£4mln funding available for rare-earth innovations
A share of up to £4mln is available from Innovate UK for collaborative R&D projects on circular critical materials supply chains.
The funding can be accessed by UK-registered organisations only.
Registration opened on 15 January and closes on 13 March.
Project costs can be up to £250k for feasibility studies, or up to £700k for mid-to-late-stage R&D. Up to 70% of the costs can be covered by a funding grant, depending on business size and project type.
Innovate UK is offering this funding as part of the CLIMATES programme.
The aim is to stimulate growth in a circular critical materials supply chain for rare-earth elements (REEs), or alternative materials.
The collaborative innovation project is aimed to address opportunities across the whole value chain and help increase supply chain resilience.
This competition is split into two strands:
- Strand 1 is for early-stage feasibility studies (costing up to £250k). These projects will facilitate the adoption of new innovations in processes, technologies or services by industry.
- Strand 2 is for mid- and late-stage R&D projects (costing up to £700k). These projects are aimed to accelerate the industrialisation and commercialisation of innovative processes, technologies and services.
Applicants should ensure they submit their application to the correct strand for their project. They are not able to transfer their application and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.
Businesses of any size can apply, as well as academic institutions and not-for-profits.
Further criteria for application apply.
There is a mailing list to keep up with the CLIMATES programme.
