Find partners to create Sustainable Innovation Fund proposals

This website is a virtual marketplace to search and profile project opportunities as well as facilitate introductions between innovators, potential customers and sub-contractors who are looking to respond to the Sustainable Innovation Fund SBRI Phase 1 competition.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in an unexpected and unparalleled disruption to UK jobs, businesses, the economy at large and society in general. Recovering will take considerable time and investment, but the opportunity exists to recover in a sustainable way, resulting in increased prosperity with lower carbon emissions.

On the 20th of April The Chancellor announced a £1.25bn support package for businesses. This Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition is part of that package. The successful applicants will receive R&D contracts to develop and test new ideas to help businesses and/or the public sector in the UK recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in a sustainable manner, demonstrating the impact and potential of a clean growth led recovery and transition to net zero.

The competition will be delivered in 2 phases. This is phase 1 and has a total funding allocation of £10m. Individual projects may be up to £60k including VAT. Phase 2 is only open to participants from phase 1 and has a total allocation of £70m, with individual projects able to range up to £3m including VAT.

Applicants are required to engage with a potential future customer to ensure that the product or service being developed is realistic, scalable and accommodates end user requirements and feedback. This platform is available to bring innovators together with potential customers and other skilled sub-contractors who are looking to resolve a challenge the innovation will address.

Read the full brief and apply for the competition on the Innovation Funding Service. For more details you can join our Applicant Briefing Webinar at 11am on 2 July. 

Themes

Your project must address one or more of the following themes, which are informed by the government’s Clean Growth Strategy:

• decarbonising energy, business and industry
• improving business and industry efficiency
• improving the energy efficiency, heating and cooling of our homes and other buildings
• accelerating the shift to low carbon transport
• enhancing the benefits and value of our natural resources
• innovating for a more sustainable public sector
• climate change adaptation and mitigation

In your application you must state the main theme you are focusing on, but your project can also address other themes. In this platform you can select all of the themes that you may be interested in developing a project around in order to meet with the broadest range of potential collaborators.

Time Schedule

• Competition Published: 26 June 2020
• Competition Opens: 29 June 2020
• Online Applicant Briefing: 11am, 2 July 2020
  
• Marketplace open until: 5 August 2020
• Deadline for applications: 5 August 2020