Deadline: 9 April 2025
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2.9 million for business led projects that grow their innovation activities in the net zero industrial cluster in Southwest Wales. This funding is from Innovate UK.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with Welsh Government and its agencies to invest up to £2.9 million in innovation projects.
This funding is from Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme which supports the UK government’s goals for local economic growth. This Launchpad is also supporting Net Zero Industry Wales as the local cluster management organisation.
Aims
- The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses. Your project must help to grow your innovation activities in net zero industry.
Specific Themes
- Your project can focus on one or more of the following core areas:
- decarbonisation of industry
- carbon dioxide capture, distribution and storage
- hydrogen energy
- renewable energy, including renewable marine energy
- energy efficiency, including industrial energy efficiency and demand-side management
- green industry innovation
- Projects can also consider the following areas:
- sustainable fuel and platform chemical production
- low carbon heat distribution and utilization
- mini grid community systems
- industrial transport
- innovation in skills development
- advances that empower your business to start your journey to net zero
- innovation that enables other businesses to learn from you and replicate your example
- This list is not exhaustive. Where you can show your proposal fits within the scope of this competition you can focus on other themes.
Funding Information
- They have allocated up to £2.9 million to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
- Your project’s total eligible grant funding request must be between £150,000 and £750,000.
Ineligible Projects
- They are not funding projects that:
- do not meet the competition eligibility or scope requirements
- request grant funding of less than £150,000 or more than £750,000
- do not evidence potential for the proposed innovation to lead to significant and positive economic or societal impact
- 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
- Your project
- Your project must:
- have a total grant funding request of between £150,000 and £750,000
- last between 6 and 18 months
- carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- not start before 1 September 2025
- end by 31 March 2027
- Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean they need to delay your project start date.
- Your project must:
- Lead organisation
- To lead a project your organisation must:
- be a UK registered business of any size
- be or involve at least one grant claiming micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
- collaborate with other UK registered organisations
- be growing your innovation activities in the net zero industrial innovation cluster in Southwest Wales
- have a demonstrable ambition for business growth
- 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)
- To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
For more information, visit Innovate UK.
