Funding Competition: UK-South Korea CR&D Projects 2024

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) and Korean Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) to invest up to £6 million in innovation projects.

The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. This is for innovative proposals developed between the UK and South Korea. Your proposal must include at least one partner from the UK and one partner from South Korea. UK registered organisations must apply to and will be funded by Innovate UK.

Your South Korean partner will not receive any funding from Innovate UK. South Korean partners must apply to and will be funded by either KIAT or KETEP, depending on the focus sector of the project:

KIAT

• advanced manufacturing and materials
• artificial intelligence
• future mobility (including batteries)
• semiconductors

KETEP

• energy storage system
• hydrogen

South Korean partners must not be invited into Innovate UK’s application on the Innovation Funding Service.

Your project must demonstrate:

• a clear game changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
• a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses and documents market potential and needs
• sound, practical financial plans and timelines
• good value for money, which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions
• a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
• clear, considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
• the benefits of participants from the UK and South Korea working together and how this adds value to your project
• a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
• a clear route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion

Project Size

• UK applicants can apply for a maximum grant funding request of up to £900,000 for each project.

Projects they will not fund

• They are not funding projects that:
  • deliver any military applications
  • are not in scope
  • do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria
  • do not submit all mandatory documentation
  • have a grant request of more than £900,000 from Innovate UK
  • do not have an eligible South Korean partner
• 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?

• Your project
  • Your project must:
    • start by 1 October 2024
    • end by 30 September 2027
    • last between 24 and 36 months
  • The majority of the project work must be undertaken in the UK and South Korea. UK project partners must carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.
  • The consortium must include at least one business registered in South Korea that is a separate legal entity and not linked to the UK partners. This is to ensure that projects encourage genuine international collaboration, not internal company research. Linked companies are considered a single entity under the parent company.
  • Your project must demonstrate a balanced technological contribution by the participants from both countries and must be equally significant to all participants.
• Roles and terminology
  • There must be a ‘project lead’ and this can be either an eligible UK or South Korean business. The project lead is responsible for managing the entire project.
  • The ‘lead applicant’, is the organisation that starts the application on the Innovation Funding Service. This must be a UK registered business.
• UK lead applicant
  • To start an application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS), your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.
  • You must:
    • be a UK registered business of any size
    • collaborate with at least one South Korean registered business applying to the KIAT or KETEP programme, which must be a separate legal entity, not linked to the UK partners
• UK Project team
  • To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
    • business of any size
    • academic institution
    • research and technology organisation (RTO)
  • Only UK registered partners must be listed in the Project Partner section of your application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). Your South Korean partner will not receive any of this UK competition funding. South Korean partners will be funded by the KIAT or KETEP programme following a parallel application.
  • Each organisation in your consortium will receive funding from its respective national funding body.
  • Each UK partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project.
• Non-funded partners
  • Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding. Their costs will count towards the total project costs.
• South Korean partners
  • South Korean partners must not be invited into Innovate UK’s application on the Innovation Funding Service.
  • South Korean partners will be funded by KIAT or KETEP following a parallel application.
• Subcontractors
  • Subcontractors are allowed in this competition, but they are limited to no more than 20% of the total eligible costs of the UK participation.
  • Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
  • All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.
• Number of applications
  • A UK registered business can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further 2 applications.
  • If a UK registered business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.
  • A UK registered academic institution or research and technology organisation (RTO) cannot lead an application but can collaborate on any number of applications.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.