UK-Germany Bilateral Collaborative R&D: Round 5

UK registered SME’s can apply for a share of up to £2.4 million for the purpose of developing innovative proposals with Germany. You must collaborate with at least one German SME applying under the equivalent German ZIM programme. Total funding: £2.4 million Minimum award: £100,000 Maximum award: £350,000 Location: International Who can apply: Private Sector Closing date: 2026-12-01 11:00 (UK time) Eligibility Text update 8 October 2026: project end by date corrected. Who can apply Your project Your project must: - have a grant funding request of between £100,000 and £350,000 - last between 12 and 24 months - start on 1 August 2027 - end by 30 June 2029 The majority of the project work must be undertaken in the UK and Germany. UK project partners must carry out the majority of their project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results from or in the UK, and spend most of the funding within the UK. The consortium must include at least one business registered in Germany that is a separate legal entity and not linked to the UK partners. This is to ensure that projects encourage genuine international collaboration, not internal company research. Linked companies are considered a single entity under the parent company. Your project must demonstrate a balanced technological contribution by the participants from both countries and must be equally significant to all participants. No one country or project partner can represent more than 70% of the total project cost. Your proposal must demonstrate a clear intention to commercially exploit the results of the project domestically or globally. You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs. If your project does not meet our criteria and you have not requested justification approval, your application will be made ineligible and it will not be sent for assessment. UK lead organisation To lead a collaborative project you must: You must: - be a UK registered micro, small or mediu Summary Description Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will work with The Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE), (The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy), to invest up to £2.4 million in innovation projects. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. The aim of this competition is to fund business-led collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. Your proposal must focus on one of the following sectors: - Clean Energy - Life Sciences - Engineering Biology UK registered SME’s must collaborate with at least one German registered non-linked registered business applying under the equivalent German ZIM funding programme. UK registered organisations must apply through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) portal to Innovate UK. Your German partner will not receive any funding from Innovate UK. German partners must apply to and will be funded by AiF Projekt GmbH (AiF), acting as an agent for BMWE for the German component of the project set out in this application. In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a fundi Objectives Your proposal The aim of this competition is to fund business-led collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. Your project must focus on one of the following sectors - Clean Energy - Life Sciences - Engineering Biology Your collaborative R&D proposal must demonstrate: - a clear game changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services - a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses and documents market potential Dates 12 October 2026 Online briefing event: join at 1pm GMT (Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event) 1 August 2027 Project start by How to apply Before you start You must read the guidance on applying for a