New funding opportunities from VFS Partner, Innovate UK

Take a look at the latest funding opportunities from VFS Partner, Innovate UK, helping you find the opportunities most relevant to your business.

Latest open opportunities:

Advanced Manufacturing:

• National Materials Innovation Programme: CR&D Round 1 – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £12 million for collaborative industrial research to speed the translation of advanced materials innovations in three prioritised high growth themes and one strategic opportunity theme. Closing 28 October.
• MDI Programme Innovation and Scale-up Hub – UK registered eligible organisations can apply for a share of up to £4 million for a Manufacturing Digitalisation Innovation and Scale-up Hub to improve the targeting, quality and commercial impact of grant funded activity. Closing 18 November.

Clean Energy:

• First of a Kind (FOAK) Builder: Programme Entry Expression of Interest – UK registered businesses can apply for support worth up to £315,000 to develop a Climate Tech First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) project. Companies successful at this EOI stage could be invited to apply for a larger grant through FOAK Builder Phase 2. Closing 5 November.
• Growth Cohorts: Next-gen low carbon concrete cohort entry Round 2 – UK registered businesses can apply to join a cohort of ambitious businesses. These businesses will develop solutions to decarbonise concrete and access funding and sector specific support, to develop and deliver innovation and growth plans. Closing 2 December 2026.

Digital and Technologies:

• Engineering Biology CR&D Round 3 – Part of the Engineering Biology Programme (EBP). This competition is 1 of 5 interventions within Phase 1 of the infrastructure access scheme. It is aimed at helping high-growth potential SMEs build partnerships across supply chains to engage new customers/end-users across a range of application areas from agrifood, chemicals and materials, healthcare, environmental solutions and tools and technologies. The EBP CR&D call will be scoped with MNEs / end users to ensure laser focus on market needs for Engineering Biology solutions. Closing 3 November.
• Engineering Biology Contracts For Innovation Strategic Round 1 Phase 1 – Part of the Engineering Biology Programme (EBP). This competition supports SMEs in developing EB technologies that meet procurement needs of government department ‘challenge areas’ defined by Defra and FSA. Closing 4 November.
• Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1 – UK registered SME’s can apply for a share of up to £3.1 million to deliver feasibility studies for frontier artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) technologies with a clear route to defensible scale-up. Closing 11 November.
• Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems – UK registered SME businesses can apply for a share of up to £1.66 million to deliver experimental validation of prototype AI systems for novel reusable components of efficient, structured and controllable learning systems. Closing 18 November.
• Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1 – UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of up to £8 million to develop engineering biology products and services with selected investor partners. Closing 2 December.
• BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Assurance and Compliance – UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of up to £5 million to deploy Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions that monitor, test, verify or evidence compliance with requirements, standards or controls. Closing 8 December.
• BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Decision Critical Systems – UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of up to £5 million to deploy Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions that support consequential judgements, recommendations or decisions. Closing 8 December.
• BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Operational Systems – UK registered SMEs can apply for a share of up to £5 million to deploy Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions that perform, control or coordinate operational activity. Closing 8 December.
• Eureka collaborative R&D: Globalstars Japan 2027 – UK registered organisations can apply for a share of £2 million for collaborative industrial research projects with partners from Japan and select Eureka countries. Closing 20 January.

Life Sciences:

• Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation: CR&D Round 2 – Innovate UK will work with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to invest up to £7 million to support the development and adoption of sustainable technologies for the manufacturing of medicines. Closing 2 December.
• Advancing innovation in accelerated cancer diagnosis – Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences’ (OLS) Cancer Healthcare Goals programme, will invest up to £25.4 million, to support the clinical validation and evaluation of early cancer diagnostic technologies and devices. Closing 28 October.

