Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator – Cohort 3

What is the Freight Innovation Fund?

• The UK Government has committed to a dedicated £7m cross-modal Freight Innovation Fund (FIF) as part of the Future of Freight strategy, which sets out the Government’s long-term vision for the UK freight sector. Funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered through Connected Places Catapult, the Freight Innovation Fund is a multi-faceted programme which will accelerate the adoption of commercially ready solutions into the sector.

Accelerator Programme Cohort 3 (2024-25)

The Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator will support up to 12 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to trial their solutions in real-world environments to help solve pressing challenges within the freight sector. The SMEs will be selected by the DfT and Connected Places Catapult to join a 6-month programme, where each of them can access up to £150,000 to trial their solutions via a pre-commercial Pilot & Trial contract.

SMEs have two options when applying to the programme:

• Apply to be matched with an industry partner: Connected Places Catapult will work with industry partners, who will provide access to testing environments and internal expertise. They will also play an active role in the SME selection as part of the due diligence process. The industry partners supporting the accelerator programme are DHL, Eddie Stobart, Freightliner, Maritime Transport, Port of Dover, Port of Tilbury, Welch Group, Wincanton and DP World UK.
• Apply with your own Industry Partner: They also welcome applications from SMEs who already have a partner they wish to trial their solutions with and can offer access to testbed facilities.

Programme Challenges

• Challenge 1: Optimisation of Journeys
  • Innovations and technologies that enable freight organisations to optimise and maximise the use of existing journeys by empowering cross-sector partnership and collaboration.
• Challenge 2: Net Zero and Data
  • Advanced solutions that lead the way towards net zero, enable accurate and consistent carbon calculations, and encourage multi-stakeholder freight climate action.
• Challenge 3: Inland Waterways
  • Unlocking the potential of river and canal freight through the systemic improvement of inland waterway logistics, vessels and infrastructure to decarbonise urban deliveries.
• Challenge 4: Open Challenge
  • Innovations that aim at decarbonising and improving the inter-modal connections between freight transport modes.

What’s on offer to SMEs?

• Funding
  • Access up to £150,000 + 30% of in-kind match funds from SMEs.
  • To foster a collaborative and mutually beneficial partnership, SMEs are expected to contribute 30% of the total project cost as matching funds. For instance, if the overall project expenses amount to £100,000, you should apply for £70,000 in grant funding from the Freight Innovation Fund programme while providing £30,000 in matching funds.
• Trial Support
  • This could include, but is not limited to trial design training, deployment support, trial monitoring and evaluation support.
• Investment Support
  • One-to-one sessions with an experienced investment coach.
• Marketing Support
  • One-to-one sessions with an experienced marketing coach.
• Demonstration Day
  • An opportunity to showcase the success of your trials and meet investors, industry leaders, Government and academia at the end of the programme.
• Business Development
  • Business development opportunities and introductions to potential customers.
• Membership of the Freight Innovation Cluster

Am I eligible for this programme?

At the point of application:

• You must be a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME).
• You must have a registered UK company address.
• You must have operations in the UK.
• You must have an innovative solution at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5+.
• You must be willing to test in a real-world environment.
• You must be able to address one the accelerator challenge statements with your solution.

For more information, visit Connected Places Catapult.