Applications Open for ATI Programme Strategic Batch (UK)

The ATI programme is coordinated and managed by:

• the Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
• Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI)

This is an expression of interest (EoI) competition. You must have a successful application in this competition before you can be invited to apply to the full stage competition.

Focus Areas

• Your proposal must align with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, Destination Zero and is split into these areas:
  • Zero-Carbon Emission Aircraft Technologies: Zero-carbon emission technologies are focused on propulsion and infrastructure development to enable zero-carbon tailpipe emissions. This encompasses battery, hydrogen, and fuel cell technologies, much of which are in early stages of development.
  • Ultra-Efficient Aircraft Technologies: Ultra-efficient technologies are focused on improving energy efficiency and hence impact CO2 emissions, NOx and noise. Continued development of crucial high value, sustainable, high productivity manufacturing technologies will position the UK to be a first-choice location for the industry.
  • Cross-cutting Enabling Technologies: To enable both the zero-carbon and ultra-efficient opportunities, the UK must develop cross-cutting enabling technologies and capabilities for whole aircraft design and analysis. These capabilities should extend to the aircraft lifecycle from design, through manufacture and assembly, operation, and end of life.
  • Non-CO2 Technologies: Developing technologies and scaling up solutions to reduce the negative effects of non-CO2 emissions. Complimenting and in some instances spanning across the existing Destination Zero roadmaps, it covers three main research areas: fuel characteristics, aircraft technologies, and knowledge data and operations.

Funding Information

• The ATI Programme has been allocated £975 million from the government for the financial years 2025 to 2026 through 2029 to 2030 to fund innovation projects.
• Your project cannot be a mixture of industrial research and capital infrastructure investment.

Ineligible Projects

• They are not funding projects that are:
  • focused solely on defence, space or other industrial sectors, but they will recognise dual use technologies providing the primary application is in civil aerospace
  • for fundamental research, early-stage technologies or experimental development
• They cannot fund projects that 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
  • 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

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead organisation
  • To lead a project, or work alone your organisation must:
  • be a UK registered business of any size for research projects
  • be a UK registered business of any size, a research and technology organisation (RTO), research organisation or academic institution for capital infrastructure projects
  • carry out your aerospace research or capital infrastructure project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • address the specific requirements of the UK’s Aerospace Technology Strategy
  • sign up to the Aerospace Technology Institute framework agreement
  • claim funding
• 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)
  • Your organisation must:
    • carry out its project work in the UK
    • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
    • be invited to take part by the lead applicant
    • sign up to the Aerospace Technology Institute framework agreement

For more information, visit Innovate UK.