PoliSCI

Your weekly digest of policy news, funding competitions, and calls for evidence.

What’s been in the news?

Clean energy ambitions

The following is a roundup of news related to clean energy.

Taking place ahead of COP26, UK business Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng and India’s Minister for Power and Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh discussed the move to global clean energy at the UK-India Energy for Growth Dialogue. The UK-India One Sun One World One Grid Initiative will bring together key stakeholders to move forward with infrastructure required to deliver clean energy.

Kwasi Kwarteng said ‘Supporting the move to clean energy is a shared priority, and our new joint programme on smart power, renewable energy and storage will help to increase investment in renewable projects, while creating new high skilled jobs across both nations as we build back greener.’

In similar news, the US Department of Energy (DoE) has announced funding of $20 million to demonstrate the production clean hydrogen from nuclear power at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Phoenix, Arizona. Innovative technology will be implemented to provide green electricity.

In other recent news, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on advancing the production of green hydrogen, transportation, storage and global use.

Addressing global supply chain pressure

Following a meeting in Washington DC last week, G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors are working to monitor global supply chain pressures. UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK will fund loan £1 billion to support vulnerable countries through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.

In similar news, former CEO of Tesco, Sir David Lewis, has been appointed as the UK Government’s supply chain adviser. Dave Lewis will co-chair the new Supply Chain Advisory Group which involves the new Industry Taskforce. Identifying current blockages and anticipating and addressing potential future blockages will be part of Lewis’s focus, as well as working quickly to support businesses in the recovery from the global pandemic.

EIC announces start-up champions

Sixty-five European innovative start-ups and SMEs will receive a share of €363 million of funding for breakthrough innovations in fields such as healthcare, digital technologies and energy. Funding will come from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: ‘The EIC Accelerator is a unique European funding instrument of the European Innovation Council. It supports the development of top-class innovations through crowding-in private investors and offers a portfolio of services to support their scaling-up.’

In addition to the funding, projects will also receive a range of Business Acceleration Services that provide access to investors and leading expertise.

UK trade negotiations
Submissions are welcomed on UK trade negotiations with the EU including views on the objectives of the Department for International Trade for Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

Deadline: 31 December 2021

Further information can be found here.

Horizon Europe
To find more on eligibility for Horizon Europe funding for your sector, you can view the national contact points here and European Funding and Tenders can be searched here.

Further information on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe can be found here.

Further information on the SME and start-up fund can be found here.

Future flight challenge phase 3: strand 2
UK businesses can apply for up to £65 million to develop integrated aviation systems and new vehicle technologies. Eligible projects must cost between £500,000 and £4 million.

Deadline: 3 November 2021

Healthy Ageing Challenge – Designed for Ageing
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £14.4 million for service-led innovations to support healthy ageing. Project costs must be between £500,000 and £2 million and must last between 6 and 24 months.

Deadline: 17 November 2021

Biomedical Catalyst 2021 Round 2: Feasibility & Primer Awards
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £12 million to develop innovative healthcare products, technologies and processes. Grants are available for project costs between £50,000 and £1 million and must last between 3 and 24 months.

Deadline: 1 December 2021

Farming Innovation Programme - small R&D partnership projects
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of £11million for Small R&D Partnership Projects as part of the Farming Innovation Programme.  Projects must last up to 36 months and have total costs between £1 and million.

Deadline: 1 December 2021

Circular economy for SMEs – innovating with the NICER programme
UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £1million for circular economy approaches. Total project costs must be between $50,000 and £100,000 and last between 9 and 12 months.

Deadline: 8 December 2021

EUREKA GlobalStars Taiwan digital industrial collaborations
UK businesses can apply for funding through Innovate UK for collaborative R&D projects focused on industrial research. Grants are available for a total of up to £300,000 for each project which must last between 3 and 24 months and start by 1 August 2022.

Deadline: 15 December 2021

You can find further details of the funding calls on the Government website.