Game Changers (National Nuclear Laboratory)

Game Changers feasibility funding

Innovation funding for technologies that solve published challenges set by nuclear industry partners such as Sellafield Ltd and Nuclear Restoration Services. Applicants answer a specific challenge: feasibility grants of up to £10,000, 100% funded with no match funding, explore an idea over 8 to 12 weeks, and promising ideas can go on to match-funded proof of concept grants, generally £30,000 to £60,000. Any organisation of any size can apply, including businesses, universities, research organisations, public bodies and charities.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Up to £10,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Light; short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

Any organisation of any size, including SMEs, higher education institutions, research and technology organisations and public bodies; companies must be registered with Companies House
International organisations can also apply, though exemptions may apply depending on the challenge
Partners can apply together, but a single feasibility award is made and must be divided between them
At proof of concept stage Game Changers pays 70% for micro and small companies, 60% for medium, 50% for large, 80% of full economic cost for universities, and 100% for research organisations and for public sector organisations or charities
Organisations without Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO27001 must commit to achieving one or an equivalent before the proof of concept stage

What it funds

Feasibility projects of up to £10,000 exploring ideas and concepts with challenge owners, which may involve meetings, small prototypes or demonstrations, and produce a business case, project plan and risk register for a proof of concept project
Proof of concept projects for ideas showing early promise, generally £30,000 to £60,000 over 6 to 12 months, match-funded according to the type of organisation

projects are generally at technology readiness levels 2 to 6, including technologies at TRL 9 in other sectors but TRL 2 to 6 in a nuclear context. Applications are usually made in response to specific published challenges.

How to apply

Choose an open challenge on the Game Changers challenges page and read its challenge statement; workshops with the challenge owners are held and recorded
Sign in and complete the short online application form, with guidance throughout
Submit a digital poster with the application, following the poster guidance
Applications are reviewed against set criteria by a panel of challenge owners, end-users from partner organisations and Game Changers staff
If successful, sign a non-disclosure agreement and a contract with the National Nuclear Laboratory

on 15 Oct 2026 two challenges were open, both from Sellafield Ltd: in-situ testing of nuclear waste package filters (closes 29 October) and smart inline analysis for future plutonium processing (closes 3 November). You can submit more than one application to the same challenge if the ideas are sufficiently different.

Have ready

Online application form
Digital poster

a non-confidential paragraph describing the project is asked for in the form, for publication if funded.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.