund project proposals which aim to achieve zero harmful tailpipe emissions utilising non-fossil fuels
  • internal combustion engines (ICE) for off-road applications, they will fund project proposals that support a transition to zero emissions, utilising non-fossil fuels lightweight materials, methods and processes
  • hydrogen storage and management systems
• Projects can include:
  • design for circular economy and sustainability, including the disassembly, recovery, and reuse of materials used in the project technologies
  • digitalisation of design for manufacture and recycling, development of zero emissions vehicle innovation, manufacture of vehicle systems and subsystems, data analytics, redesign, test and validation and verification
• You will be required to provide a close-out report and case study at the end of your funded project.

Funding Information

• Up to £25 million has been allocated by DBT to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
• Your project’s total grant funding request must be between £500,000 and £1.5 million. Your project must be a minimum of 50% match funded, with 65% of the grant being utilised before 31 March 2026.

Eligibility Criteria

• Your project
  • Your project must:
    • have a grant funding request of between £500,000 and £1.5 million
    • be a minimum of 50% match funded, for example, if you are asking for £500,000 in grant your total eligible project costs need to be a minimum of £1 million
    • utilise 65% of the grant budget by 31 March 2026
    • last between 9 and 12 months
    • carry out all of its project work in the UK
    • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
    • start by 1 October 2025
    • end by 30 September 2026
• Lead organisation
  • To lead a project or work alone your organisation must:
    • be a UK registered business of any size
    • have an active registered business base in the UK
    • be a grant recipient
• Project team
  • To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
    • business of any size
    • academic institution
    • charity
    • not for profit
    • public sector organisation
    • research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • Non-UK registered businesses and research organisations are only eligible to apply for funding if:
    • they set up an active UK registered business where the funded project work will be carried out by the start of the project
    • provide evidence of an intention to expand their R&D activity in the UK during and after the project.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.