National Materials Innovation Programme: Feasibility Studies | Up to £100k

• Funder: Innovate UK
• Status: Open
• Opens / closes: 3 November 2025 at 09:30 / 17 December 2025 at 11:00
• Total competition fund: £2,000,000
• Per-project award size: £50,000 to £100,000
• Project length / start window: Up to 9 months. Projects must start by 1 May 2026 and end by 31 January 2027
• Who can lead: UK-registered business of any size
• Collaboration: Single applicants or collaborations. In collaborations, no one organisation can claim over 70% of total eligible costs
• SME eligibility: SMEs can lead and participate. Standard Innovate UK feasibility funding rates apply, with higher cost coverage typically available to SMEs
• Evidence required: End-user letter of support demonstrating adoption potential
• Scope focus: Feasibility studies that accelerate advanced materials into industrial use across high-growth themes, plus a strategic metamaterials/metasurfaces opportunity

• Scale-ups and SMEs seeking to convert strong lab data or prototypes into industry-ready evidence for pilots
• Component and materials suppliers needing customer-validated performance data to unlock design-in
• Systems integrators and OEMs requiring lightweighting, durability, thermal, conductive or optical advantages to meet roadmap targets

Projects must prove feasibility of advanced materials technologies with a clear line of sight to industrial adoption. Expect strong fit where you can show:

• Compelling end-user need evidenced by a letter of support
• Defined use cases in sectors where materials performance is a bottleneck
• Credible validation plan for technical feasibility and early manufacturability
• Initial commercial pathway, including value drivers for adopters and any certification or regulatory considerations
• Strategic theme opportunity for metamaterials or metasurfaces where performance, weight, or integration benefits unlock new applications

• Grant size: £50,000 to £100,000 per project.
• Eligible costs: Typical Innovate UK cost categories such as labour, subcontracting, materials, travel and overheads, aligned to feasibility scope.
• Intervention rates: Innovate UK’s standard feasibility rates apply; SMEs usually receive a higher percentage of eligible costs than large organisations.
• Payment profile: Grants are profiled against milestones; maintain prudent working capital planning to bridge claims and any supplier payment terms.

What problem are you solving for the end-user, why do materials matter, and how will the feasibility outputs unlock adoption? Then show:

• Need and opportunity: Defined market failure or performance gap the material addresses
• State-of-the-art and differentiation: Why your approach is novel and defensible
• Technical plan: Focused work packages, risks, success metrics and gateway tests
• Commercialisation route: Target segments, buyer economics and adoption hurdles
• Team and partners: Delivery capability, industrial letters, and access to facilities
• Value for money: Clear rationale for cost, timeline and milestone tranches