UK-South Korea Collaborative R&D Round 2

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million for this competition. This funding is for the purpose of developing innovative proposals with South Korea.

Opportunity Details

When

Registration Opens

13/03/2023

Registration Closes

07/06/2023

Award

UK applicants can apply for a maximum grant of up to £500,000 for each project.

Organisation

Innovate UK

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Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) and Korean Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) to invest up to £2 million in innovation projects.

The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. This is for innovative proposals developed between the UK and South Korea.

Your proposal must include at least one partner from the UK and one partner from South Korea.

UK registered organisations must apply to and will be funded by Innovate UK.

Your South Korean partner will not receive any funding from Innovate UK. South Korean partners must apply to and will be funded by either KIAT or KETEP, depending on the focus sector of the project:

KIAT

  • advanced manufacturing and materials
  • artificial intelligence
  • future mobility (including battery technologies)

KETEP

  • energy storage system
  • hydrogen

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.

Eligibility

Your project must:

  • have a maximum grant funding request of no more than £500,000
  • start by 1 November 2023
  • end by 30 October 2026
  • last between 24 and 36 months

UK project partners must carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.

The consortium must include at least one business registered in South Korea that is a separate, non-linked entity. Your South Korean partner will not receive any of this UK competition funding. South Korean partners will be funded by either KIAT or KETEP.

Each organisation will receive funding from its respective national funding body.

All businesses in a consortium must be separate legal and non-linked entities. This is to ensure that projects encourage genuine international collaboration, not internal company research. Linked companies are considered a single entity under the parent company.

Projects should have a balanced contribution of the total eligible project costs among the partners from the participating partner countries. No more than 70% of the total project costs can be claimed by any single partner or by all partners from a single participating country.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application.

Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian and Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.

Scope

The aim of this competition is to fund business led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. This is for innovative proposals developed between the UK and South Korea.

Your project must demonstrate:

  • a clear game changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
  • a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses and documents market potential and needs
  • sound, practical financial plans and timelines
  • good value for money which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions
  • a clear, evidence based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
  • clear, considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy or national productivity
  • the benefits of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value
  • a clear definition of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
  • a clear route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, sectors and UK geographical locations. We call this a portfolio approach.

Specific sectors

Your project must focus on one or more of the following sectors:

  • advanced manufacturing and materials
  • artificial intelligence
  • future mobility (including battery technologies)
  • energy storage system
  • hydrogen

Research categories

We will fund industrial research projects as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

  • deliver any non-civilian applications
  • are not in scope
  • do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria
  • do not submit all mandatory documentation
  • have a grant request of more than £500,000 from Innovate UK
  • do not have an eligible South Korean partner

We cannot fund projects that are:

  • dependent on export performance, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
  • dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

Key dates

13 March 2023 – Competition opens
14 March 2023 – Online briefing event: register to attend
7 June 2023 11:00am – Competition closes
14 August 2023 – Applicants notified

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