GrantRadar

Innovate UK (UKRI), with Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)

UK-Germany Bilateral Collaborative R&D: Round 5

Innovate UK grants for UK-registered SMEs to run business-led industrial research projects jointly with at least one unlinked German business, in clean energy, life sciences or engineering biology. The UK side of each project can request £100,000 to £350,000 for 12 to 24 months starting 1 August 2027, while the German partner applies in parallel to Germany's ZIM programme through AiF Projekt GmbH; both funders must select the project. Innovate UK puts the chance of success at about 10%. Closes 11am on 1 December 2026; the total UK pot is £2.4 million.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£100,000 – £350,000
Deadline
44 days left
1 December
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • The UK lead must be a UK-registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
  • It must collaborate with at least one Germany-registered business (an SME applying to the German ZIM programme) that is a separate legal entity not linked to the UK partners
  • Other UK partners can be UK-registered businesses of any size, academic institutions or research and technology organisations; the lead and at least one other organisation must request funding
  • UK partners must do most of their work in the UK, intend to exploit the results from or in the UK and spend most of the funding in the UK
  • No one country or partner can account for more than 70% of total project costs, and both countries' contributions must be balanced
  • Projects must last 12 to 24 months, start on 1 August 2027 and end by 30 June 2029
  • An organisation can lead only one application, and a lead can be a partner in two others
  • Non-funded partners (including non-UK organisations) can take part
  • On the German side, SMEs and medium-sized companies with fewer than 500 employees can apply to ZIM (fewer than 1,000 if working with a funded SME), with research organisations as cooperation partners

What it funds

Business-led collaborative research and development projects focused on industrial research, in one of these sectors:

  • Clean Energy
  • Life Sciences
  • Engineering Biology
  • Eligible project costs of UK partners: up to 70% for micro or small organisations, up to 60% for medium-sized and up to 50% for large organisations
  • Research organisations doing non-economic work, sharing up to 30% of total eligible project costs: up to 100% for RTOs and research organisations, 80% of full economic cost for academic institutions
  • Subcontractors from anywhere in the UK, up to 20% of the total eligible costs of the UK participation

Proposals must show a game-changing or disruptive idea, a deliverable business plan, value for money, significant UK economic benefit, the added value of the two countries working together, clear IP arrangements and a route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion.

What it will not fund

  • Projects that request less than £100,000 or more than £350,000 from Innovate UK
  • Projects without an eligible German partner
  • Projects that do not submit all mandatory documentation
  • Projects that do not meet Innovate UK's eligibility criteria
  • Projects that pose a risk to the UK's national security, economic security or strategic interests
  • Projects dependent on export performance or on using a set percentage of UK components
  • Research categories other than industrial research
  • Funding for the German partner from Innovate UK (German partners are funded by ZIM)
  • Applicants who failed to exploit a previously funded project, have an overdue independent accountant's report or failed to comply with grant terms and conditions
  • Organisations in financial difficulty

How to apply

  1. Find an unlinked German business partner (Innovate UK Business Connect can help find partners) and agree a joint project in clean energy, life sciences or engineering biology
  2. The UK lead starts an application on the Innovation Funding Service and invites UK partners, who each enter their own project costs (academic institutions use TRAC)
  3. Complete the project details (summary, public description and scope, 400 words each), 17 application questions (up to 400 words each, with appendices for approach, team, project plan or Gantt chart and risk register) and the finance and Project Impact sections
  4. The German partner submits a separate, parallel ZIM application in German to AiF Projekt GmbH (BMWE), including a joint English Proposal Application Form signed by all partners; an optional German Project Sketch can be sent to ZIM first
  5. Submit by 11am UK time on 1 December 2026; you can reopen and resubmit up to the deadline
  6. Three independent assessors score the application, and the project must be selected independently by both Innovate UK and AiF; applicants are notified on 30 April 2027

A recording of the 12 October 2026 briefing and the briefing slides are on the competition page. AiF recommends German partners new to ZIM contact it at least six weeks before the deadline (k.kummer@aif-projekt-gmbh.de or zim-international@aif-projekt-gmbh.de).

Ask Innovate UK at least 15 working days before the deadline for reasonable adjustments; contact support@iuk.ukri.org or 0300 321 4357.

Have ready

  • Innovation Funding Service application with project details, application questions, finances and Project Impact answers
  • Appendix for the approach and innovation question (optional, PDF, up to 2 A4 pages)
  • Appendix summarising the main people in the team (optional, PDF, up to 2 A4 pages)
  • Project plan or Gantt chart (PDF, up to 2 A4 pages)
  • Risk register (PDF, up to 2 A4 pages)
  • TRAC costings for any academic partner

The German partner's ZIM application needs a full project description in German (Anlage 4), a current commercial register excerpt and the jointly prepared English Proposal Application Form signed by all partners.

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