Advancing solutions for critical mineral production and recycling (Grant)

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Who is eligible to apply

This funding opportunity is open to research groups and individuals. We:

• encourage interdisciplinary research and collaborations with other UK organisations

• welcome applications from individuals at any career stage, subject to NERC eligibility criteria

You may be involved in no more than two applications submitted to this funding opportunity. Only one of these can be as project lead.

Under the UKRI and Research Council of Norway Money Follows Cooperation agreement a project co-lead (international) (previously co-investigator) can be based in a Norwegian institution.

All other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) should be included as project partners. This includes industry partners.

Project partners must fund their own involvement. UKRI will only fund minor incidental expenses, such as some travel costs, if needed for project partners.

Sub-contracting aspects of the work, meaning particular goods and services, to non-eligible institutions is possible, in line with the NERC research grants and fellowships handbook.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI. Find out more about UKRI’s resubmission policy.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

• career breaks

• support for people with caring responsibilities

• flexible working

• alternative working patterns

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Demand management

Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity. Further details are provided in the ‘Additional information’ section

UKRI Critical Minerals: From Research to Industry (CMR2i) programme

The CMR2i programme is a £20 million investment delivered through the UKRI Advanced Manufacturing priority programme. It aims to strengthen the UK’s critical and growth minerals value chains, spanning exploration, extraction, processing, recycling, and re-mining, in line with the ambitions of the UK Critical Minerals Strategy.

CMR2i focuses on mineral resources and capabilities where the UK has clear strategic and economic opportunities to strengthen domestic supply chains and establish or expand key stages of the critical minerals value chain within the UK. The programme prioritises increasing the recovery, processing, recycling and supply of critical and growth minerals from emerging deposits, co-products and by-products, waste streams, and legacy mine sites. Through building the UK’s mineral capabilities, CMR2i aims to support a more secure, circular and sustainable supply of critical and growth minerals, underpinning the growth, resilience and global competitiveness of UK Advanced Manufacturing and other UK Industrial Strategy priority sectors.

The programme will be delivered through three pillars, as follows:

• applied strategic research

• research to innovation

• industrial pilots

You can find further information about the CMR2i programme in the ‘Additional information’ section.

Aim

This investment is part of the applied strategic research pillar of the CMR2i programme. Through this funding opportunity we will fund ambitious projects that accelerate the development and validation of transformative solutions across the UK’s critical and growth minerals value chains. This includes innovative technologies, processes and methodologies for sustainable and efficient extraction, processing, recovery, reprocessing, recycling and re-mining of critical and growth minerals with explicit relevance to UK Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries.

There will be two phases to this funding opportunity.

Phase one

Phase one will support small ‘pump-priming’ activities that foster ambitious and innovative approaches, enabling the exploration, testing and proof-of-concept demonstration of novel concepts and solutions, while developing the evidence needed to understand and support their commercial, regulatory, environmental, and socio-economic viability. This phase will identify opportunities with the greatest potential to transform critical and growth minerals supply chains through accelerated progression towards industrial deployment.

Phase two

Phase two will support rapid advancement of the most promising solutions developed during phase one towards higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), accelerating their progression towards deployment. This phase will also support building the commercial, regulatory, environmental and socioeconomic evidence base needed to derisk future investment, adoption and deployment.

Only phase one projects will be eligible to apply for phase two funding. Funding for phase two will be awarded through a competitive process, with projects assessed on the transformative potential of their phase one outcomes and their ability to deliver significant economic, environmental and industrial impact for the UK. Further details of requirements for phase two funding will be included in the phase two funding opportunity, which we anticipate will be published in summer 2027.

Applications are currently being invited for the phase one projects under the applied strategic research pillar.

Scope

Critical and growth minerals are essential to the UKs advanced manufacturing sector, clean energy technologies, defence capabilities and digital infrastructure. Critical minerals are those that are of high economic importance but face significant supply risks, whilst growth minerals are minerals essential to the UK’s Industrial Strategy sectors that are expected to experience strong future demand.

Global demand for these minerals is increasing rapidly as countries invest in advanced technologies and the net zero transition. However, supply chains for many minerals remain highly geographically concentrated, creating vulnerabilities to geopolitical disruption, market instability and other external shocks. Strengthening the resilience, sustainability and security of supply of both critical and growth minerals, including by developing domestic capabilities and onshoring key stages of value chains, is therefore of increasing strategic and economic importance to the UK.

The UK Critical Minerals Strategy sets out a pathway for securing the sustainable supply of minerals needed to support economic growth, advanced manufacturing and the transition to net zero. A key element of the strategy is to harness UK strengths in innovation, processing and recycling to increase domestic capability and reduce supply chain risks.

Applied strategic research: phase one

This funding opportunity is for pump-prime grants to seed the pipeline of research and early innovation, contributing to the aims of the overall CMR2i Programme. We will support innovative projects to explore, test and demonstrate proof-of-concept of novel technologies, processes and methodologies for sustainable and efficient extraction, processing, recovery, reprocessing, recycling and re-mining of critical and growth minerals with explicit relevance to UK Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries.

Additionally, projects must situate research and innovation within the broader commercial, regulatory, environmental and socio-economic landscape, ensuring that solutions are designed to minimise environmental harm, deliver benefits for communities and support responsible market adoption and deployment. We aim to identify opportunities with the greatest potential to progress towards future industrial deployment and to transform critical and growth minerals supply chains.

Phase one projects are expected to deliver the following outcomes:

• technical feasibility and proof-of-concept evidence for innovative solutions that support responsible and efficient extraction, processing, reprocessing, recovery, re-mining or recycling of critical or growth minerals from primary or secondary resources, including emerging deposits, by-products, waste streams and legacy mine sites

• assessment of the viability and transformative potential of the proposed solution, supported by technical, commercial, environmental, socio-economic, regulatory and strategic evidence. This should demonstrate the solution’s potential benefits, risks and alignment within relevant market, policy and value chain contexts, while identifying the remaining uncertainties, evidence gaps and barriers that must be addressed to de-risk implementation and enable future scale-up, adoption and deployment

• a credible pathway for further development and maturation of the solution, informed by consideration of the market opportunities and the behavioural, societal, policy, regulatory, environmental and operational factors that may influence uptake, adoption, impact and long-term sustainability, including principles of responsible innovation

• robust follow-on funding proposals or investment propositions to support further development, scale-up and deployment

To be considered for phase two funding, projects will be expected to have demonstrated evidence of the following during phase one:

• the transformative potential of the solution, including its ability to strengthen UK mineral supply chains, create new market opportunities, or establish new domestic capabilities

• the potential for significant economic, environmental or societal benefits compared to current approaches, such as increased productivity, improved resource efficiency, enhanced recovery rates, reduced waste, reduced negative environmental or socio-economic impacts, or greater supply chain resilience

• understanding of the market opportunity and a credible pathway towards adoption, including understanding of user need, market demand, commercial potential and feasibility of deployment within UK critical and growth mineral value chains, supported by appropriate industry engagement, end-user involvement and partnerships

• identification of key technical, environmental, regulatory, socio-economic and operational uncertainties and evidence gaps that may influence uptake, commercialisation and deployment, together with a clear plan for addressing the evidence gaps to derisk future deployment

• a robust case for further investment, through a deliverable and ambitious phase two plan, supported by the appropriate skills, capabilities, collaborators and partnerships, demonstrating how phase two funding will accelerate progression towards higher TRLs and maximise impact.

Project requirements

Choice of mineral, technology or capability

Your application should address critical or growth minerals, and technologies or capabilities for which there is a clear UK market opportunity, a specific technological, market or capability gap and a credible route to impact. This includes opportunities to expand UK production and recycling capabilities, strengthen domestic supply chains, and support the onshoring of key stages of the value chain.

You may focus on primary or secondary resources, including emerging deposits, by-products, waste streams and legacy mine sites, but these must have direct and tangible benefit to the UK. Your choice of critical or growth mineral (those included on the critical or growth minerals lists of the UK Critical Minerals Strategy), technology or capability focus should be fully justified in your application.

Relevance to Advanced Manufacturing Industrial Strategy Sector Plan

Your application should clearly demonstrate how the proposed research and innovation will contribute to the growth, resilience and competitiveness of UK Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries. It should also explain the relevance of your project to wider Industrial Strategy priority sectors, including Clean Energy, Defence and Digital Technologies.

Stakeholder engagement

To facilitate progression from research to industry, projects are expected to include relevant industrial or other stakeholders as project partners. You should provide a clear plan for industry engagement and demonstrate how your proposed research will address a specific technological, market, or capability gap and how the proposed work aligns with user needs and market opportunities. In addition, it is expected that funded project teams will engage with Innovate UK and the other projects and researchers funded through the CMR2i programme.

Team and approach

Your team should bring together the relevant expertise required to deliver the proposed outcomes. Your approach should be appropriately interdisciplinary, integrating knowledge and methods across academic disciplines, to address the technical, environmental, economic and social dimensions of the challenge. Where relevant it should also be transdisciplinary, involving collaboration with industry, policymakers, communities or other stakeholders, to ensure that that solutions are practical, adoptable and capable of delivering impact. Within phase one, you are expected to identify any additional expertise, discipline areas stakeholders or approaches that would need to be included in phase two, to accelerate progression and maximise impact.

Up to six grants will be awarded in phase one.

Project teams funded through phase one will be eligible to apply for a phase two funding opportunity of up to £1.6 million FEC per project to support a further 24 months of research and innovation activity. We anticipate funding up to three phase two projects, with awards expected to start in April 2028. Phase two funding will be awarded competitively to projects that demonstrate the greatest potential for disruptive innovation, impact and progression towards deployment during the phase one.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, see the ‘Additional information’ section.

Duration

The duration of this award is for up to 12 months.

Your project must start by 3 May 2027.

Funding available

The FEC of your phase one project can be up to £305,000.

UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

• PhD Studentships

• NERC aircraft, ship time or use of NERC marine equipment

• equipment with a value over £25,000 per item (including VAT). Smaller items of equipment (individually under £25,000) can be requested and should be included in the ‘Directly incurred – other costs’ heading

Supporting skills and talent

We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI has a long-standing and continuing commitment to supporting and enabling safe and effective collaboration in research and innovation. UKRI is equally committed to ensuring that this takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Our Principles and expectations set out the principles that UKRI applies to TR&I and our general expectations of the research organisations (including businesses, research institutes, and research technical organisations) that we support. Organisations supported by UKRI should be able to provide evidence that their internal controls and processes meet these expectations.

You are expected to carefully consider the TR&I risks applicable to your project and the controls you will implement to manage and mitigate these potential risks, including in phase two should your project progress to that stage.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

Responsible research

Through our funding processes, we seek to make a positive contribution to society and the environment. This is not just through research outputs and outcomes but through the way in which research is conducted and facilities managed.

All NERC grant holders are to adopt responsible research practices as set out in the NERC responsible business statement.

Responsible research is defined as reducing harm or enhancing benefit on the environment and society through effective management of research activities and facilities. Specifically, this covers:

• the natural environment

• the local community

• equality, diversity and inclusion

You should consider the responsible research context of your project, not the host institution as a whole. You should take action to enhance your responsible research approach where practical and reasonable. This includes the environmental sustainability of how you conduct your research.

Find out more about resources to support sustainable research.

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Applications will first undergo eligibility and administrative checks undertaken by UKRI.

Panel

Eligible applications will be assessed by an assessment panel comprised of independent external members, who will review your application against the assessment criteria. Panel members will consist of experts spanning the breadth of the funding opportunity remit to ensure that due consideration is given all applications.

The panel will score each application. UKRI will make a final funding decision based on the panel scores whilst also adopting a portfolio approach, to select a diverse range of projects in accordance with How we make decisions. We aim to support a balanced portfolio across different minerals, technologies and capability areas.

In the event of this funding opportunity being substantially oversubscribed as to be unmanageable, we reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed, for example, by adding a sift process prior to assessment.

For more information on how we prioritise applications for funding please visit How we make decisions.

Timescale

We aim to complete the assessment process within three months of receiving your application.

Feedback

If your application was discussed by a panel, we will give feedback with the outcome of your application.

We reserve the right to work with successful applicants post assessment to discuss any aspect of the application before award (for example, discuss panel feedback or requirements from UKRI).

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Generative AI may only be used for the purpose of language refinement during application assessment. When using generative AI to refine the language of a review, expert reviewers and panellists must ensure that:

• no part of the application being assessed is entered into a generative AI tool

• no personal information from the application is disclosed

• generative AI is not tasked with understanding, summarising or evaluating the application’s content

Expert reviewers and panellists must also:

• comply with relevant intellectual property and data protection legislation

• not take into account or speculate within their assessment whether generative AI has been used to develop the application

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

• vision

• approach

• applicant and team capability to deliver

• ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Webinar for potential applicants

We will hold a webinar on 3 November 2026 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm UK time. This will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.

Register for the webinar.

Click here to start an application on the UKRI Funding Service: 

https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1399/apply/1431

Stage one: Notification of intent (NoI)

There is a mandatory NoI stage for this UKRI funding opportunity.

You must submit your NoI by 1 December 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. If a full application is submitted without a prior NoI by the stated deadline, it will be rejected.

Submit a NoI.

The NoI form requests details of the proposed research team and a summary of the proposed research project. This information will not be assessed but will be used to support planning for the assessment panel. Information provided at the NoI stage is not considered final, so you may amend project details as you develop your proposal ahead of the full application stage.

Additional partners and project co-leads who meet UKRI eligibility requirements may also be included in the full application. Feedback will not be given for the NoI, unless we have concerns regarding eligibility or the fit to the funding opportunity scope.

Stage two: full application

We are running this funding opportunity on the UKRI Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

1. Confirm you are the project lead

2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.

3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.

4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.

5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.

6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must:

• provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)

• insert each new image on a new line

• use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format

Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include:

• sentences or paragraphs of text

• tables

• excessive quantities of images

A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

• how applicants use the Funding Service

• how research offices use the Funding Service

• how reviewers use the Funding Service

References

References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:

• references are easily identifiable by the assessors

• references are formatted as appropriate to your research

• persistent identifiers are used where possible

General use of hyperlinks

Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.

Deadline

UKRI must receive your application by 7 January 2027 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

Personal data

Processing personal data

NERC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email EarthEnergyResources@nerc.ukri.org

Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include:

• individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)

• declaration of interest

• additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section

• conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection

• the application is an invited resubmission

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.

Institutional matched funding

There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations. Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged.

This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

Publication of outcomes

NERC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at What NERC has funded.

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

• opinion-formers

• policymakers

• the public

• the wider research community

Guidance for writing a summary

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

• context

• the challenge the project addresses

• aims and objectives

• potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

• project lead (PL)

• project co-lead (UK) (PcL)

• project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))

• specialist

• grant manager

• professional enabling staff

• research and innovation associate

• technician

• visiting researcher

• researcher co-lead (RcL)

Only list one individual as project lead

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Vision

Word limit: 2,000

What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how your proposed work:

• is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)

• has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area

• is timely given current trends, context, and needs

• impacts world-leading research, society, the economy, or the environment

• identifies the potential local, regional or national impacts, both direct and indirect, and who the beneficiaries might be

Within the Vision section we also expect you to:

• explain how the project meets the aims of the funding opportunity including articulating the transformative potential of the proposed solution

• define the specific technological, market, or capability gap that the project will address and explain how addressing this has the potential to contribute to expansion of UK mineral production or recycling capabilities

• explain your choice of mineral, technology or capability focus and how this links to supporting growth and resilience in UK Advanced Manufacturing frontier industries. You should also explain any relevance to wider Industrial Strategy focus sectors including Clean Energy, Defence and Digital Technologies

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Approach

Word limit: 2,500

How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Explain how you have designed your approach so that it:

• is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives

• is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed

• uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable)

• summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable)

• will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts

• describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work

Within the Approach section we also expect you to:

• explain how you will seek to develop the evidence required to support future deployment and adoption, reduce uncertainty and de-risk implementation, including how you will identify remaining uncertainties, evidence gaps and barriers. This should include consideration of the market opportunities and the behavioural, societal, policy, regulatory, environmental and operational factors that may shape adoption, implementation and impact

• demonstrate how you will engage with stakeholders to ensure the proposed work aligns with user needs and market opportunities, and how this engagement will facilitate progression from research to innovation

• explain how your proposed work will embed responsible research, environmental sustainability and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations, and how these will guide your aims, objectives, operations and other activities such as stakeholder engagement

• explain how your team and the disciplinary approach you plan to embed (interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, or both) is appropriate to achieving your intended outcomes, and will ensure you are able to address the technical, environmental, economic and social dimensions of the challenge and that solutions are practical, adoptable and capable of delivering impact

References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 1,650

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

• the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work

• the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work

• the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others

• contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the R4RI format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

• contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge

• the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships

• contributions to the wider research and innovation community

• contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit

Additions

Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).

Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section.

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 2,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:

• project staff

• significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)

• any equipment that will cost more than £25,000

• any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities

• all facilities and infrastructure costs

• all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project. For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders. Where a funding limit is imposed on the opportunity, requested costs for reasonable adjustments may exceed the maximum funding amount.

Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:

• are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified

• represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes

• maximise potential outcomes and impacts

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

What are the ethical and RRI considerations, implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

• the relevant ethical and RRI considerations, including both the research or topic area itself and the design and delivery of the project

• the wider implications of the proposed work, and how you will maximise the positive societal, environmental, and economic benefits arising from the project, whilst minimising unintended negative impacts, such as research misuse or accidental harm

• how you will manage these considerations throughout the lifecycle of the project

If you are collecting or using data you should identify:

• any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing and storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data)

• formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Please refer to the UKRI position statement on funding ethical research and Responsible innovation for more information around our expectations on ethical and responsible research and innovation.

Animal involvement and ‘3Rs’

You must complete this section about how your proposed project will involve or impact animals.

If your project does not involve or impact animals, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• what animals you are involving

• the severity of the procedures you are using

• where the procedures will take place

• welfare standards you aim to meet

• the relevance of your project to the development, validation or dissemination of the ‘3Rs’

You may also need to download, complete, and upload at least one set of additional questions. You will be told how to do this towards the end of this section.

To complete this section and check whether your project is in the scope of the questions, refer to the UKRI policy for research and innovation involving animals.

What counts as an animal

UKRI policy relates to all animals in the kingdom Animalia, including vertebrates and invertebrates.

Genetically modified organisms and biological risk

You must complete this section if your project will include genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies.

If you project does not involve genetically modified organisms or genetic technologies, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• the type of organism your project will involve and the procedures your project will include

• the intended use of the organism or genetic technology

• the genetic, biological and environmental risks of your project

For more information, see UKRI’s guidance on genetic technologies.

Human participation in health-related research

You must complete this section about whether your project will include human participation.

If your project does not involve human participation, you must confirm this on the next page.

You may be asked about:

• what type of human participation your project includes

• the project design for human participation

• the phase of the clinical trial

• whether the project will be in an NHS setting, and if so, how the project will be registered

• whether diversity and inclusion will be considered

For more information, see UKRI’s guidance for human participants in research.

Project partners

Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

Add the following project partner details:

• the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)

• the project partner contact name and email address

• the type of contribution (direct or indirect) and its monetary value

If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Data management and sharing

Word limit: 500

How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Provide a data management plan that clearly details how you will comply with UKRI’s published data sharing policy, which includes detailed guidance notes.

For details of data centres, see the NERC Environmental Data Service.

Facilities

Word limit: 250

Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?

The ARCHER2 service will end on 21 November 2026 and UKRI is currently transitioning to a new compute landscape. Until details of new compute provision are confirmed, applicants who require HPC resources beyond November 2026 have been advised to select ARCHER2 at application and to describe their compute requirements in full.

Other compute investments to be aware of include:

• EPSRC Tier 2 facilities ended in March 2026

• Isambard 3 is currently funded until March 2027

• National Compute Resources will come online in 2026 (recent announcement: New national computing resources to open doors for researchers)

• the Next National Supercomputing Service is expected to be delivered in late 2027 to early 2028

• UK researchers can apply to EURO HPC European High Performance Computing JU | European Union

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you will need to use a facility, follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Ensure you have prior agreement so that if you are offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project.

For each requested facility you will need to provide the:

• name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 43KB)

• proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list

• confirmation you have their agreement where required

Facilities should only be named if they are on the facility information list above. If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Trusted research and innovation (TR&I)

TR&I is the protection of the UK’s intellectual property, sensitive research, people, and infrastructure from potential theft, misuse, and exploitation.

Organisations receiving UKRI funding are obliged to act in line with UK government legislation. They are also expected to undertake appropriate due diligence assessments of organisations involved in research partnerships, collaboration agreements, and commercial contracts.

You will be asked:

• which areas of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act your project relates to

• who you intend to collaborate with and how

• whether your project requires an export control licence

Your answers may affect the T&Cs of your funding agreement if you are successful. We may use your answers to determine that our current T&Cs are sufficient or if additional T&Cs are required.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) risks and mitigations

Word limit: 200

Identify the potential TR&I risks associated with your project and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

You are expected to provide a:

• description of the potential TR&I risks associated with the project along with the controls and mitigations that will be implemented to proportionally reduce these risks

•  named contact for TR&I

UKRI’s TR&I Principles set out our expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

You are expected to carefully consider the TR&I risks applicable to your project and the controls you will implement to manage and mitigate these potential risks, including in phase two should your project progress to that stage. You should include a brief description of these risks and mitigations within your response along with a named contact for TR&I. This may be the project lead, another member of the project team or a TR&I lead within your organisation.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

References may be included within this section.

Background

Critical Minerals: Research to Industry (CMR2i) Programme

The CMR2i programme aims to strengthen the UK’s critical and growth minerals value chains, spanning exploration, extraction, processing, recycling, and re mining.

It will contribute to delivery of the UK Critical Minerals Strategy by supporting two key policy ambitions: meeting at least 10% of UK critical mineral demand through domestic production and 20% through recycling by 2035. It will do this by building the UK’s critical minerals research-to-innovation pipeline through funding applied strategic research, research-to-innovation translation and business-led innovation in areas that can de-risk future UK capability in extraction, processing, refining, reprocessing, recycling, urban mining and remining.

The programme will situate research and innovation within the broader commercial, regulatory, environmental and socioeconomic landscape, ensuring that solutions are designed to minimise environmental harm, deliver benefits for communities and support responsible market adoption and deployment. Through this approach CMR2i will derisk and accelerate the scale-up and deployment of technologies, methodologies and processes for responsible and economically viable mineral extraction, processing, re-mining and recycling, translating world class research into domestic industrial capability, economic growth potential and supply chain resilience.

CMR2i focuses on mineral resources and capabilities where the UK has clear strategic and economic opportunities, particularly those that can strengthen domestic supply chains and establish or expand key stages of critical and growth mineral value chains within the UK. The programme prioritises increasing the recovery, processing, recycling and supply of critical and growth minerals from emerging deposits, co-products and by-products, waste streams, and legacy mine sites. It aims to support a more secure, circular and sustainable supply of critical and growth minerals to underpin growth and resilience of UK Advanced Manufacturing and other Industrial Strategy priority sectors.

The CMR2i programme is funded through the UKRI Advanced Manufacturing priority programme. UKRI priority programmes deliver coordinated, strategic investments in Industrial Strategy sectors to drive economic growth. Within this framework, the Advanced Manufacturing priority programme targets frontier sectors identified in the Advanced Manufacturing sector plan, recognising critical minerals as a foundational industry that underpins resilient and competitive advanced manufacturing supply chains.

Demand management

You may be involved in no more than two applications submitted to this funding opportunity. Only one of these can be as project lead.

Reporting and monitoring requirements

Successful applicants will be required to complete a short report every six months as well as cooperating with programme governance and evaluation.

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Supporting documents

Equality Impact Assessment (PDF, 250KB)

Related content

• UKRI policies and standards

• UKRI terms and conditions of FEC grants

• Environmental sustainability at UKRI

• NERC responsible business statement

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

The helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility, content or remit of a funding opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your application please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact EarthEnergyResources@nerc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm

• Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries more efficiently, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.