MATcelerate ZERO Funding
Round 7

The Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials is offering grant funding for research, development, and innovation sprint projects through Round 7 of its MATcelerate ZERO funding programme.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications to this call are restricted to researchers from the MATcelerate ZERO partner Universities who are working with their University Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs).

MATcelerate ZERO is a translational funding programme designed to bridge the gap between academic materials innovation and commercial application in the pursuit of net zero and decarbonisation. It offers a pathway for university researchers to translate their net-zero materials innovations into market-ready solutions.

The programme provides up to £80,000 in funding for selected proof-of-concept (PoC) projects to develop a Minimum Viable Demonstrator (MVD). This MVD serves to de-risk the innovation and make it more attractive for commercial investment.

MATcelerate ZERO connects researchers with industry partners who offer expertise, guidance, and market knowledge. These partners help to refine the MVD project, ensuring it aligns with industry needs and addresses potential commercialisation challenges. In exchange, industry partners benefit from facilitated access to the new innovative materials opportunities aggregated across twelve leading materials research universities.

The programme is aimed at university researchers who have developed transformational materials innovations with the potential to contribute to net-zero goals. This includes innovations in areas such as energy generation and storage, carbon capture, sustainable construction materials, and bio-based materials. The programme is particularly beneficial for researchers who need assistance in bridging the gap between laboratory-scale innovation and commercial viability. It offers them a unique opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders, gain valuable insights, and secure funding to advance their research towards real-world impact.

The programme provides innovators with a new route to garner industry input, while also giving industry partners early awareness of key materials innovations relevant to them and opportunities to support their commercial and technical development.

Start Your Application

Projects with a TRL range of 2 to 4 detailing net-zero and sustainability focused materials innovation are within scope of the programme. These may include:

• Carbon Capture Technologies, e.g. chemical looping, biomass fuels, metal-organic frameworks
• Energy Generation and Storage Materials, e.g. nano composites, lithium sulphur, niobium tungsten oxide, perovskites
• Materials for Ammonia and Hydrogen Production, e.g. catalysts, fuel cells, membranes, solid-state electrolytes
• 2D Materials for Next Generation Electronic Devices, e.g. hexagonal boron nitride, molybdenum disulphide, graphene
• Low-embodied Carbon Construction Materials, e.g. green cement, biomimetic materials
• Bio-based Materials, e.g. lignin, cellulose, engineered proteins

This programme funds projects that have total project costs of up to £80,000.

Applications are currently only accepted from the following HEIs:

• Imperial College London
• Oxford Brookes University
• The University of Manchester
• The University of Sheffield
• University College London
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• University of Leeds
• University of Liverpool
• University of Oxford
• University of Salford
• University of Warwick

To be eligible, your project must:

• Start on 01 July 2026 and finish by 31 December 2026 (6 months)
• Be a collaboration between an HEI and its TTO (i.e. fully supported and only include unencumbered IP)
• Incur all Royce-funded costs within the project’s duration
• Be a new project or activity that has not already started – please note that you can re-apply using a previously submitted unsuccessful application, as long as you have effectively addressed any feedback provided
• Be within the scope of MATcelerate ZERO
• Be led by either a researcher holding a permanent academic position (e.g. lecturer or equivalent) or a holder of an early career fellowship who is granted the same stature as a permanent academic staff member

Full eligibility information, funding models and eligible costs can be found in the guidance document.

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

Applications must be made by using the Flexigrant Portal. The application form has four parts.

Part 1: Applicant Details & Project Overview 

You are required to include details on the applicant HEI (under ‘Lead organisation’) and the TTO (under ‘Collaborator’).

Part 2: Project Specification 

You are required to describe your project, provide its background, and describe how it meets the scope of the scheme. Applicants are responsible for ensuring their proposals are within scope of this scheme.

You are also required to complete a budget table with proposed project costs. Use of third-party services are encouraged, and projects are requested to have already established the scope, costs, dependencies and feasibility of any work prior to application submission.

Part 3: Unmet Need, Commercial Considerations, IP and Market Dynamics 

You are required to outline how the proposed technology addresses unmet need, as well as detailing the market/competitive landscape.

Part 4: Next Steps for Development After Funding 

You are required to detail what further work, if any, would likely be required at the end of the project to get the technology ready for licencing or spinout formation/funding.

In this section you will also be required to declare that you fulfil the scheme’s eligibility criteria. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the proposal meets the requirements of this scheme, including completing the application form correctly and uploading any required supporting documentation.

DEADLINE

Royce must receive applications by  5pm on 13 March 2026. You will not be able to apply after this time.

HOW WE WILL ASSESS YOUR APPLICATION

Applications will be assessed for both eligibility and quality.

After the application deadline, all applications received will be assessed against the eligibility criteria listed in Section 2 of the guidance document.

All eligible proposals will then be reviewed by the industry partners against the following criteria:

• The idea/concept
• Clarity of workplan
• Project resources and capabilities
• Impact and added value

Up to four projects will be shortlisted and invited to work with an industry partner to refine their PoC project and develop a slide deck presentation for the in-person Investment Committee (IC). Project leads will have 10 minutes to pitch their project to the IC, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.

The IC, comprised of industry partners, evaluates the presentations and recommends funding for a decision by the Henry Royce Institute.

As this is a competitive process, not all projects can be funded. Royce will provide all eligible applicants with feedback. Detailed scoring/ranking will not be provided.