Call for EOIs: ATI Programme Strategic Batch – United Kingdom

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.

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so they may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly, but they are still unable to fund it.

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.

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
• Non-funded partners
  • Your project can include non-UK partners, including partners based in the EU, who bring their own funding. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit results overseas. Their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.
• Subcontractors
  • Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
  • Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
  • You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use suppliers from the UK.
  • You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. They will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.
  • All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.

Ineligible Criteria

• 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.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.