Investor Partnerships – Battery Innovation Programme

Investor Partnerships Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has selected investor partners with aligned investment interests and capacity to lead investments. These investor partners have demonstrated that they have the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in innovative, technology-led businesses in areas that align with our strategic priority areas. The Investor Partnerships programme brings together: • Innovate UK’s expertise in identifying innovation and using grant funding to change the risk profile of businesses • investor partners aligned funding and expertise in identifying opportunities and teams that can best use extra investment finance The aim of this competition is to provide support for research and development and access to the capital investment you need to develop and commercialise your innovations. Battery Innovation Programme This competition is for SMEs that can demonstrate the potential to grow and scale and must also have a project that is aligned to the Battery Innovation Programme. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is delivering the Battery Innovation Programme on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST). Funding will be considered for high quality applications that meet one or more of the following criteria: • accelerate the development and commercialisation of state-of-the-art battery technologies in the UK • support the growth of the UK battery supply chain and related companies • enhance the UK’s competitiveness in the global battery market • demonstrate how battery technologies can meet specific application requirements and drive electrification across diverse sectors Innovate UK provides support for your investment readiness and for engaging with suitable investors through Innovate UK Business Growth and Innovate UK Business Connect. In the first instance you can contact Innovate UK Business Growth for support in understanding your readiness for investment and also to look at your wider strategy for growth. You can also contact Innovate UK Business Connect to establish if there are specific programmes for connecting businesses in your sector to relevant investors. Support and connections to sector specific investors can also be provided by the relevant Catapults . You must establish a relationship and a strong level of investment traction with one of our approved investor partners before you apply for funding. View details of our investor partnerships: Investor Partnerships - Innovate UK Business Connect The investor partner must have submitted an expression of interest directly to Innovate UK and confirmed with you that you are in a position to apply for grant funding as you will be asked to identify them in the application. Without an EOI submitted by your named Investor Partner, your application will be viewed as ineligible. Examples of sufficient investment traction will depend on the approach taken by the investor partner and could include: • an indicative offer from an investor partner which could include an angel investor from an investor partner angel group or network • going through due diligence with an investor partner • receiving a term sheet from an interested investor partner To be successful, your project must be independently confirmed by Innovate UK as fundable and have received aligned investment directly, led or catalysed by the investor partner identified in your application. If selected for funding, the Innovate UK award will be conditional on the aligned equity investment closing at least at the declared minimal amount of investment required. Without investment we will not be able to issue the grant even if selected for funding. 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. 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. Innovate UK’s Pledge for Progress for Women in Innovation highlights 10 commitments designed to create opportunities and deliver long-term term economic impact through support for women-led businesses. This competition provides an important and tangible route for delivering on the pledge. 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 alwa

Your project The eligibility criteria will depend on your research category . For feasibility studies projects: • your total project costs must be between £50,000 and £300,000 • the project duration must be between 6 and 12 months For industrial research projects: • your total project costs must be between £100,000 and £1 million • the project duration must be between 6 and 24 months For experimental development projects: • your total project costs must be between £250,000 and £2 million • the project duration must between 12 and 24 months 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 . Your organisation This competition is open to single applicants only. To apply your organisation must: • be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized business (SME) • carry out its project work in the UK • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK • be invited to apply by your investor partner • have discussed and agreed your proposal with your investor partner before submitting your application More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules . 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 eligible project costs Number of applications An SME can only submit one application into this round of the competition. 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 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 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). 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. 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 could 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. Your answer can be up to 400 words long. 2. Application questions The assessors will score all your answers apart from question 1 to 7. 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. Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers.