DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

• be a single applicant or consortia led

• have a total grant funding request of between £2.5 million and £20 million

• have total eligible costs of at least £5 million

• last between 12 to 46 months, including an initial period where you can raise the match funding before your project starts

• carry out its project work in the UK, with only minor elements overseas with significant justification

• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

• start from 1 June 2026

• end by 31 March 2030

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible R&D project costs. Eligible capital costs are explained within the application. For specific guidance, see the eligibility section in this competition.

If your project’s total grant funding request or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition submission date. We will decide whether to approve your request.

If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.

Raising additional grant funding

Following award of a grant offer, you will have a period of up to nine months, extendible by three months (plus an additional one month in the case that you have evidence that you are in the very final stages of raising investment) to raise the match funding required to deliver this project. Further details about this requirement are included in the ‘what happens if you receive a grant offer’ section.

Lead organisation

To lead a collaborative project or work alone, your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Research and technology organisations (RTO’s) and Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size

• academic institution

• charity

• not for profit

• public sector organisation

• research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:

• apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.

• include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application

Non-funded partners

Your project can include non-UK partners, including partners based in the EU, who bring their own funding. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit results overseas. Their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.

Number of applications

A business can lead or collaborate on any number of applications.

An academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation can collaborate on any number of applications.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

If you have previously submitted an application that reached our assessment stage, you can re-apply once more with the same proposal.

If there are minor differences to the proposal, but it is judged by us to be ‘not materially different’, the same rule applies.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project

• an overdue independent accountant’s report

• an overdue industrial contribution payment to the APC

• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

If applicable, compliance with State Aid regulations will be assessed on a case by case basis which may impact the maximum grant you can receive.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must not do anything which could cause a breach of Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or De Minimis allowance.

Funding

Up to £150 million has been allocated to fund scale up projects from this competition fund. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for this competitions fund under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.

The grant requested must be the minimum required to ensure sustainability of the investment.

For your project, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 50% if you are a micro or small or medium sized organisation

• up to 30% if you are a large organisation

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 10% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 10% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

• 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

• 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

1. Research organisations using the Je-S system must submit their costs through the Je-S system which calculates the 80% FEC figure.

2. On IFS, only the 80% FEC output should be entered at 100% funding.

3. Applicants do not need to show the remaining 20% on the finance table.

To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.

APC industry support

In securing funding from this programme, each participant receiving a grant will pay an industrial contribution to the APC operating budget. This is set at 3.5% and is payable on each grant payment received.

Your proposal

The aim of the Scale up Fund is to support manufacturing facility and process development at pilot scale or demonstration scale. These projects will enable businesses to validate manufacturing capability and commercial viability, achieving market entry at the targeted production volume from the project outcomes.

Your proposal must justify the funding required with a case for government intervention and matched by substantial private investment.

Your project must:

• support growth, transition, and resilience of the UK’s automotive supply chain, increasing capability whilst improving productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness

• contribute to the UK’s strategic aims and priorities, such as the Industrial Strategy, the Automotive Council’s Roadmaps and Strategic Technology areas for eligible on-vehicle technologies, including zero emission vehicle assembly and the associated supply chain

• undertake a scale up project to engineer, create (or convert) and validate process development and manufacturing capability at pilot scale or demonstration scale

Technology scope

This competition fund aims to support the manufacturing development of strategically important technologies for on board vehicle applications in one or more of the following areas:

• electrical energy storage: development of batteries, supercapacitors, their components, management, and integrated systems

• electric machines and associated driveline

• power electronics including Vehicle to Everything (V2X)

• internal combustion engine (ICE) for off road applications; we will fund project proposals that support a transition to zero emissions, utilising non-fossil fuels

• light weighting materials and manufacturing processes

• fuel cell systems and associated balance of plant

• hydrogen storage and management systems

• zero emission vehicle assembly

Within the technology scope outlined above:

Your project can include:

• upstream supply chain for the technologies, including raw materials, component manufacturing and subassembly manufacturing

• circularity and design for disassembly projects delivering manufacturing systems which enable the disassembly, remanufacturing, recovery and reuse of materials

• the deployment of technologies, to enable productivity and cost competitiveness across the relevant aspects of applicable manufacturing operations in any of the following areas: digital transformation, manufacturing process decarbonisation and lean manufacturing

Digital transformation can include integration of digital tools within the manufacturing process, for example, the use of AI, digital twins, and Internet of Things (IoT).

Manufacturing process decarbonisation can include processes that use renewable energy sources or innovations enabling reduced energy consumption within manufacturing processes, including capture and reuse.

Lean manufacturing can include implementation of innovative lean principles to improve efficient use of materials used in processes, reduce their environmental impact and improve efficiency including the use of advanced automation techniques.

Scope of activities

This competition fund aims to support the development of manufacturing readiness at pilot scale or demonstration scale.

Your project can include the activities required to design, build (or convert) and commission a pilot or demonstration scale manufacturing facility. You must develop your readiness for manufacturing of zero emission vehicle technologies, including the following activities as examples:

• manufacturing facility planning and engineering, including for example, detailed facility or process planning and engineering, finalisation of site selection

• fabrication and construction work

• manufacturing equipment creation, conversion and procurement, for example, detailed production line design, equipment integration with site infrastructure, specification, procurement and purchasing

• equipment installation

• equipment commissioning, including for example, initial operation through to hot commission and run at rate, materials required for commissioning of equipment and processes

• process development

• development of quality control and quality assurance process and equipment

• advanced product quality and planning (APQP) activities required, up to and including production launch activities

• implementation of technology to enable efficient and effective production processes

• staff training

• activities focussed on product development required for ’design for manufacture’, where this enables your technology or product to be adapted for your target scale manufacturing, activity must be no more than 50% of the project eligible costs

• development of UK supply chain for your target production scale

• test, validation and verification of components and systems which are manufactured for scale up as part of this project

• dissemination to enable market engagement and market feedback

• limited commercial activity during the active phase of this project, it is defined in the Scale of facilities section

Scale of facilities

We recognise that companies in different segments of the zero emission vehicle supply chain use different terminology to describe their manufacturing development phases.

These are not suggested as absolute definitions, but instead as general categories to enable you to communicate the intention of your project:

The definitions are:

• pilot scale: scale up stage at which flexibility is key, utilised to develop initial production capability under real world conditions, whilst still maintaining significant flexibility for improvements once validated it will be similar to a low volume production facility

• demonstration scale: scale up stage to intermediate production scale, that reflects a production representative manufacturing workflow, focused on repeatability with lower flexibility than pilot, once validated it will be similar to a medium volume production facility

You may use your established terminology to describe your project in your application, but you must explain this clearly with regards to your goals and stages of development.

It may not be necessary to take each of these steps to get your technology to market, or you may take a different route. You must be clear about the objectives and scale of your project in your application.

Target market

The aim of this competitive fund is to develop manufacturing processes and facilities that enable businesses to take eligible technologies through scale up and market entry and growth. As such, you must outline how your project will enable you to enter the following vehicle supply chains or markets:

• on-highway vehicles, for example including L-category, motorbike, car, light commercial vehicle, bus, coach, and truck applications

• off-highway vehicles and Non Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM), for example, including construction, agriculture, mining, and other off-highway applications

You must indicate how:

• you will engage your target vehicle related customers through the delivery phase of this project

• this project will enable you to meet their criteria for adoption

• you will feed this information back into the project to ensure it remains targeted on successful commercial outcomes

You must explain where your scale up project enables entry into other markets. These may be outside of the target markets, for example, near term or early adopter markets. You must be clear how your project prepares your business for entry into one of these vehicle markets following the projects completion.

You must indicate how you will engage your target vehicle-related customers through the delivery phase of this project, how this project will enable you to meet their criteria for adoption, and how you will feed this information back into the project to ensure it remains targeted on successful commercial outcomes.

Eligible costs

• labour costs: this includes the costs of employed staff working directly on the project, including indirect back office staff who support project activities like budgeting, project reporting, and recruiting

• overheads: as a labour cost

• materials costs: costs for materials used in the research, development and scale up process

• subcontracting costs: costs for subcontracting specific tasks or services to third-party providers

• travel and subsistence costs: costs for travel and subsistence related to the project

• capital equipment costs: costs for purchasing or leasing new equipment necessary for the project, including machinery, tools, computers, AV, furniture and other equipment required for scale up activities

• capitalised labour costs: labour costs capitalised as part of the delivery of a capital project, this must not include labour costs associated with operational elements of a project

• capital other costs: any other project capital costs

• capital utilisation costs: costs for utilising equipment that is not claimed as capital costs and is necessary for the project, including machinery, tools, and other equipment required for scale up activities

• indirect costs: other indirect costs that are necessary for the project

Capital property costs:

• construction costs, for example, new build, refurbishment and fit-out

• equipment procured from a works contractor, for example, furniture, fixtures and fittings, IT and AV costs

• equipment, professional fees including legal, Project Manager or Quantity Surveyor, design fees, commissions, statutory fees, consultant fees, project insurance

Ineligible costs include:

• working capital to enable commercial production

• costs of materials sold as part of limited commercial activity

• costs or expenses that will be incurred or defrayed outside of the time period covered by the live phase of the project

• contingency costs

• any fees associated with any periodic audit or accountancy reports that we require in accordance with the grant

• land purchase costs or property acquisition, including acquisition price, Land Registry fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

Co-investment

This competition fund aims to support businesses in making substantial private co-investment alongside the public intervention. You will be asked to define a total investment for business expansion, of which your eligible scale up project is expected to be a subset of your overall required activities.

You must describe how your project will enable you to unlock substantial private investment of at least twice your grant request. This is to enable you to complete your wider business expansion objectives, including where appropriate the commercialisation of your technology.

The timing of this investment must coincide with the grant award stage or during the project delivery stage.

As an example, if your grant request is for £5 million, you must describe how this grant will unlock at least £10 million in additional private investment. To ensure the total investment, public and private, would be at least £15 million.

This is true of both equity financed businesses, for example, venture capital or private equity backed companies, as well as established businesses which are funded by other means.

For the avoidance of doubt, you may include all equity, debt, corporate and other co-investment within this category. You may not include other government grants within this co-investment.

We expect this co-investment to cover costs that are much broader than the costs funded directly by the project, for example:

• working capital required for market entry

• purchase of land

• fundamental R&D costs for future products

This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

You must demonstrate that the government funding enables or unlocks your investment in a way that would not happen in the absence of the funding.

Limited commercial activity

You will be able to undertake some limited commercial activity during the live phase of your project. Limited commercial activity means commercial activity undertaken for the primary purpose of supporting:

• research

• development

• innovation

• verification or validation

Limited commercial activity extends to the point at which any of the following criteria are reached, but no further:

• Technology Readiness Level 9

• Manufacturing Readiness Level 9 is achieved

• production approval is completed when APQP Production Part Approval Process is completed, or a similar product lifecycle management methodology

• product certification for sale is completed when the product has been certified for sale by a regulated body

• product type approval is achieved to required legislative standard

• production line utilisation for commercial production is above 50%

• production line is operating in a profit making state

TRL 9 is achieved when:

• the technology system has been qualified through operational experience

• the technology has been applied in its final form and under real world conditions

• real world performance of the technology is a success

• the vehicle or product has been launched into the market place

MRL 9 is achieved when:

• target volume rate production capability has been demonstrated

• major system design features are stable and proven in test and evaluation

• materials are available to meet planned rate production schedules

• manufacturing processes and procedures are established and controlled to three-sigma or some other appropriate quality level to meet design characteristic tolerances in a low rate production environment

• manufacturing control processes are validated

• cost model has been developed for full rate production

You can find further details in the Automotive Technology and Manufacturing Readiness Levels Guidance Document - Advanced Propulsion Centre.

Note, eligible limited commercial activity will not extend more than 180 days beyond the start of production of the technology under development. You will not be able to claim for the cost of any materials utilised in saleable limited commercial production output.

Completing your grant offer conditions

Following award of a grant offer, you will have a period of up to nine months, extendible by three months (plus an additional one month in the case that you have evidence that you are in the very final stages of raising investment) to raise the match funding required to deliver this project. Further details about this requirement are included in the 'what happens if you receive a grant offer' section.

Portfolio approach

The DRIVE35 Scale Up Fund will fund a portfolio of projects across different risk profiles, technology types, vehicle applications, markets, technological maturities, budgets and organisational sizes which are aligned to policy and regulatory deadlines to enabling automotive transformation. We call this a portfolio approach.

The range of factors managed through this portfolio approach are designed to be complimentary to the overall aim and delivery of the competition fund. The portfolio approach means that there may be occasions where a lower scoring project is supported, superseding a higher scoring application.

Research categories

We will fund industrial research projects and experimental development projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

• are not focussed primarily on developing and validating manufacturing processes and assets

• request more than 50% of total project costs as grant for an SME, or 30% for a large organisation

• are not aligned with the UK Industrial Strategy

• do not have a robust future plan to enter the zero emission vehicle supply chain

• are not of future benefit to the automotive sector

• are focussed on small personal mobility applications such as e-Scooters, e-Bikes, or other low-powered mobility devices

• do not lead to significant business or production scale up and expansion

• are focussed on technologies or processes which are too technologically immature to scale with increasing market demand

• focus on fossil fuelled internal combustion technology

• are focussed on fuel retail or wholesale fuel supply

• are focussed on the development or production of low carbon fuels

• are focussed on the production of hydrogen

• are focussed on off-vehicle charging infrastructure

• are focussed on energy retail or wholesale energy supply

• are focussed primarily on the development of digital or data technologies

• are focussed on speculative site enabling projects

We cannot fund projects that are:

• dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country

• dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

26 September 2025

Live briefing event: join at 10am

(Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event)

9 January 2026

Invite to interview

20 January 2026

Applicants sent Economic Feedback questions and consolidated Technical Feedback questions

27 January 2026

Applicants to submit responses to economic feedback questions

29 January 2026

Applicants to submit responses to consolidated technical feedback questions

3 February 2026

Applicants to attend DBT VfM discussion

4 February 2026

Scale up Fund second submission date

5 February 2026

Applicants to submit presentations and attendees

6 February 2026

Applicants to return any requested changes to Vfm

9 February 2026

Interview panel start

13 February 2026

Interview panel end

11 March 2026

Applicants notified

1 April 2026

Scale up Fund third submission date

1 June 2026

Project start from

No submission deadline

This is open-ended competition and applications can be submitted at any time.

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct

• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria

• all sections of the application are marked as complete

• if collaborative, that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into three sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Application team

If you are collaborating on your project, decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

If you are applying without a collaboration, decide who from your organisation will work on the application and invite them to complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be eligible for funding.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 7 and 34. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

• In the process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 4. International collaboration (not scored)

Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement.

You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 5. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)

You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:

• a list of any dual use (both military and non-military) applications to your research

• a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act

• whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications

• a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List

If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 6. Your business: Impact track record (not scored)

Provide a tabulated list of all UK Government grant funded projects that you have been awarded over the last five years, where the grant to your business has been over £500,000.

You must format this table with the following columns:

• reference number of the grant, for example, the Innovate UK project number

• title of the grant funded project

• the start and end date of the project

• one sentence description of the scope of the project and your organisations part in it

• two sentence description of what your organisation gained from the project and why it had a positive impact

• your UK headcount at the start of the project, this should match any returns made to companies house as part of your annual reporting

• your UK headcount one year following the projects end, this must match any returns made to companies house as part of your annual reporting

• any investment that was leveraged as a result of the project

• you must separate the different organisations in your consortium, if appropriate

• you only need to include partners that are businesses who are receiving grant as part of this project, you do not need to include academics, RTO's, public sectors or charities

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must download the template, complete with the answers to the above and upload as an appendix for your answer to this question. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to one A4 page and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 7. Your business: Your current business (not scored)

Describe your current business and your vision of success for the future.

Describe the businesses delivering this project to give us a good understanding of your current positioning, capacity, strategy and ambition.

Include:

• a brief history of the business making this proposal

• a description of the current scale and capacities of the business and your UK and global facilities, employees and products

• your revenue, and the key drivers of this

• a summary of your corporate strategy that is related to this proposal and the business expansion that this proposal aims to unlock, including how this will grow your presence in the UK

• your owners and investors

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 8. Your business: Leadership team

Do you have the right leadership team to deliver this project and take the results of this project to commercial success?

Describe the team that will lead the business and take the outputs of this project to commercial success.

We recognise that your team capabilities will depend on your stage of maturity. You must ensure you include the relevant information for your stage of maturity.

For pilot scale projects: describe your strategy, commercial and technical leadership.

For larger scale projects: describe your strategy, finance, commercial, technical and operational leadership.

If you are working in a consortium, focus on the project partners in proportion to their grant request and their responsibility for the outcomes of the project.

Include:

• a description of the leadership team members that will take the results of this scale up project to commercial success, including their relevant experience, achievements, capabilities and responsibilities in the commercialisation of this product or process

• any capability leadership gaps that you will need to fill to be able to execute your commercialisation plan, and how the scale up project will enable you to resolve these in time for commercialisation at pace

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 9. Your business: Organisational readiness

Is your organisation ready for the scope and scale of growth that will be required to deliver this scale up project and take the outputs successfully to market?

If you are working in a consortium, you must focus on the project partners in proportion to their grant request and their responsibility for the outcomes of the project.

Include:

• your current organisational structure

• your plan to manage the organisational changes, if required, to deliver your project, complete your business expansion objectives and commercialise the outputs

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix, where appropriate you can submit an organisation chart alongside an analysis of your growth areas, to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Your product or process: Customer value proposition and unit economics

What product or process are you taking to market, how does it solve a customer problem and how does it support the transition to Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) manufacturing?

Describe the product or process which you are taking to market, along with the customer problem that it solves. This can be a customer that is external or internal to your organisation.

Explain why your product or process is a compelling solution to the problem.

Describe the unit economics and how you will meet an acceptable cost point through the execution of your project.

Include:

• a description of your product or process innovation and how it functions

• the customer problem it solves and value proposition offered by your product or process, ensure you quantify this where possible

• the unit economics of your product or process, including target production costs

• how your product or process supports the transition to ZEV manufacturing in the UK and enables environmental benefits

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 11. Your product or process: Technology and Manufacturing Readiness for scale up

Are your technology and manufacturing processes ready for the scale up project that you are proposing? What evidence supports your readiness to move into pilot or demonstration scale production?

Include:

• your current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) rating and evidence to show that this is appropriate, for example, prototype tests, lab data, trial data

• your current Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) rating and evidence to show that this is appropriate for example, results from lab production or pilot runs, quality assurance (QA) or quality control (QC) reports, process validations

• your assessment of the next steps for manufacturing development that this project will enable, and why now is the appropriate time to deliver this

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 12. Target Market: Market opportunity

What is the market for the innovation around which you are scaling up, and why is this market attractive?

Describe the size, growth and accessibility of the market you are targeting with this scale up project.

You must ensure that these are the market for your specific product, not for a broad total industry category.

You must also ensure that they are time bound, annual not cumulative, and that your serviceable obtainable market (SOM) is the size of the market you plan to obtain for example, your target revenue, by a specific date.

Include:

• your assessment of the total addressable market (TAM), serviceable available market (SAM) and serviceable obtainable market (SOM) for your product or process

• the geographical distribution and market segmentation, including clearly identifying the Zero Emission Vehicle market and other sectors and industries

• key demand drivers that underpin the growth rate you describe

• the market timing, including any demand, regulatory or supply chain factors that affect how quickly you can access this market

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. Where appropriate, you can submit an analysis of your market segments and growth rate. It must be a PDF no larger than 10 MB in size. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 13. Target Market: Competitive environment

Who will you compete against in your target market and how your project will win a share of the market.

Explain and include:

• a description of your competitive environment, identifying direct and indirect competitors now and into the future

• describe your competitors relative scale, market shares, strengths and weaknesses

• your competitive edge, including your IP strategy and how this gives you competitive advantage

• how this scale up project strengthens your ability to compete with others and win as you enter the market

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 14. Your Commercialisation Plan: Sales projections

What are your sales projections for the 10 year period following the project?

Provide your revenue forecasts and how you will deliver them. Explain how achieving these sales targets will be supported by the successful delivery of your scale up project.

Include:

• annual sales projections that are related to this project for 10 years post project, with underlying assumptions around sales volumes and pricing

• a breakdown of the project related sales volumes and revenues by market segment

• any sensitivity or risk analysis you’ve performed, for example, confidence in customer uptake, impact of price fluctuations or supply chain delays

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. Where appropriate, you can submit a sales forecast and sales opportunity pipeline demonstrating your live opportunities and your expectation of success. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 15. Your Commercialisation Plan: Near term market entry strategy

How will you address your initial market during and immediately following your scale up project?

Describe how you will secure early market success for your scale up project, including your market entry strategy into the Zero Emission Vehicle market and other sectors or markets.

Include:

• your customer segmentation ,with examples of the customers within each segment and the needs of each segment

• your market entry plan focussed on your near term customers, which you plan to engage during and following the project

• a clear view of your engagement with automotive customers and your plan to address the automotive market

• evidence of early traction or customer sponsorship for this project for example, letter of intent (LOI), memorandum of understanding (MoU), pilot agreements, joint development agreement (JDA), conditional offtake agreement or other meaningful support

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You can provide diagrams and charts, MOU and pilot agreements as your appendix. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to three A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 16. Your Commercialisation Plan: Growth roadmap

How will you scale beyond your entry market?

Describe how you will scale beyond initial market entry and how your business model will evolve and grow to address a growing market footprint.

Include:

• the timeline of steps you will use to take this product or process to market following your scale up project

• the evolution of your business model

• development of new products, customer segments or markets

• key partnerships or other enablers that underpin scalable growth

• the scale of investment in your business operations that you will require to execute this plan, and specify where it will be in the UK and overseas

• the risks or unknowns that could stop you delivering this plan in the UK, and how this project helps you to mitigate these

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. Where appropriate, you can submit a copy of your company roadmap. It must be a PDF no larger than 10 MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100 % zoom.

Question 17. Your scale up project: Plan and objectives

What is your plan for your scale up project, and how does your delivery plan align with your commercialisation strategy?

Include:

• a clear description of your scale up project objectives and the specific manufacturing or process capabilities you will deliver

• your delivery plan, including phasing, milestones and timing of key activities and decision gates

• how this scope aligns with your wider commercialisation strategy, ensuring readiness to take your product or process to market

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include milestones and a delivery plan. It must be a PDF no larger than 10 MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and legible at 100 % zoom.

Question 18. Your scale up project: team and roles

Who will deliver your scale up project and what responsibilities will collaborators and subcontractors hold?

Include:

• the roles and responsibilities of key project team members, as well as any consortium members

• the subcontractors you will engage during the project, their scope of work, and justification for their selection

• how governance and oversight will be managed across your project team

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You can provide a roles and responsibilities matrix or charts as part of the appendix. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 19. Your scale up project: risks and mitigations

What are the key risks to successful delivery of your scale up project, and how will you manage them?

Include:

• the main risks and uncertainties that could impact this project, including the financial, technical, manufacturing, commercial, managerial and environmental risks 

• how you will mitigate these risks 

• any key risks during the project startup phase and how they will be mitigated

• any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, data sets and test facilities,

• any output likely to be subject to detailed new product introduction processes, including but not limited to, regulatory requirements, certification and ethical issues and how you will manage this 

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You may submit a copy of your project risk register. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 20. Your Scale up Project: Costs and justification

What are the costs associated with delivering your scale up project, and how are these justified?

Include:

• a summary of the total project budget, and how your requested grant amount aligns with the project scope and delivery plan

• a breakdown of cost categories and justification of key cost assumptions

• a breakdown of subcontractor costs in relation, and how value for money is being ensured

• these values must correlate with the values you enter into the IFS project cost submission sheet

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You may submit a table with the cost breakdown of the project. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 21. Your Manufacturing Growth Plan

How will you develop your pilot or demonstration scale manufacturing operations and ensure they meet customer quality expectations?

Include:

• a high level work breakdown structure showing key tasks, milestones and deliverables for the design, build or conversion and commissioning of your manufacturing facility

• your plan for implementing required quality control processes for example, inspection protocols, in process checks, QA or QC systems, to meet or exceed the required quality standard

• any tools, certifications, tests or third party audits you will deploy to validate quality during scale up

• how this scale up project will enable you to refine processes and embed quality controls in time for production

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You can submit a quality milestone plan. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 22. Your Wider Operations and Supply Chain Plan

What is your current supply chain position, and how will you prepare it for scale up?

Include:

• any further operational development you expect to execute in parallel to this project

• a description of your existing supply chain network, raw materials, components, subassemblies, key supplier relationships and any capacity constraints

• your plan to develop, qualify or diversify suppliers in readiness for pilot or demo scale production, examples might include partner evaluations, contracts, risk mitigation

• any logistics, inventory or procurement strategies you will implement to ensure continuity and cost efficiency at higher volumes

• how this scale up project will strengthen your supply chain’s resilience, flexibility and ability to support full scale manufacturing

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 23. Investment: Your Business Expansion Investment Plan

How will you gain the private co-investment required to deliver this project and your wider business expansion objectives?

Describe how you will raise the finance required to deliver your scale up project and your wider business expansion objectives, including taking your product or process to market.

You need to raise the investment required to deliver the project before you are able to fully access your scale up grant. You will also need to evidence your plan to raise the remaining business expansion investment.

Note: your total business expansion investment made at either the point of grant award or during project delivery must be at least twice your requested scale up grant.

Include:

• total financing requirement to deliver this project and your wider business expansion objectives broken down by target source, for example, grant, equity, debt, corporate investment

• how this project will deliver at least twice the additional private funding of the requested grant, public to private leverage, in the period before or during the project duration

• the expected timing of this financing

• the possible sources of this finance, for example, from retained earnings, corporate budget holder, fund manager, lender or another financier

• an identification of requirements which you need to meet to achieve this investment and your plan to satisfy them, for example, target internal rate of return (IRR), exit horizon, risk reduction, customer engagement or revenue milestones

• evidence of feedback received from advisors, investors, lenders or other financier that validate your approach

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You must include evidence to substantiate your claims from the body of your response to this question. These can be a list of your potential investors and the status of any discussions you have had with them. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 24. Investment: Your investment readiness

Are you ready to attract this investment within the permitted timeframe for this competition fund?

Demonstrate your readiness to secure co-investment for this scale up project, whether from parent companies, corporate sponsors, institutional investors or lenders.

Include:

• your businesses past investment track record, including budgets allocated, internal project approvals, funding round details or investment raised, as applicable

• evidence of co-investment confidence, for example, LOIs, term sheets, expressions of lender or investor interest, letters of endorsement from group HQ, board level investment warm up

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You must only include evidence to substantiate your claims from the body of your response to this question. This can include letters of intent. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom

Question 25. Investment: Your Financial Business Case

What is the financial business case for private co-investment in your project or business? Will it enable you to achieve the level of finance required to deliver your scale up project and achieve your business expansion objectives?

Provide a robust business case financial model demonstrating the returns required to fund your scale up project. This can be at project, product, facility or organisational level.

Include:

• a ten year annualised, not cumulative, financial projections showing sales, costs, profit, include working capital assumptions, and key value drivers.

• justification of overall investment, for example, return on investment (ROI), net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), uplift in company valuation against total investment sought

• any sensitivity analysis which explores different growth scenarios

Your answer can be up to 300 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. You can include a 10 year financial model. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom

Question 26. Value for Money (VfM) workbook 

The Value for Money (VfM) workbook and questions 26 to 33 of the application, relate to the economic value for money assessment.

You must download and complete the VfM workbook.

To complete the VfM workbook, you must complete the following steps:

• download the VfM workbook from question 26

• you must upload the completed worksheet as an appendix to question 25

• you must write 'Worksheet uploaded' as your response to this question 

• follow the instructions in the workbook

• complete all tabs following the guidance in each worksheet

• enter data into the grey cells and select an option from a drop down list in the orange cells

• add extra rows in the ‘Jobs’ worksheet, in the middle of rows of input cells to preserve the formatting, so you can define jobs separately for each project partner for the required number of national vocational qualification (NVQ) levels

• use blank lines to title project partners and group the jobs according to your preferences

Your answer can be up to 5 words long. 

You must write 'Worksheet uploaded' as your response and submit one appendix. It must be your Excel VfM workbook completed on the downloaded template.

Question 27. Investment: The additionality case for public funding

What is the case for public funding for this project?

Explain why public funding is necessary to unlock your scale up and what would happen without it.

Using the appendix to provide supporting evidence, explain: 

• why your project cannot go ahead without this grant

• why your project cannot be funded internally or through other private sources providing supporting evidence, for example, notices of declined credit

• why this specific amount of grant funding is required, reference can be made to the financial summary table

• what would happen if your application was unsuccessful

• the decision making process, if you decided not to internally fund, and provide evidence, such as any business case comparison, with or without this grant funding, internal rate of return analysis or other comparative financial analysis of the project with and without this grant funding

• where the project would be located and why, if it is not able to go ahead in the UK without this grant funding

• and provide information about alternative locations and type and size of operations, expected cost structure, wages, building, transport, energy, any financial support available, the availability of a qualified workforce

Your answer can be up to 400 words long. 

You must submit one appendix with evidence to support your answer. You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 28. Impact: Investment in the UK

What impact will this project have on investment into your UK businesses, and how have you quantified this?

Demonstrate the financial commitment this project makes to the UK and any resultant impact in future research, development or capital investment over the ten years following the project.

How have you estimated the required investment in R&D, skills and capital for this project, and any follow on investment to commercialise the technology?

You must: 

• describe the total investment into the UK that will result from this project into research and development and capital Investment

• explain the calculations and assumptions you have made to quantify the amounts of spending and investment required

• justify why your project costs and follow on investments are realistic estimates 

Note: it is important that you explain your estimates of both direct project costs and any post project expenditure to commercialise the technology and scale up production. 

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with evidence and details of your calculation methods to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 29. Impact: UK jobs

What will be the impact of this project on UK jobs created or safeguarded by the project? Were these a result of any post project R&D and manufacturing activities, and how have you quantified this?

You must: 

• summarise the jobs impacts that you forecast as a result of this project

• explain your calculations and the assumption you have made to quantify the number of jobs directly related to the project 

• explain any jobs included in your VfM workbook that are the result of business expansion or post project R&D and manufacturing activity that is directly related to the project 

• explain why the number of jobs and salaries are realistic, considering productivity and efficiency gains 

• explain any safeguarded jobs and provide evidence to show that these jobs would be lost without government funding for this project 

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with your evidence and details of your calculation methods to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 30. Impact: Emissions reductions

You must summarise and provide further information regarding the vehicle sales and emissions reductions impacts that you have described in the Sales and Emissions section of the VfM workbook. 

You must: 

• justify the vehicles you have selected in the VfM workbook (vehicles 1 to 4) 

• explain how you have quantified vehicle sales, what assumptions you have used in your sales forecast, and justify why the sales forecast is realistic 

• explain why the comparator vehicles included in the VfM workbook are the best alternative for consumers by the time your technology reaches the market

• explain any assumptions used in establishing fuel or energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the comparator vehicles selected in the VfM workbook 

• explain the specific contribution of this project to the future vehicle drivetrain, to quantify the impact of the overall emission savings your technology will achieve versus comparator vehicles 

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with evidence and documentation of your sales forecast and justification of comparator vehicles to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 31. Impact: Greenhouse Gas emission reductions

Please summarise and provide information regarding the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reductions impacts that you have described in the CO2 reductions section in the VfM workbook.

You must:

• round any data entered into the VfM Workbook to the nearest 10 Tonnes per year; values lower than 10 tonnes per year are unlikely to have a measurable effect on the value for money calculation

• explain how these GHG reductions would not happen in the absence of scale up funding

• provide examples of suitable evidence; include an ISO Lifecycle Assessment Study (based on ISO14040/ISO14044), or an Environmental Product Declaration

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix with evidence and documentation of your calculations for GHG reductions related to this project to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 32: Impact: Wider UK automotive supply chain

You must provide further evidence on the yearly production volumes that you have included in the VfM workbook.

Explain:

• the expected production volumes enabled by this project and how they relate to its objectives

• how the facility will be utilised once the project is completed, including any plans for ongoing operations, expansion, or integration into wider supply chain activity

• and provide an overview of the production volumes planned specifically for the UK market, including forecasts and timelines, including letters of intent, memoranda of understanding, or other evidence of demand from potential customers to demonstrate market validation and commercial traction

• how this project will contribute to strengthening and developing the UK automotive supply chain, including the creation of new partnerships, support for local suppliers, increased domestic sourcing, or improvements in manufacturing capability

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit one appendix with evidence and documentation of your sales forecast and justification of comparator vehicles to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 33: Impact: R&D spillovers

How will this project generate R&D spillovers beyond the lead applicant?

Include details on:

• your plans for dissemination of findings, for example, hosting talks, attending industry events, publishing papers

• how technologies or innovations may benefit organisations outside the delivery team, including cross sector applications in areas such as aerospace, defence, and energy

• any transferable capabilities, IP sharing opportunities, or mechanisms for knowledge exchange that support broader industrial impact

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 34. National Wealth Fund (Not Scored)

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) is the UK Government’s principal investor and policy bank, charged with deploying capital at scale in projects that support the government’s growth and clean energy missions.

Acting in partnership with the private sector, and national, devolved and local governments, NWF can invest in capital intensive projects and companies to support government policy priorities, including the Industrial Strategy, Infrastructure Strategy and Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.

Further information on NWF’s mandate, investment principles and product offering can be found on their website.

NWF offers finance in support of projects and companies across the electric vehicle supply chain, which is a priority sector for NWF. This includes projects and companies that are applying for DRIVE35 funding.

If you are interested in exploring National Wealth Fund finance in addition to your DRIVE35 grant funding application, you can complete the details in this question. This information will then be shared with NWF (alongside your full application).

If you do not want the project to be considered for commercial investment through the National Wealth Fund, you must enter ‘not applicable’ as your answer to this question.

Alternatively, you can contact the NWF directly from their website.

NWF is operationally independent, with its own decision making process and governance**.**

In order to be eligible for consideration for NWF finance, the project must meet the following criteria:

• it must meet NWF investment principles

• it must be based in the UK

• for private sector deals, the minimum financing required from NWF is £25 million

• all aspects of the project are at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 and above

If you want the project to be considered for commercial investment through the National Wealth Fund, you must provide a summary of the project’s funding requirements.

Your answer must include, but is not limited to:

• the funding amount

• the timeline for funding deployment

• the projected revenue over the next three to five years

• TRL level and other requirements

• how the project meets NWF’s investment principles

The assessment of project proposals for the purpose of obtaining NWF financing will be subject to due diligence and considered through NWF’s own investment processes. NWF does not have any involvement or influence in the final award of DRIVE35 funding.

Applicants who opt-in agree that this application will be shared with NWF and will be contacted by NWF to discuss its financing offer. Your application data and any supplemental information provided as part of the DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund application thereafter can be shared with NWF to facilitate this.

This information will be used by NWF to understand your project and consider financing needs ahead of any engagement to assess whether the project could benefit from their financing offer.

Any finance you receive from the NWF will be regarded as private co-investment and will contribute towards the private investment requirements of the DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund.

This response will not be scored by DBT or Innovate UK.

3. Finances

Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.

For an overview on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance. Eligible Capital costs are explained within the application. Note this is general guidance, for specific guidance please see the eligibility section in this competition. You can also view our application finances video.

Assessment

Assessment process

Your application will be assessed by Independent Assessors and appraised by government economists from the Department for Business and Trade.

1. Your project will be assessed by a panel of Independent Assessors.

2. If your application passes the first stage of assessment you will be sent independent assessor feedback and economic appraisal feedback and invited to an interview.

3. You will have the opportunity to respond to both the independent assessment feedback and economic appraisal feedback.

4. You will be required to attend an economic appraisal interview to respond to any questions that the government economists have.

5. You will be required to attend an independent assessment interview, to present your project and respond to any questions that the Independent Assessors have.

6. Following your interviews, your application will be scored and appraised for a final time, this assessment will be used by the funders to make the decision on funding your project.

Independent assessment

Your application will be reviewed by five independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills and expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

Economic ‘Value for Money’ assessment

Your application will be assessed by economists from the Department for Business and Trade in both the written and interview stages. The Economists will assess whether the project passes the threshold for good value for money for taxpayers and the UK.

His Majesties Treasury will only release grant funding if your project reaches an acceptable threshold of value for money. This analysis is quality assured by senior economists within the Department for Business and Trade to ensure the judgement is an accurate and independent reflection of the information that has been provided.

Written response to independent assessor feedback

You will be expected to, and is an opportunity, to answer the assessors’ concerns.

It must:

• be up to 10 A4 pages in a single PDF or Word document

• include charts or diagrams as part of the 10 pages.

All of the information including charts and diagrams must be legible at 100% zoom. If they are not, they will not be considered.

This information will be added to your application and be used to inform final assessment scores.

Written response to the Department for Business and Trade economic assessment feedback 

You will be expected to, and is an opportunity, to answer the appraisers’ concerns.

It must:

• be up to six A4 pages in a single PDF or Word document: template to be provided after the competition closes

• include charts or diagrams as part of the six pages

• be submitted by the date requested in the email response to you

All of the information including charts and diagrams must be legible at 100% zoom. If they are not, they will not be considered.

Interviews

If your application passes the first stage of assessment, you will be invited to attend an interview, where you must give a presentation.

Interview format

If invited to interview you must prepare and give a presentation regarding your project, and answer assessor panel questions. Interviews will take place at the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK offices in Coventry. You must allow up to four hours for your interview session, including questions and answers.

Your presentation must last no longer than 60 minutes.

After your presentation, the assessors will have up to 60 minutes to discuss and define their questions. You will be asked to step out of the interview session for this period.

After their discussion period, there will be up to 60 minutes for independent assessors and economic appraiser questions and answers.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you at the interview, you must email us at support@iuk.ukri.org within three days of receiving your invitation.

Interview attendance

Before the interview and by the deadline stated in the invitation email, you:

• must send a list of who will attend the interview

• must send your interview presentation slides

List of attendees

Up to nine people from your project can attend, ideally one person from each organisation. They must all be available on all published interview dates. We are unable to reschedule slots once allocated. If you are applying with a collaborative project, you must agree the list with your consortium members.

Presentation slides

You must submit your slides by the deadline indicated in your notification email.

Your interview presentation must:

• use Microsoft PowerPoint

• be no longer than 60 minutes

• have no more than 40 slides

• not include any video or embedded web links

You cannot change the presentation after you submit it or bring any additional materials to the interview.

Interview

After your presentation the panel will spend 60 minutes asking questions. You will be expected to answer based on the information you provided in your application, presentation and the responses to feedback.

After your interview

The panellists will individually score your application and these will be averaged for your overall interview score. This score will supersede the one you received from initial assessment unless stated otherwise in the competition brief. We will notify you whether you have been successful or not by email and you will receive feedback on your interview.

Background and further information

DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification) is a Department for Business and Trade led programme aimed at transforming the UK's automotive industry. This is achieved by supporting R&D and the commercial scale up of innovative zero emission vehicle technologies. It includes unlocking capital investment in zero emission vehicles, batteries and their wider supply chain.

DRIVE35 Scale Up Fund is funded by the Department for Business and Trade and delivered in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Innovate UK.

Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will:

• fund all DRIVE35 scale up fund projects, subject to Ministerial agreement

• make a recommendation to Ministers to support funding if the benefit meets an acceptable level and all other assessment criteria are met

• formally monitor delivery of economic benefits, including but not limited to, post project delivery

• assess the delivery mechanism of the DRIVE35 scale up competition to ensure it remains aligned with His Majesties Government processes and Ministerial steers, including the Industrial Strategy

• lead the delivery, design and monitoring of the programme implementation approach

• assess the benefit that the proposed project will deliver to the UK economy through value for money assessment

Where a project is linked to overseas investment in the UK, or export of goods from the UK, the Department for Business and Trade will also:

• provide a way for overseas businesses to contact the Department for Business and Trade staff in their own country, via knowledgeable staff at UK embassies and consulates

• support potential investors with sector specific information and facts about the UK economy

• provide support for investors looking for a UK location and data benchmarking to demonstrate the competitive position of the UK

• provide introductions to other government departments and partner organisations for businesses setting up in the UK for the first time or expanding their existing UK investments

• support businesses wishing to export through trade missions and customer connections, supported by UK embassies and consulates

• offer export finance support to businesses wishing to trade overseas, through the Department for Business and Trade’s UK Export Finance (UKEF) organisation

• provide ongoing after care customer support through a dedicated relationship manager

Formed in 2013 the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) accelerates the industrialisation of technologies which help to realise zero emission vehicles. It is at the heart of the UK Government’s commitment to end the country’s contribution to global warming by 2050.

APC will:

• work with applicants to support bid development

• support the competition process, including hosting both launch and guidance events and interviews

• support project start up and delivery once contracts are awarded, through APC staff

• monitor the investment and impact of the project portfolio

• provide links to wider government support initiatives where appropriate

Innovate UK will:

• deliver the competition process and technical assessment framework

• support and manage applicant queries about the competition process

• issue and manage grant contracts

• provide formal assurance that projects are meeting their commitments once they are running (known as project monitoring)

• approve financial claims and issue funds

APC can help by:

• providing general guidance regarding interpretation of competition rules and guidelines on an informal basis

• helping your business to structure the bid development process

• explaining common pitfalls

• answering questions about whether or not your project is within scope

Any information received by Innovate UK for this competition may be shared with APC and DBT. Innovate UK has a data sharing agreement in place with these bodies which safeguards both personal and commercial data in accordance with data protection legislation. 

Note that the APC role is to provide indicative guidance rather than formal advice. To contact APC email info@apcuk.co.uk.

Briefing recording and slides

Briefing recording and slides will be available to download here after the briefing event.

What happens if you receive a grant offer

If you have passed your initial assessment and have received an email with a grant offer, you will be asked to complete the project set up process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).

We will ask for information that will allow us to undertake mandatory checks on your organisation and the eligibility of your costs, as well as review the documentation for your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your project's dedicated IFS Set Up portal, where we gather the information required to set up your project.

Watch our videos on what steps there are before a project starts and how successful applicants receive their funding or read more about Project Setup in our General guidance.

Completing your grant offer

Following award of a grant offer, you will have a period of up to nine months, extendible by three months (plus an additional one month in the case that you have evidence that you are in the very final stages of raising investment) to raise the match funding required to deliver this project.

During this initial period, you will be able to undertake limited project activity, such as planning and design activity, where this is critical to enable you to achieve co-investment or to maintaining a timeline that is vital for the outcomes of the project. In any case this, will be limited to up to a maximum of 10% or £1 million of your grant budget, whichever is the lower. You will be required to present a plan for this limited project activity at the award stage of your project, which must be approved by the funders before you start.

Full approval to continue your project beyond this initial period will depend upon your demonstration of having access to the match funding to deliver your project. You must also have a strong plan to access the investment required to deliver your wider business expansion objectives. You will be required to provide evidence that you have received commitment from your co-investors to invest, lend or provide budget for the amount required to deliver your project.

This could be in the form of:

• a signed shareholders agreement

• a signed binding offer of investment to invest the required amounts

• submission of completed statutory investment documents

• a binding loan agreement

• a confirmation of corporate budget allocation

• or other such evidence

In addition, you will be required to provide evidence that you have a strong plan to raise the remaining amount required to achieve your business expansion objectives. This will include taking your project to commercialisation, and conditional commitments from investors, lenders or budget providers.

APC, Innovate UK or DBT may need to have a direct discussion with your prospective investors, and reserve the right to do this at our discretion. Your co-investment may be dependent upon our final confirmation that the grant conditions have been met. If the realisation of the investment is dependent on meeting milestones or other criteria, you must make these absolutely clear to us.

We will write to you to confirm whether or not we accept your evidence and therefore provide approval to continue your project.

If for whatever reason you lose access to the agreed investment during the project, we will work with you to define the right route forward. This will usually include returning to a limited project activity until you are able to re-confirm and provide evidence for a replacement investment of an appropriate amount.

You may write to us to make this case at any time up and until the grant offer lapses.

If you do not raise the required investment within the approved time period, your grant offer will lapse. You will be able to re-apply for the fund at the next submission date, as long as the total number of applications made with a proposal (including the original winning one) does not exceed three.

APC industrial contribution

In securing funding from this fund, each participant receiving a grant will pay an industrial contribution to the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK operating budget. This is set at 3.5% of all grant received and is payable on each grant received.

Following grant award, ongoing report on economic outputs

As a condition of DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund grant funding, you must provide DBT and APC with annual records which show the realised and expected economic outputs your project has produced.

You must provide robust, credible and timely data on your project’s progress. This data helps policymakers evaluate whether the APC programme is good value for money.

Each partner must: 

• flag any information they consider too costly to collect

• agree report timings

• report on economic monitoring information annually, or at an alternative schedule agreed with APC, Innovate UK and DBT 

You must provide other data if requested. Project monitoring and meetings will be carried out by representatives of Innovate UK, DBT and APC, and any other individuals as agreed with you. 

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

We would like to remind you that eligible non-funded business can still benefit from fully funded and bespoke support from the Innovate UK Business Growth service.

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth service

Innovate UK Business Growth helps innovation focused businesses make the best strategic choices and access the right resources, in order to grow and ultimately achieve scale.

Our innovation and growth specialists provide our fully funded and bespoke support to clients nationwide. Visit the service’s website to discover whether you could benefit from this advisory support, which is available to Innovate UK funded and non-funded businesses alike.

Protecting your innovation

A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.

This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK Ltd (APC) and exists alongside access to finance support available for eligible projects from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) (each an ‘agency’).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to DBT, APC and NWF and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

• the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants

• scoring and feedback on the application

• information received during the management and administration of the grant and NWF financing (if applicable), such as Monitoring Service Provider reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK may also share any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application with Innovate UK’s national and regional UK third parties and the National Wealth Fund (NWF), the partners who may contact you. For more information see how we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.

Innovate UK, DBT, APC and NWF are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect, DBT, APC and NWF will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Privacy Policy

Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) Privacy Policy

National Wealth Fund Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media, or any other form that might affect staff.