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Royce Industrial Collaboration Programme (ICP)
Funding Call - Round 3
About the funding call
Universities, research and technology organisations and companies can apply for funding up to total project costs of £125,000 for exploring innovative ideas with a focus on technology translation. These projects will be supported by the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials through its research, development, and innovation industrial collaboration programme.
Academic organisations and research and technology organisations undertaking non-economic activity can obtain the following funding:
- Up to 80% of full economic costs (FEC) for UK Je-S registered institutions or
- 100% of project costs for RTO, charity and not-for-profit organisations
Access to Royce facilities will be funded at 100% for academic and RTOs and should be included in their project costs.
Companies can claim a grant equal to a percentage of their total project costs:
Fundamental research projects are ineligible for funding.
Projects are expected to start from the 1st October 2023 and Royce-funded project expenditure must be completed by 29th February 2024.
The Royce Research and Business Engagement team is available to discuss potential project ideas, particularly from businesses who are unfamiliar with the expertise and capabilities across Royce. Please contact them at info@royce.ac.uk
The application deadline is the 30th June 2023 at 17.00.
Watch the briefing session held on 22 May 2023.
Further details can be found in the guidance document.
Scope
Hydrogen:
- Materials-led solutions to improve performance radically, reduce cost, and extend operational lifetimes of green electrolysis routes.
- Cost-effective materials solutions for hydrogen storage, distribution, and end-use over a wide range of temperatures and pressures.
- Smart materials for real-time monitoring of critical hydrogen infrastructure.
Biomaterials, bioprinting and bioelectronics:
- Bio-inspired materials and structures with novel properties and functionalities for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
- Innovative bioprinting technologies for the fabrication of complex biological structures with high precision and reproducibility.
- Advanced biosensors with high sensitivity, selectivity, and specificity for medical diagnosis and environmental monitoring.
Low-loss electronics:
- New dielectric materials with low loss and high energy density for power electronics applications.
- Semiconductors with improved performance and reliability for high-frequency and/or high-power applications.
- Organic and inorganic semiconductors for emerging applications.
- Materials for quantum technology.
- Materials and devices underpinning the development of new, energy-efficient computing architectures (e.g. spintronics, memristors).
- New materials solutions that enable circular and sustainable electronics.
Materials 4.0:
- New digital materials design tools and techniques for faster and more accurate materials discovery and optimisation, including high-throughput approaches to modelling, making, characterisation and testing and data-driven approaches.
- Smart materials with adaptive, responsive, and self-healing properties for applications in sensors, actuators, and energy harvesting.
- Additive manufacturing technologies with high throughput, precision, and scalability for mass production of complex parts and structures.
- Digital models of materials to simulate their behaviour under different conditions, enabling the prediction of the performance of the material before it is produced
Foundation industries:
- Sustainable materials with reduced environmental impact and improved resource efficiency for construction, transportation, and consumer goods.
- Circular economy strategies and technologies for recycling and reuse of materials and products, reducing waste and pollution.
- Innovative approaches for waste reduction and materials recovery in mining, minerals processing, and other foundation industries.
NOTE: It is the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate in their proposal how their project fits the competition scope as defined in the competition guidance.
ELIGIBILITY
Your project is expected to:
- Include at least one business and at least one university or RTO
- Start from the 1st of October 2023
- Complete all Royce-funded activity by 29th February 2024
- Carry out its project work in the UK
- Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- Incur costs within the project’s duration
- Be a new project or activity that has not already started
Participation of either Royce partners or facilities in projects is optional but strongly encouraged and looked upon favourably.
To collaborate or lead, you must be one of the following:
- Academic institution
- Research and technology organisation (RTO)
- Charity or not for profit organisation
- Business of any size
UK registered companies may participate and claim funding. International companies are eligible for participation but cannot claim funding.
HOW TO APPLY
PRE-APPLICATION DISCUSSION
Applicants are encouraged to start exploratory discussions on proposed projects with view to identifying collaborators, specifying the scope of a proposed project and identifying resources required for delivery.
We would also advise applicants who are interested in using Royce facilities as part of their project to contact the Research and Business Engagement Team to check costs and availability info@royce.ac.uk
SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION
You must apply using the online application form and Costing Form. We recommend you start your application early. Before completing this application form, please ensure you have had confirmation from your institution of the project costings. If a project partner does not wish to claim grant funding or wishes to provide in-kind or cash contribution towards the total project costs, it should outline this on a company letterhead document signed by a senior company official. These additional in-kind or cash costs do not count towards the total £125,000 project costs limit and will be required to be included in the contractual collaboration agreement, which must be signed between project partners.
A Word version of the form can be downloaded here for reference.
Consortia that are awarded funding must agree to have a collaboration agreement in place prior to the project commencing. Although these need to be agreed between the project partners, our expectation is that each party will own IP developed within its respective work packages. Deviation from this clause may result in delay or withdrawal of your grant.
DEADLINE
Royce must receive applications by 30 June at 17:00. You will not be able to apply after this time.
HOW WE WILL ASSESS YOUR APPLICATION
Your application will be confidentially shared with, and assessed by an independent panel made up of experts in the field from industry and academia against the following criteria:
- The idea and potential for a substantive step-forward
- Impact and added value
- Appropriate project resources and capabilities
- Appropriate workplan and ability to complete by 29th February 2024
- Justification of costs and value for money
- Ability to deliver a high impact project
- Overall fit to Royce funding objectives
Any applications deemed out of scope will be rejected.
TIMELINE
Call opens: 15th May 2023
Briefing and Q&A session: 22nd May 2023 – Watch the recording, Download the slide deck
Deadline for application: 30th June 2023, 17.00
Announcement of outcome: 31st July 2023
Projects start from: 1st October 2023
Projects funding ends: 29th February 2024
Cost log: 15th March 2024
Final report/case study: 28th March 2024
Independent accountant’s report/Director’s Statement: 29th April 2024
GET IN TOUCH ABOUT ICP
Please contact the Royce Research and Business Engagement Team via info@royce.ac.uk
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR FUNDING
This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022
If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations. You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom. All companies must complete a Subsidy Control declaration as part of the application form.
The Royce is unable to fund high risk organisations and applications will be subject to financial and due diligence checks.
Industry partners are required to submit an independent accountant’s report for claims over £50,000. Any claims under £50,000 require a signed Director’s statement of expenditure.
Further information about the grant award process is available here.
COLLABORATION AGREEMENT
Collaboration agreements between the project partners could be based on a Lambert template for university and company collaborations, or a Brunswick template for university-to-university collaborations. The project partners are responsible for negotiating this after the award, preferably to be agreed before a project commences (NB no project funds will be released until a collaboration agreement is in place).
A copy must be sent to the Royce admin office within one month of the start of the project as a condition of funding. Such agreements should include how intellectual property should be managed.