Topic: engineering biology

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 authoritat

Exploratory projects pair AI expertise with a domain researcher to address a specific challenge in engineering biology, advanced materials, quantum technologies, medical research or fusion energy. Outputs may include prototypes, feasibility evidence, collaborations or research roadmaps; AI-method development without domain benefit is outside scope. Projects last up to 12 months and start on 26 April 2027. Applications opened 29 September 2026 and close 1 December 2026 at 16:00 UK time. Funding remains subject to Full Business Case approval.

Innovate UK supports pilot-scale development and validation of laboratory-proven engineering biology innovations. Projects must include access to UK scale-up facilities and address health, food and agriculture, chemicals and materials, low-carbon fuels, waste and environment, or enabling technologies. UK SMEs must lead; eligible partners include universities and research organisations. Total project costs must be GBP 200,000–750,000, with projects lasting up to 24 months. These are project-cost limits, not grant-award amounts. The competition opened on 7 September and closes on 21 October 2026