Battery Innovation: Concept Development Rd 3

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £25 million to support innovation in battery grade material technologies for electrification. This funding is from The Battery Innovation Programme.

Competition sections

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

Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is delivering the Battery Innovation Programme on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST). The programme will invest up to £25 million in innovation projects. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.

The aim of this competition is to:

• support collaborative R&D in strategically critical areas of the UK battery value chain
• strengthen UK capability in battery cell manufacturing, pack manufacturing including high performance cell technologies, automated manufacturing techniques, non-destructive testing, AI driven design and simulation of manufacturing processes
• strengthen UK supply chain security and build resilient, multi sector manufacturing capability
• support supply chain localisation to align with rules of origin requirements and UK’s strategic priorities

This is to address key capability gaps limiting the UK’s ability to:

• scale UK battery cell manufacturing
• develop UK battery module and pack manufacturing
• improve battery systems
• capture greater economic value domestically

Your project must demonstrate how the proposed innovation will do at least one of the following:

• enable improvements to manufacturing processes for large-scale battery cell production
• expand industrial development of battery module technologies
• develop high performance and efficient battery pack and battery management system (BMS) technologies
• reduce dependence on overseas cell and pack manufacturers and strengthen UK supply chain resilience
• demonstrate the results of AI supported design across cell and pack development
• support scale-up from laboratory to pilot and pre-commercial manufacturing within the UK

This competition is split into two strands:

• Battery innovation concept development round 3 (this strand)
• Battery innovation feasibility studies round 3

It is your responsibility to ensure you submit your application to the correct strand for your project. You will not be able to transfer your application, and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.

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 25% 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 £500,000 and £4 million.

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

Your project

• have grant funding request of between £500,000 and £4 million
• last between 12 and 36 months
• not start before 1 May 2027
• end by 31 March 2031

Any organisation receiving funding must carry out its project work in the UK, intend to exploit the results in the UK, and spend most of the funding within 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.

If your project’s grant funding request or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will then decide whether to approve your request.

If your project does not meet our criteria and you have not requested justification approval, your application will be made ineligible, and it will not be sent for assessment.

Lead organisation To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. The consortium must contain at least one UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) claiming grant funding on this application.

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

Academic institutions cannot lead.

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

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• 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 in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration:

• the lead and at least one other organisation must request funding
• you must explain why you’re collaborating and how the collaboration will work
• no single organisation can claim more than 70% of the total project 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.

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 project costs.

Number of applications A UK registered business can lead on one application and be included as a collaborator in any number of applications.

An academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or 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 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 in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

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 £25 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.

The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.

For industrial research projects, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• 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 30% 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 30% 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 an academic institution

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

1. Research organisations must use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) method as the Je-S form has now been decommissioned.
2. We pay 100% of the 80% Full Economic Cost (FEC). On IFS only enter the 80% being claimed.

To find out more see our Cost Guidance for Academics.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to:

• support collaborative R&D in strategically critical areas of the UK battery value chain
• strengthen UK capability in battery cell manufacturing, pack manufacturing including high performance cell technologies, automated manufacturing techniques, non-destructive testing, AI driven design and simulation of manufacturing processes
• strengthen UK supply chain security and build resilient, multi-sector manufacturing capability
• support supply chain localisation to align with rules of origin requirements and UK’s strategic priorities

This is to address key capability gaps limiting the UK’s ability to:

• scale UK battery cell manufacturing
• develop UK battery module and pack manufacturing
• improve battery systems
• capture greater economic value domestically

Your project must demonstrate how the proposed innovation will do at least one of the following:

• enable improvements to manufacturing processes for large-scale battery cell production
• expand industrial development of battery module technologies
• develop high performance and efficient battery pack and battery management system (BMS) technologies
• reduce dependence on overseas cell and pack manufacturers and strengthen UK supply chain resilience
• demonstrate the results of AI supported design across cell and pack development
• support scale-up from laboratory to pilot and pre-commercial manufacturing within the UK

Your project must demonstrate a credible pathway and deliver value-add to the UK, for example:

• scale-up and manufacturing deployment for battery cells in the UK
• creation or expansion of UK cell manufacturing technologies
• development or expansion of UK high performance cell and module technologies
• creation of high performance battery packs and battery management systems
• creation or expansion of industrial capability, facilities or production capacity across the battery value chain
• strengthening UK supply chain resilience across both cell manufacturing and pack manufacturing
• delivery of long term economic and environmental benefits, aligned with net zero objectives

Your R&D activities can include, but are not limited to:

• improved efficiency and CO2 reduction or offset from battery cell manufacturing processes
• automated cell manufacturing technologies
• development of dry coating methods
• end of line testing technologies
• development of modular and replicable module and cell systems
• next generation AI supported BMS systems
• efficient module and pack joining methods
• structural battery packs
• utilisation of lightweight materials in battery packs
• digital tools to accelerate experiment design

Your project must clearly state which group your application aligns with: 1. Cell manufacturing Innovations that strengthen UK competitiveness in cell manufacturing

We encourage projects that:

• enable scale-up from laboratory to gigafactory levels to expand UK large scale cell manufacturing capacity
• integrate digital tools, in-line diagnostics, and digital twins to optimize efficiency and reduce scrap
• reduce energy demand, waste, and environmental impacts across cell production
• support the industrialisation of new cell chemistries and formats, pouch, cylindrical, prismatic
• integrate design for manufacturing approaches to improve yield and reliability
• advance electrode fabrication, cell assembly, and formation processes
• produce high performance stacking and winding patterns
• increase the speed of tab and enclosure joining
• improve solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer consistency at high production rates
• develop novel ageing and testing capabilities to reduce conditioning time
• develop tools, equipment, and automation solutions for production efficiency
• deploy digital tools such as AI to improve cell development time

2. Module Manufacturing Innovations that strengthen UK competitiveness in module manufacturing

We encourage projects that:

• advance cell to module interconnect fabrication, structural bonding, and module housing assembly
• produce high performance busbar configurations for example automated laser welding patterns
• increase the speed and precision of cell positioning, clamping, and electrical joining
• improve the consistency of thermal interface material (TIM) application at high production rates
• develop novel end of line (EOL) electrical testing and insulation monitoring

3. Pack Manufacturing and Battery Management Systems (BMS) Innovations that strengthen UK competitiveness in pack manufacturing

We encourage projects that:

• innovate in pack design, structural systems, or fast assembly techniques
• improve safety systems, early warning diagnostics and fault tolerant designs
• develop advanced BMS functionality, state of health or state of charge algorithms
• create thermal management innovations including new materials, architectures or control systems
• apply simulation, digital twins or data driven optimisation for real world performance
• enable circularity ready or end of life friendly design
• implement digital tools such as AI to improve performance and safety
• support application specific optimisation for automotive, aerospace, maritime, rail, defence or stationary storage

Your project can target performance requirements for at least one of the listed sectors and can support emerging use cases or cross sector applicability including:

• automotive sector including on and off-highway vehicles, motorsports and niche automotive
• aerospace
• battery energy storage systems
• rail
• maritime
• defence, the innovation must be dual use with clear relevance beyond defence application

You must clearly demonstrate your understanding of the target sector and industry and market demand covering UK, Europe and global in your application.

Portfolio approach We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, costs, markets and technological maturities. All project costs will be assessed to ensure strong value for money. Applicants requesting higher levels of funding should expect proportionate scrutiny and must provide clear justification for their costs to demonstrate the efficient and effective use of public funds.

We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific themes

Your project can focus on one or more of the following:

• cell manufacturing
• module manufacturing
• pack manufacturing and battery management systems (BMS)

Research categories

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

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that are:

• not aligned with the Industrial Strategy
• for personal mobility and consumer electronics
• early stage discovery research
• primary focused on battery second life use
• focused on material extraction and refining

We cannot fund projects that are:

• dependent on export performance: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of its products to another country
• dependent on domestic inputs usage: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it uses a set percentage of UK components in their product

Important dates

11 September 2026 Competition opens 16 September 2026 Online briefing event: register to attend Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event. 2 December 2026 11:00am Competition closes 13 January 2027 Invite to interview 3 February 2027 Interview panel 12 February 2027 Applicants notified 1 May 2027 Project start from

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
• 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 three sections:

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

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).