Transforming Foundation Industries: Building a Resilient Recovery Competition
The Transforming Foundation Industries will shortly be opening a competition to fund innovation that ensures a fast recovery from Covid-19.
UK registered businesses can soon apply for a share of grant funding for innovative projects supporting recovery and growth that improve the productivity and sustainability of the UK’s foundation industries as we continue to recover from Covid-19.
The aim of this competition is to support an innovation-led recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and to protect the UK’s foundation industry innovation capability. The foundation industries span metal, glass, paper, ceramics, cement and bulk chemicals. Aligned with the objectives of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge (TFI), projects will have to demonstrate how they address resource or energy efficiency of foundation industries and support resilience and sustainability of the sector and its supply chains.
The competition allows single or cross-sector applicants to apply with projects between £100,000 and £1m in total cost, 3-12 months in length to start by the 1st April 2021. Projects can be led by businesses or RTOs, but RTOs cannot work alone and research organisations can only claim 50% in total.
Projects can include techno-economic assessment of new products, services and business models, but must focus on resource or energy efficiency in the foundation industries and can look to develop:
- long-term viability of domestic supply chains
- new markets
- new business models
- new products and services
- new processes
Applications open on the 3rd August 2020 and close on the 4th November 2020.
KTN held a briefing webinar on the 17th July and a facilitated collaboration and networking webinar on the 20th July. Recordings are available here.
Competition Briefing, 17th July
10.00 am Welcome and introductions
10.05 am Scope and eligibility criteria
10.30 am Q&A
10.45 am Application process
11.10 am Q&A
11.30 am How KTN can support your project
11.45 am Wrap up
Collaboration & Networking, 20th July
For the collaboration and networking event, we are inviting businesses and research organisations to pitch project ideas and collaboration needs, through a pre-recorded 2-slide deck to inspire discussions at the following networking session. Previous successful pitches have concisely highlighted areas of expertise, potential project ideas and areas where they are looking for collaborative support. Through our networking platform, Meeting Mojo, 1:1 meetings can be set up with potential collaborators for the development of proposal ideas. The Innovate UK and KTN teams will also be available to answer further questions. Please submit your recorded slide deck by 17th July noon, by emailing Ajay.Kapadia@iuk.ktn-uk.org (and cc Aileen.Woodley@iuk.ktn-uk.org).
Agenda:
10.00 am Welcome and introductions (KTN team)
10.05 am Overview of scope and application process (Sarah)
10.30 am Pitch Session
11.30 am Collaboration and networking (on separate meeting mojo platform)
KTN hosted webinars on the Foundation Industries in June and July, focused on an Innovation Funding Masterclass and the Transforming Foundation Industries Hub Briefing Event webinar.
To watch the recordings of these back please click here.