UK-South Korea CR&D 2024

To start an application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS), your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.

You must:

• be a UK registered business of any size
• collaborate with at least one South Korean registered business applying to the KIAT or KETEP programme, which must be a separate legal entity, not linked to the UK partners

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

A UK registered business can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further 2 applications.

If a UK registered business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.

A UK registered academic institution or research and technology organisation (RTO) cannot lead an application but can collaborate on any number of applications.

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of no more than £900,000
• start by 1 October 2024
• end by 30 September 2027
• last between 24 and 36 months

The majority of the project work must be undertaken in the UK and South Korea. 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.

Your project must demonstrate a balanced technological contribution by the participants from both countries and must be equally significant to all participants.

No one country or project partner can represent more than 70% of the total project cost.

Your proposal must demonstrate a clear intention to commercially exploit the results of the project domestically or globally.

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 UK and South Korea working together and how this adds value to your project
• 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

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

KIAT

• advanced manufacturing and materials
• artificial intelligence
• future mobility (including batteries)
• semiconductors

KETEP

• energy storage system
• hydrogen

Innovate UK will hold on online briefing webinar at 11am GMT on Wednesday 28 February: click here for the joining link.

If you want help to find a UK project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Global team, or our teams for manufacturing, materials, artificial intelligence, electronics, transport or energy.