Battery Innovation: Concept Development Rd 3

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). 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

Your project Your project must: • 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 i

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: • Project details. • Application questions. • 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). 1. Project details This section provides background for your application and is not scored. 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 where your technology primary fits in the development group in the scope section, for example 1, 2 or 3. Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be eligible for funding. Your answer can be up to 400 words long. 2. Application questions The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 7 and 17 to 21. 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 questio