ATI Programme strategic batch: EoI – June 2025

Overview

The Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme supports ambitious UK civil aerospace projects that align with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy. Backed by £975 million in government funding through to 2030, this two-phase competition begins with an Expression of Interest (EoI), reviewed by the ATI, with no funding awarded at this stage. If successful, applicants are invited to submit a full-stage application for potential grant funding. Final funding decisions are made by the Department for Business and Trade, with Innovate UK managing due diligence and contracting. This is a competitive process, and not all strong applications may receive funding.

Scope

This is an expression of interest (EoI) competition. You must have a successful application in this competition before you can be invited to apply to the full stage competition.

Your project must have a potential application within the civil aerospace sector. This can include dual use technologies.

Key themes and topics

Your proposal must align with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy, Destination Zero and is split into these areas:

Zero Carbon Emission Aircraft Technologies: Zero carbon emission technologies are focused on propulsion and infrastructure development to enable zero carbon tailpipe emissions. This encompasses battery, hydrogen, and fuel cell technologies, much of which are in early stages of development.

Ultra Efficient Aircraft Technologies: Ultra efficient technologies are focused on improving energy efficiency and hence impact CO2 emissions, NOx and noise. Continued development of crucial high value, sustainable, high productivity manufacturing technologies will position the UK to be a first-choice location for the industry.

Cross cutting Enabling Technologies: To enable both the zero carbon and ultra efficient opportunities, the UK must develop cross cutting enabling technologies and capabilities for whole aircraft design and analysis. These capabilities should extend to the aircraft lifecycle from design, through manufacture and assembly, operation, and end of life.

Non-CO2 Technologies: Developing technologies and scaling up solutions to reduce the negative effects of non-CO2 emissions. Complimenting and in some instances spanning across the existing Destination Zero roadmaps, it covers three main research areas: fuel characteristics, aircraft technologies, and knowledge data and operations.

If 75% or more of your project costs will progress the Non-CO2 Technology roadmap, you must submit your application in the ATI Outline Stage process. For any enquiries, contact the ATI at competitions@ati.org.uk.

Full stage competition

If you are successful in this EoI competition, you will be invited to apply for the appropriate Research or Capital strand of the next full stage Batch competition of the ATI Programme.

The ATI Programme partners will monitor changes between your phase 1 and phase 2 submissions. The funders will not accept unjustified major changes in the consortium or costs.

If you wish to defer your full stage application to the following Batch, you will need to contact support@iuk.ukri.org within 10 working days of receiving your successful notification.

If you do not wish to submit an application in either of the next Batch competitions, then you will be required to submit a new expression of interest for assessment.

Award value

The ATI Programme has been allocated £975 million from the government for the financial years 2025 to 2026 through 2029 to 2030 to fund innovation projects. The total grant funding limit for any individual organisation is £18 million.

Funding rates

For industrial research projects, purposeful research that builds new knowledge and skills to improve or develop products, processes, or services—often through prototypes or system components that validate ideas in realistic settings, 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

Research organisations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs

Eligibility criteria

Use/adapt following text noting any specifics highlighted in the Eligibility’ tab

• Projects must be collaborative and led by a UK registered business of any size
• Projects must include at least one grant claiming SME
• Collaborators can be a UK registered business of any size; an academic institution; a charity; a not for profit; a public sector organisation; or a research and technology organisation (RTO)
• Subcontractors must be preferably UK-based with fully justified and appropriate costs
• All funded project work must be carried out within the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• Either Subsidy control and state aid rules apply