FOAK Builder: Programme Entry Expression of Interest

Description Text update 13 October 2026: remove repetition and add clarity. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest a minimum of £4.77 million through the Climate Tech FOAK Builder pilot programme. This will support ambitious, late stage climate tech businesses developing a First of a Kind (FOAK) commercial projects, across a two phase competition. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. The Climate Tech FOAK Builder is an Innovate UK led and funded initiative to accelerate the development of strategically important climate technology projects in the UK. It will support a selected cohort of FOAK Builder ready companies that align with the UK’s Industrial Strategy priorities and are approaching first commercial deployment. The pilot will test and prove the operating model for the FOAK Builder with a view to scaling the pilot up across a multi-year programme, subject to business case approval. The aim of this EOI competition is to support and accelerate Climate Tech First of a Kind (FOAK) projects towards Final Investment Decision (FID). The FOAK Builder does not fund projects. It equips selected companies with expert advisory, technical assistance, mentoring and upskilling support, making potential FOAK projects more credible, coordinated and investable. Potential grant funding for is also available in Phase 2. This is Phase 1 of a 2 phase competition. Successful businesses will work with Innovate UK and the FOAK Builder Technical Assistance Supplier (TAS) to develop a FOAK Development Plan and a FOAK Support Plan. Plans will be tailored to the needs of each business and the challenges facing it in developing its proposed FOAK project from concept to FID. The FOAK Development Plan will be managed and supported by a dedicated mentor and will establish an integrated plan for the FOAK project, including a stage-gate framework, project tracker, budget, schedule, risk register and stakeholder register. The FOAK Support plan will identify specific activities from the FOAK Development plan that can be funded support activities to strengthen credibility, coordination and investability. This could include the following themes: • technical and engineering, for example, developing engineering, procurement and construction plans • financial, for example, developing the project’s investment case, planning how the project will be financed • commercial, for example, supply chain mapping, feedstock and offtake agreements • project development, for example, legal advice on all project aspects, including environmental, planning, insurance strategy, risk identification and mitigations • team and governance, for example, recruitment, including finding senior leaders and core project development and execution team members Funding of activities in the FOAK Support plan is subject to approval by Innovate UK. Once a support plan is approved, the business will implement the plan, which will involve receiving intensive commercial and technical work package support from the TAS supplier. Participation in the Climate Tech FOAK Builder pilot will require your business to work collaboratively with the TAS supplier. This will include committing staff time and other resources. Applicants successful in developing a FOAK Support Plan may also have the opportunity to apply for Phase 2 grant funding, for eligible project development costs. Only applicants successful at Phase 1 and with an agreed FOAK Development Plan and FOAK Support Plan can be invited to apply to Phase 2. An invitation to apply to Phase 2 does not guarantee grant funding. You must aim to reach FID for your FOAK project within 18 months of completing Phase 2. A minimum of £4.77 million will be awarded in both technical assistance support and grants across both phases of this competition, with £770,000 available for Technical Assistance support and £4 million available for Phase 2 grants. Should the operational phase of the Climate Tech FOAK Builder be approved, this budget may be increased and there may be future entry rounds for the Climate Tech FOAK Builder subject to Innovate UK business case approval. 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 10% 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. 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Who can apply Your FOAK support project Your project must: • last between 3 and 12 months • start by 1 March 2027 • end by 28 February 2028 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 . You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application. Lead organisation To work alone your organisation must be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME). More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules . Subcontractors Subcontractors are not allowed in this competition. Number of applications An eligible organisation can only lead on one application. Any further applications by the same organisation as lead will be made ineligible. 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 cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition. 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 award terms and conditions Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to Innovate UK in relation to other projects. Minimal Financial Assistance (and de minimis where applicable) The in-kind support in this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to £315,000 to an enterprise in a 3-year rolling financial period. In your application, you will be asked to declare previous funding received by you. This will form part of the financial checks ahead of Innovate UK making a formal grant offer. To establish your eligibility, we need to check that our support added to the amount you have previously received does not exceed the limit of £315,000 in the ‘applicable period’. The applicable period is made up of: (a) the elapsed part of the current financial year, and (b) the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year. You must include any funding which you have received during the applicable period under: • Minimal Financial Assistance (previously referred to as Special Drawing Rights ) • De Minimis Regulation You do not need to include aid or subsidies which have been granted on a different basis, for example, an aid award granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation. Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 . EU Commission 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, you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or your legal obligations. Funding A minimum of £770,000 has been allocated to fund in-kind support projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy,

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 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. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers. Application team Decide which people from your organisation will work with you on the project and invite those people to help complete the application. Application details Give your project’s title, start date and duration. Project summary Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign 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 briefly describe your proposed climate tech FOAK project and explain: • what you intend to build or deploy, including its proposed scale, location, indicative capital cost and timetable • why it is first of a kind at commercial scale, rather than new only to your business • how it differs from your previous pilots or demonstrations in terms of scale and any changes to technology or process being introduced based on learnings from previous projects • why this configuration is likely to be replicable at secon