Net Zero Living Digital Accelerator round 1

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £1.5 million to develop digital applications to solve challenges in delivering net zero for places.

Opportunity Details

When

Registration Opens

24/04/2023

Registration Closes

07/06/2023

Award

Your project’s total grant funding request must be between £150,000 and £300,000. This can cover up to 70% of costs depending on project size and business type.

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The aim of this competition is to support ambitious, early stage digital focussed businesses in developing and delivering net zero in relation to challenges based on place. This must be done through data driven digital applications and by collaborating with potential customers and product users.

By accelerating their journey, we hope to create high growth businesses that will drive forwards digitalisation across the UK and globally in Net Zero sectors, creating jobs, growing a customer base and delivering customer value.

Your proposal must focus on two or more net zero challenges across:

  • power
  • heat
  • mobility
  • product manufacture and usage

Your digital product must be for domestic, commercial, industrial or local authority users, and must utilise a number of datasets relevant to place. Links to other sectors are also welcome, where relevant to the delivery of net zero.

You must collaborate with at least one potential customer or product user as part of the project.

  • To lead a project your organisation must:

    • be a UK registered micro or small business
    • collaborate with at least one UK registered business, organisation or public authority of any size
    • collaborate with at least one potential customer or product user as part of the project.

    An organisation can only lead on one application. If an organisation is not leading an application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.

    Your project must:

    • have a grant funding request between £150,000 and £300,000
    • start by 01 November 2023
    • end by 31 October 2024
    • last between 9 and 12 months
    • carry out all of its project work in the UK
    • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • Your proposal must focus on two or more net zero challenges across:

    • power
    • heat
    • mobility
    • product manufacture and usage

    Your digital product must be for domestic, commercial, industrial or public authority users. Links to other sectors are also welcome where relevant to the delivery of net zero.

    Your project must be a software or data lead solution.

    It must make use of a number of open and shared data sets across a range of place relevant topics, including, but not limited to:

    • energy vectors and assets
    • citizens and communities
    • buildings
    • geography
    • transport
    • carbon emissions
    • industry
    • economy
  • Your digital products or services must help places to accelerate their journey to net zero, and be replicable and scalable. You can focus on decision making tools, cost evaluation, reporting tools, prioritisation, or citizen engagement.

    Your businesses is likely to be at least 2 years old. You may have a product being developed or available and have some customer engagement. You could be self funded or have early investors and you may have accessed some public funding in your growth journey to date.

    This competition will fund projects that demonstrate and drive forwards best practice in data sharing in Net Zero sectors. Your project must apply best practice principles around data governance and sharing, and must demonstrate how you are adopting the Innovate UK Net Zero Living Data Guidance principles across the project. This includes taking a presumed open approach to data generated throughout the project.

    Successful applicants will be provided with technical support in understanding and applying the Innovate UK Net Zero Living Data Guidance principles to your project and business. This will include at least 2 workshops to introduce the guidance and principles. It will also include 20 hours of dedicated technical support for each project from an Innovate UK delivery partner.

    You must publish at least one end of project summary report giving an overview of what was undertaken, learned and achieved during the project. This report must be openly published and accessible. You are also expected to partake in at least 2 project ‘show and tell’ events across the project period.

  • For further information on the funding competition please click here.

    If you need any pointers to completing your application, please read the Good Application Guide on our website, click here.

    If you have any further questions, contact Innovate UK KTN’s Net Zero Places team.

Related programme

Net Zero Places Innovation Network

Net Zero Places Innovation Network

Making net zero a reality in the UK by supporting local/regional authorities to achieve their net zero ambitions by connecting, collaborating, sharing experiences and adopting innovation.

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