MSI Improving energy or resource efficiency in manufacturing FS

Overview

Innovate UK is offering up to £2 million through the Made Smarter Innovation Challenge to fund feasibility studies that help SME manufacturers explore new industrial digital technologies aimed at improving energy or resource efficiency. Projects can apply for between £25,000 and £100,000 in grant funding and must demonstrate technical, commercial, and market feasibility, along with a clear route to commercialisation.

Scope

This funding is to support feasibility studies for developing new industrial digital technologies (IDTs). The IDTs will improve the resilience, productivity, flexibility and sustainability of UK micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) manufacturers by improving energy or resource efficiency.

Projects

You must focus on the innovation of a unique digital application relating to one or more of the energy or resource efficiencies listed in the Specific Themes section, and must be:

• affordable
• easy to use
• scalable across SMEs

There is no limit to the number of processes or technology solutions you may address in your proposal and there is no advantage in using more than one.

Energy or resource efficiency innovations that use processes other than that listed will also be considered.

Planned outputs from the study must:

• have a clear indication of how your innovation might improve energy or resource efficiency in a manufacturing environment
• clearly indicate how your innovation will result in a solution that will be sufficiently affordable, easy to use and scalable
• have technical, operational, and financial feasibility
• include potential patents
• include targeted market and scale up plans

Key themes and topics

Energy efficiencies:

• boilers and steam
• air compressors or vacuum
• motors, drivers, pumps or hydraulics
• induction or welding
• chilling or freezing
• spray, extraction or dryers
• ovens, kilns or furnaces
• heavy machinery or presses

Resource efficiencies:

• raw material waste
• production process waste
• packaging waste
• maintenance or service station waste
• utilities waste
• end of life waste

Project duration

Between 3- 6 months

Not start before 1st October 2025

End by 31st March 2026

Award value

Between £25,000 - £100,000

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

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