Made Smarter: National Digital Twin and Virtual Manufacturing Testbeds
This call focusses on creating a suite of low-cost physical testbeds to enable SMEs to trial and test simple product lines.
The Smart Manufacturing Data Hub (SMDH) will help to drive advances in manufacturing and development in a more efficient and sustainable way, by providing the opportunity for innovative collaboration that will be transformative in driving manufacturing competitiveness.
This call focusses on creating a suite of low-cost physical testbeds to enable SMEs to trial and test simple product lines, de-risking major investment yet enabling growth. These testbeds will be supported with virtual replicas or remote access to substantially increase national reach throughout the UK, levelling-up the opportunities for SMEs in more rural areas to exceed and expand.
The open call is available to all organisations with an existing manufacturing-related testbed.
Applications should be received by 14 February 2024 at 12 noon. Once you have registered your EoI the full application form will be sent to you via email. (i.e. please register well in advance of 14 February 2024).
-
The open call is available to all organisations with an existing manufacturing-related testbed. We welcome applications from businesses, academia, research and technology organisations, technology partners and domain experts. All funded organisations must reside within the UK.
Grant recipients must be UK-registered, must carry out the majority of the funded work in the UK and have a UK business bank account.
-
Your project should develop a real-world operational and virtual testbed environment where technologies, that are ready to deliver value to users, can be tested and deployed by an SME without risking business disruption or incurring significant cost.
We are open to applications from established manufacturing-related testbeds where SME demand for the organisation’s offering/solutions can be demonstrated. Grant funding of up to £100,000 will be provided to enable the testbed to be prepared for utilisation by SMEs. This must be completed within 6 months of the grant award.
An ideal application will include co-investment of at least 3 times the grant value and will be delivered within the project lifetime.
Ideally, all projects will be completed by 31 December 2024 to allow grant processing and payment before programme close on 31 March 2025.
-
Your project should develop a real-world operational and virtual testbed environment where technologies, that are ready to deliver value to users, can be tested and deployed by an SME without risking business disruption or incurring significant cost.
Grant recipients must commit to the following key deliverables:
- Successful delivery of the funded Concept development project within the term;
- Evidence of commitment to the sustainability of the project through an implementation phase, ideally delivering co-investment of three times the Concept Development Grant received;
- Data to be uploaded to MDEP;
- Engagement with the SMDH community;
- Participation in showcases and key events.
-
Testbeds serve to create a digital manufacturing ecosystem within which high-quality technology solutions can be tested to deliver business improvements across the sector. This means that organisations will be able to benefit in the following ways:
- A grant of up to £100,000 to develop your concept and create your initial build;
- Engagement and support from a designated SMDH representative and relevant SMDH team/partners, who will work with you to capture progress and share advice and domain knowledge;
- Upload of the resulting data to MDEP, allowing you to participate in and gain wider insights across the entire UK manufacturing community.