Funding Competition: ATI Programme (UK)

The ATI programme is co-ordinated and managed by:

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

Scope

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.

Funding Information

• The ATI Programme has been allocated £685 million from the government for the financial years 2022 to 2023 through 2024 to 2025 to fund innovation projects.

Projects they will not fund

• They are not funding projects that focus:
  • solely on defence, space or other industrial sectors, but they will recognise dual use technologies providing the primary application is in civil aerospace
  • on 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

Who can apply?

• 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
  • Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.
• 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
  • Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project.
  • To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
  • Your business does not have to be registered with Companies House when you apply, but it must be registered before you can receive funding.
• Non-funded partners
  • Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will count towards the total 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 could not use suppliers from the UK. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will review this on a case-by-case basis.
  • 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.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.