Cross cutting opportunities:

• Investor Partnerships: Battery Innovation Programme – The aim of this competition is to provide support for research and development and access to the capital investment you need to develop and commercialise your innovations. This competition is for SMEs that can demonstrate the potential to grow and scale and must also have a project that is aligned to the Battery Innovation Programme. Closing 25 November.
• UK-Singapore CRD 2026 – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £3 million for the purpose of developing innovative proposals with Singapore. You must collaborate with at least one Singapore business applying under the equivalent Enterprise Singapore programme. Closing 16 December.
• UK-Germany Bilateral Collaborative R&D: Round 5 – UK registered SME’s can apply for a share of up to £2.4 million for the purpose of developing innovative proposals with Germany. You must collaborate with at least one German SME applying under the equivalent German ZIM programme. Closing 1 December.
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2026-2027 Round 4 – UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £12.5 million to fund innovation projects with businesses. Closing 27 January 2027.

The competition criteria sets out full details of the potential and the performance metrics Innovate UK will be looking for, including the types of businesses that are eligible. Do make sure you continue to check individual competition dates as they may be extended.

Latest upcoming opportunities:

Clean Energy:

• National Materials Innovation Programme: CR&D 2 – The aim of this competition is to speed the translation of advanced materials innovations toward industrial adoption in prioritised high growth and strategic opportunity themes. The funding is part of the National Materials Innovation Programme, which was announced in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy. Opening February 2027.
• Clean Energy Investment and Scale: Growth Cohorts entry competition Round 3 – The aim of this competition is to recruit ambitious businesses to join a Growth Cohort. The Growth Cohort will fund and support businesses to accelerate their ambitions to decarbonise concrete. Opening April 2027

Creative Industries

• Hybrid Anchors: Contracts for Innovation Round 4 – This competition supports the TV industry in the UK offering growth opportunities for all four of the industries highlighted in the Creative Industries Sector Plan. February 2027.

Digital and Technologies:

• Engineering Biology Early Stage Accelerators Round 1 – Part of the Engineering Biology Programme (EBP). This award enhances business acumen and investor readiness of companies through participation in an early-stage accelerator programme; establishing new partnerships between EB companies and multi-national enterprises / large companies through a late-stage accelerator. October 2026.
• Frontier AI cross-cutting novel Round 1 – The Frontier AI Strategic Programme is an Innovate UK initiative designed to strengthen the United Kingdom’s frontier artificial intelligence capabilities and reduce strategic dependence on foreign-owned AI technologies. Through a coordinated, mission-led portfolio of interventions, the programme seeks to address a range of interconnected market and system failures that currently constrain UK competitiveness, innovation, and long-term economic growth. October 2026.
• Frontier AI R&D Consortia – The aim of this competition is to advance the development of frontier Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and foundation models in the UK. December 2026.
• SME Champions: Frontier AI pipeline 1 / phase 2 – The aim of this competition is to advance the development of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the UK. We will fund UK SMEs to validate the technical feasibility of ambitious AI, and ML innovations that could deliver step-change improvements in capability and enable new products, services or platforms. January 2027.

Cross cutting opportunities:

• Eureka Globalstars Japan 2027 – The aim of this competition is to support UK-Japan international business-led innovation collaboration. Via grant funding Innovate UK will support UK businesses to collaborate successfully with Japanese and other Eureka country counterparts thereby supporting their global growth prospects. This competition will support industrial research with IUK funding the UK partners only. The competition will be run as an international multilateral one through Eureka with UK-Japan proposals as a minimum requirement. Any projects that are funded will require national funding body approval. October 2026.
• UK-Germany Bilateral: Collaborative R&D Round 5 – The aim of this competition is to support high-growth potential innovative UK companies in aligned IS6 sectors and frontier technologies to grow and scale internationally through collaborations with German counterparts. This competition will support industrial research with IUK funding the UK partners only. October 2026.
• Eureka Eurostars 3 Call 11 2026 – This aim of this competition is to fund SME-led industrial R&D projects that strengthen international collaboration through the Eurostars Network, enabling UK businesses to partner with organisations across 37 countries. December 2026.
• Eureka Clusters 2026 Drawdown 1, 2 and 3 – This competition supports UK participation in industry-led international R&D projects through Eureka Clusters, fostering collaboration and innovation across technology areas including communications, low-carbon technologies, software, advanced manufacturing and electronics. January 2027.
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2027-2028 Round 1. February 2027.