Advanced manufacturing supply chain innovation FS

UK registered businesses and research and technology organisations (RTOs) can apply for a share of up to £5 million for feasibility studies. These will make supply chains more resource efficient and resilient through addressing cross cutting challenges.

Competition opens: Monday 2 February 2026 Competition closes: Wednesday 11 March 2026 11:00am

This competition is now closed.

Competition sections

• Summary
• Eligibility
• Scope
• How to apply
• Supporting information

Description

Text update 11 February 2026: wording amended for clarity.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £5 million into supply chain innovation projects. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.

The aim of this competition is to support feasibility studies to explore new ways of making supply chains more resource efficient and resilient.

This will be achieved by addressing cross cutting challenges faced by the six Industrial Strategy’s growth driving sectors and the Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries in scope.

The cross cutting challenge that your project addresses must be applicable to at least two of the following six high growth sectors defined in the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Alternatively, it must be aligned to at least two of the advanced manufacturing frontier industries identified in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.

High growth sectors in scope:

• advanced manufacturing
• clean energy industries
• creative industries
• defence
• digital and technologies
• life sciences

Advanced manufacturing frontier industries:

• automotive
• batteries and energy storage
• aerospace
• advanced materials including, composites, metals, polymers, ceramics, glass, and smart materials
• agri-tech, manufacturing and processing technologies for the agri-food value chain
• space

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly, but we are still unable to fund it.

Our experience from similar competitions suggests that you could have 20% chance of success.

We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.

We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government, or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s total eligible grant funding request must be between £50,000 and £100,000.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Who can apply

Text update 10 February 2026: RTO wording amended for clarity.

Your project

• have a grant funding request between £50,000 and £100,000
• be up to nine months in duration
• start on 1 July 2026
• end by 31 March 2027

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

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 we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.

Lead organisation To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size or a UK based RTO. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered business of any size claiming grant funding on this application.

To work alone your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. RTOs cannot work alone.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Project team To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following:

• UK registered business of any size
• UK based academic institution
• UK based charity
• UK based not for profit
• UK based public sector organisation
• UK based research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in the IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:

• apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
• include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application
• ensure any one partner does not account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs

Non-funded partners Your project can include organisations who do not claim any funding for their work on the project. Their costs will be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.

Where non-funded partners have been invited to the application on IFS, their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Subcontractors Subcontractors are allowed in this competition and are limited to no more than 30% of the project’s total eligible costs.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.

Number of applications A business can only lead on one application and can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications. If a business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.

An RTO can only lead on one application and can be included as a collaborator on any number of applications.

An academic institution, charity, not for profit, public sector organisation can collaborate on any number of applications.

Sanctions This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

If you have previously submitted an application that reached our assessment stage, you can re-apply once more with the same proposal.

If there are minor differences to the proposal, but it is judged by us to be ‘not materially different’, the same rule applies.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project
• an overdue independent accountant’s report
• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding to enterprises using the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme.

The Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme can be viewed on the subsidy database here: SC10780.

This is in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

Further Information If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must not do anything which could cause a breach of Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.

Funding

Up to £5 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

For feasibility studies in Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

Category 1 Feasibility studies

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For more information on company sizes, refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Research participation The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 70% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 70% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

• 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation
• 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

1. Research organisations using the Je-S system must submit their costs through the Je-S system which calculates the 80% FEC figure.
2. On IFS, only the 80% FEC output should be entered at 100% funding.
3. Applicants do not need to show the remaining 20% on the finance table.

To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.

Your proposal

Text update 11 February 2026: wording amended for clarity.

The aim of this competition is to support feasibility studies to explore new ways of making supply chains more resource efficient and resilient.

This will be achieved by addressing cross cutting challenges faced by the six Industrial Strategy’s growth driving sectors and the Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries in scope.

The cross cutting challenge that your project addresses must be applicable to at least two of the following six high growth sectors defined in the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Alternatively, it must be aligned to at least two of the advanced manufacturing frontier industries identified in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.

High growth sectors in scope:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Clean Energy Industries
• Creative Industries
• Defence
• Digital and Technologies
• Life Sciences

Advanced manufacturing frontier industries:

• automotive
• batteries and energy storage
• aerospace
• advanced materials including: composites, metals, polymers, ceramics, glass, and smart materials
• agri-tech, manufacturing and processing technologies for the agri-food value chain
• space

Your project must:

• be a feasibility study
• focus on solutions that are either new or not yet widely used
• address improvements in supply chain resilience and resource efficiency that are transferable across sectors or industries
• identify the growth-driving sectors or the advanced manufacturing frontier industries you are targeting
• clearly identify the critical cross-cutting challenges being addressed and demonstrate how your project addresses these critical challenges
• address supply chain validation through involvement of at least one end user in the project

The involvement of the end user can be in the form of, but is not limited to:

• being on a project advisory board
• being a non-funded project collaborator or a funded project collaborator

In this competition, we will not accept letters of support from the end user.

The end user is the organisation, in a later step along the supply chain, that will use or benefit from the cross-cutting challenge being solved by the innovation.

Within your application you must:

• demonstrate a clear route to scale in the UK
• assess commercial, technical and operational viability of your innovation
• explain how this project delivers growth to your company as part of future UK resource efficient and resilient supply chains in UK manufacturing

Portfolio approach We want to fund a variety of projects across different high growth sectors in scope, advanced manufacturing frontier industries, and technologies. We call this a portfolio approach.

Research categories

We will fund feasibility projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that are:

• not focusing on cross cutting issues faced by the Industrial Strategy’s growth driving sectors in scope for this competition or the 6 advanced manufacturing frontier industries
• focussed on only one of the Industrial Strategy’s growth driving sectors or only one advanced manufacturing frontier industry
• failing to demonstrate end user involvement within the project

We 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

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct
• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
• all sections of the application are marked as complete
• if collaborative, that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you The application is split into four sections:

1. Project details.
2. Application questions.
3. Finances.
4. Project Impact.

Accessibility and Inclusion We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Application team Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

You must include information on the chosen growth driving sectors or the advanced manufacturing frontier industries you are targeting. You must also include information on involvement of at least one end user in the project. If that information is not clear, you will be considered out of scope.

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 6. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions.

You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. If you do, your application will be made ineligible.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored) You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored) Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

• Yes
• No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored) Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

• Yes
• No
• In the process of being applied for
• Not applicable

Question 4. International collaboration (not scored) Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 5. Export licence (not scored) You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance.

You must select one option:

• Yes
• No

Question 6. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored) You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:

• a list of any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research
• a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment