Innovate UK launch UK-South Korea research competition

Collaborative research and development funding competition open to UK businesses.

Innovate UK has revealed details of a UK-South Korea collaborative research and Development funding competition.

The competition, in partnership with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), is open to UK-registered businesses who can apply for a share of up to £2mln for developing innovative proposals.

The aim of this competition is to fund projects focused on industrial research. Projects must include at least one partner from the UK and one partner from South Korea and must focus on one or more of the following sectors - advanced manufacturing and materials, artificial intelligence, clean energy specifically, battery technologies, hydrogen mobility technologies and future vehicles.

The initiative follows the UK-Singapore CR&D funding competition that launched in December 2021, following a memorandum of understanding between Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore. The agreement aims to enhance enterprise competitiveness and facilitate go-to-market partnerships in emerging technologies and is focused on applications from the following sectors – advanced manufacturing and materials, agri-food tech, mobility and transport cybersecurity health and life sciences.

These are the first bilateral CR&D competitions to be run by Innovate UK with both Singapore and South Korea.

Innovate UK say it is committed to additional competitions over the next three years. David Golding, its interim deputy director, global says, 'South Korea is a global leader in sectors such as telecommunications, electronics, transportation and materials. This opportunity, coupled with the one Innovate UK launched with ESG in January, is part of a longer-term, more strategic approach, with both countries, allowing the best of British innovators to team up with their counterparts in two of Asia’s most technologically advanced nations.'

Details of the Singapore collaboration competition can be found here and the South Korea competition here.