Royce Proof of Market

The Henry Royce Institute is pleased to be offering funding of up to £10,000 to support UK researchers at Royce partner universities to conduct primary and secondary market research for advanced materials technologies.

This pilot Proof of Market competition aims to bridge the gap between promising research and commercialisation by enabling researchers to assess market viability and develop robust commercialisation insights.

This funding competition is open to academics working at a UK Royce partner university and actively developing an advanced materials technology.  Any future rounds will be open for applications from all UK universities, please register your interest here.

The technology should be at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 or higher, indicating that the basic principles have been observed and demonstrated in a laboratory or relevant environment, at component/material or system level.

Projects should focus on conducting primary and secondary market research to understand:

• Market size, potential, and segmentation
• Existing and emerging competitor landscape
• End-user needs, pain points, and willingness to adopt the technology
• Potential applications, product-market fit and routes to market
• Regulatory landscape and barriers to entry
• Value proposition and pricing strategies

Funding can be used for direct costs only to:

• Subcontract market research activities
• Allocate funding internally within universities for appropriate staff time
• Cover primary and secondary market research costs

Overheads and indirect costs are ineligible.

Further information is found within the competition’s guidance for applicants document.

Contact the Royce Research and Business Engagement team at info@royce.ac.uk or Thanasis.Georgiou@manchester.ac.uk with any questions.