Canada-UK Semiconductors

Overview

UK–Canada Collaboration onSemiconductor Innovation

Innovate UK will invest atleast £1 million in collaborative innovation projects focused on advancing semiconductor technologies, jointly working with Canada’s NRC IRAP.

This opportunity is open to UK and Canadian businesses ready to partner on the development of innovative products, processes, or services in this critical sector.

To apply

• UK businesses must collaborate with at least one eligible Canadian business.
• Canadian partners must have an approved Expression of Interest (EoI).
• UK applicants must apply via the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).
• Canadian partners will be funded by NRC IRAP directly, not Innovate UK.

Please note

• Projects must be approved by both Innovate UK and NRC IRAP to secure funding.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to stimulate the development of innovative semiconductor technologies.

This call for proposals is open to organisations from Canada and the UK who wish to form project consortia to perform collaborative projects focused on developing innovative products, processes, or technology-based services in semiconductors.

A variety of projects across the semiconductors sector will be funded, and technologies of interest include, but are not limited to:

• compound, Wide Band Gap semiconductors
• semiconductor design, intellectual property (IP)
• advanced packaging
• heterogeneous, hybrid integration
• photonics, including silicon photonics
• emerging materials
• prototyping and low volume piloting
• processing or processes

• simulation tools

Key themes and topics

Your project can focus on one or more of the following application areas:

• high-voltage systems, including utilities, industry and public power systems
• sustainable  technologies, including electric vehicles, batteries, solar, wind

• communications, including Wi-Fi, cellular 5G and 6G, satellite
• sensors
• data centres

Application areas are not limited to the above, this is not an exhaustive list.

Project duration

Between 12 and 24 months

Must not start before 1^st April 2026

End by 31^st March 2028

Award value

Must have a total grant funding request of no greater than £500,000 allocated to UK organisations

‍Funding rates

For feasibility studies, which evaluates a project’s potential by uncovering key factors and informing confident, well-founded decisions about moving forward, 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

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

For experimental development projects, which use existing knowledge to shape and refine new or improved products, processes, or services—through prototyping, testing, and validation, not routine upgrades and are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 25% if you are a large organisation

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

Eligibility criteria

• Projects must be led by a UK registered business of any size and collaborate with atleast one Canadian registered SME
• UK collaborators can be a 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)
• OnlyUK registered partners can be included in the Innovate UK application. Canadian partners will not receive any UK funding - each organisation will receive funding from their respective national funding body.
• Subcontractors must be preferably UK or Canada-based with fully justified and appropriate costs
• Subsidy control and state aid rules apply
• Canadian funding applicants must first register (by 9^th July) and submit an Expression of Interest(EoI) form (by 23^rd July) to be eligible for the funding

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