UK-Germany Bilateral Collaborative R&D: Round 5

Biotechnology, Biology, Energy Engineering and collaborative research and development grant from Innovate UK / UK Research and Innovation

December 1, 2026: Apply by Tuesday, Dec 1 at 11:00 UTC

£100,000 – £350,000

Apply on funder site

About

Business-led collaborative industrial research in clean energy, life sciences or engineering biology, bringing together a UK SME and an independent German SME applying through the parallel ZIM programme. UK partners may request GBP 100,000–350,000 per project for 12–24 months, starting on 1 August 2027. The GBP 2.4 million figure is the total UK competition budget, rather than an individual award. UK and German contributions must be balanced, with no country or partner accounting for more than 70% of total project cost. Most UK-funded activity and exploitation must be in the UK. The authoritative Innovation Funding Service competition closes on 1 December 2026 at 11:00 UK time.

Eligibility

Career stage: Not stated

Institution applies

Covers: UK partners request GBP 100,000–350,000 per project for 12–24 months. German partners apply separately to ZIM. GBP 2.4 million is the total UK call budget.

Host location: United Kingdom, Germany

UK SME lead and independent German SME partner; most work must occur in the UK and Germany. UK partners undertake most of their work and spend most UK funding in the UK.

Eligibility source Source 2

Reviewed Oct 1, 2026. Check the funder’s full conditions before applying.

A UK-registered SME must lead and collaborate with a legally separate, non-linked German SME applying to ZIM. UK businesses of any size, academic institutions and research and technology organisations may collaborate. German partners receive German ZIM funding through a separate application, not Innovate UK funding. Selection is required by both funding bodies.