Dates:
Competition opens: 24 February 2025
Competition closes: 9 April 2025, 11:00 am
Online briefing event: 6 March 2025
Applicants notified: 16 May 2025
Project start date & duration: not start before 1 September 2025/ end by 31 March 2027/ last between 6-18 months
Scope
The aim of this competition is to support outstanding innovation projects led by businesses in net zero industry. Your project must focus on the markets for industrial decarbonisation in Southwest Wales (Carmarthenshire, Neath-Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea) and globally.
Specific Themes
- decarbonisation of industry/carbon dioxide capture, distribution and storage
- hydrogen energy/renewable energy, including renewable marine energy
- energy efficiency, including industrial energy efficiency and demand-side management)
- green industry innovation
Projects can also consider the following areas:
- sustainable fuel and platform chemical production/low carbon heat distribution and utilisation
- mini grid community systems/industrial transport/innovation in skills development
- advances that empower your business to start your journey to net zero
- innovation that enables other businesses to learn from you and replicate your example
Projects that will not be funded
- do not evidence potential for the proposed innovation to lead to significant and positive economic or societal impact
- dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
- dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product
Eligibility
- subsidy Control Act 2022 funding rules apply/EU State aid rules only apply in limited circumstances
- project must be led by a UK business of any size/ carry out all of its project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- be growing your innovation activities in the net zero industrial innovation cluster in Southwest Wales
- have a demonstrable ambition for business growth
- subcontractors must be UK based, with costs justified and appropriate to the total costs.
Funding Rates
Total eligible project costs between £150,000 and £750,000 (£2.9M pot).
| Project maturity (up to but not including commercialisation) | ||
| Organisation size | Industrial Research (TRL3-5) | Experimental Development (TRL 6-7) |
| Micro/small business | <70% | <45% |
| Medium sized business | <60% | <35% |
| Large business | <50% | <25% |
Research organisations in your consortium can share up to 30% of the UK total eligible project costs.
How PNO can support you
The UK team has a strong track record in securing some of the most competitive national and European grants on behalf of its clients, with a full understanding of how a project should be presented to stand the highest chance of success. Each year in the UK alone, we are responsible for the submission of more than 100 funding applications across all sectors and priority areas. Based on this extensive experience, through careful project selection and using key insight into how a project should be best positioned, we consistently achieve success rates that are more than 5 times the typical success rates for UK national schemes and EU programmes.
For further information or to discuss a project idea please contact PNO Consultants
0161 488 3488 | info.uk@pnoconsultants.com
