Published on: 27 May 2021
Innovate UK has released its latest news, insights and funding opportunities for relevant industries.
One of the funding opportunities published is the Clean Maritime Demonstration: Strand 1. This is a grant up to £10,000,000 for innovative clean maritime and smart shipping projects, which has been co-founded by the Department of Transport. This competition opened on 22 March 2021 and will be closing on 2 June 2021 at 11:00am.
To be eligible to enter this competition your organisation must be UK registered and one of the following:
- Business
- Research organisations
- Research and technology organisations (RTO)
The aim of this competition is to support the design and development of technologies for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by the UK’s maritime sector, as set out in the Clean Maritime Plan and support the transition to Net Zero by 2050. This competition is seeking solutions for all sizes of vessels and categories of maritime vessels.
The project must:
- Have total eligible costs between £25,000 and £1,000,000
- End by 31 March 2022
- Last up to seven months
Projects can start by 1 September 2021, but Innovate UK will not approve project extensions beyond 31 March 2022.
You can find all of the details and apply for the competition on the gov.uk website here.
The Innovation Loan
Innovate UK also has up to £20 million available in loans for micro, small and medium-sized businesses looking to scale and grow through innovation, developing new or improved products, processes or services. The Innovation Loans are between £250,000 and £1.6 million, which are available to fund later-stage research and development (R&D) with a clear route to commercial success for suitable businesses.
Projects can last for up to four years, including both R&D and commercialisation phases. For your project to be eligible for the Innovation Loan any projects will be expected to start by September 2021 as well as the following:
- Be a UK registered SME
- Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- Give evidence that your business is suitable to take on a loan
Individuals, academic institutions, research organisations and large companies are not eligible for innovation Loans.
For more information or to apply for the Innovation Loan click here.
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency, working with people, companies and partner organisations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy.