Battery innovation concept development round 2

Overview

This competition supports industrial research projects focused on developing and scaling battery-grade materials within the UK. It aims to strengthen domestic capability across the battery value chain, particularly in material extraction, processing, and recycling.

The programme is designed to address critical gaps in supply chain resilience, reduce reliance on overseas processing, and enable large-scale battery manufacturing in the UK. Projects should demonstrate a clear pathway to scale, with strong commercial potential and alignment to net zero and critical minerals strategies.

This competition is split into two strands:

• Battery innovation feasibility round 2
• Battery innovation concept development round 2 (this strand)

Scope

Projects must:

• support collaborative R&D in strategically critical areas of the UK battery value chain
• strengthen UK capability in battery material processing, extraction, refining, recycling and recovery
• improve supply chain resilience and support localisation aligned with rules of origin requirements
• enable the UK to scale battery manufacturing materials and capture greater domestic value
• strengthen circular economy capability and enable industrial deployment of recycling and reprocessing

Projects must demonstrate how the innovation will:

• enable consistent, high quality battery grade materials suitable for large scale manufacturing
• reduce reliance on overseas processing
• support scale-up from laboratory to pilot and pre-commercial production in the UK
• recover critical materials suitable for re-use in manufacturing
• support industrial-scale recycling and reprocessing
• integrate circularity into UK battery supply chains

Projects must also demonstrate a credible pathway to UK impact, including manufacturing scale-up, infrastructure development, and long-term economic and environmental benefits.

Key themes and topics

Relevant R&D activities include, but are not limited to:

• material extraction and processing activities, from mining and separation through to battery grade specifications
• development and optimisation of battery grade electrode materials for scalable manufacturing
• control of particle morphology, surface chemistry and coatings to improve performance, yield and process robustness
• processing material innovations that reduce cost, energy use or environmental impact while maintaining manufacturability
• materials development that support manufacturing processes, particularly where integrated with UK cell production requirements, supply chain needs and wider sector demand
• recycling process development focused on scale, throughput and economic viability
• upgrading recovered materials to battery grade specifications suitable for UK manufacturers
• design for circularity approaches that simplify disassembly, recovery and reprocessing

Projects must clearly state which group the application aligns with:

1. Material extraction

Innovations that strengthen sustainable, competitive access to raw materials.

Projects should:

• develop sustainable extraction methods with reduced environmental impact
• enhance efficiency, yield or purity of raw materials used in battery chemistries
• support substitution, diversification or novel sources of critical minerals
• incorporate environmental monitoring, traceability or responsible sourcing technologies
• integrate digital tools for resource mapping, process optimisation or environmental protection
• enable UK access to advanced materials crucial for next generation cells

1. Material processing

Advancing processed materials required for high performance, cost effective cells.

Projects should:

• innovate in cathode, anode, electrolyte or separator materials
• scale up processing of active materials for next generation chemistries, for example solid state, sodium ion, LFP, high nickel and silicon rich
• improve energy, water or reagent efficiency in material production
• enhance material consistency, purity and performance through improved processing routes
• apply digital tools, modelling or automation to improve throughput and quality
• integrate sustainability, recycling feedstocks or circular inputs into the materials process

1. Recycling and circular economy

Strengthening UK capability in end-of-life processing, reuse, recovery and circularity.

Projects should:

• advance processes for dismantling, sorting and safe handling of end-of-life batteries
• develop improved recovery pathways for critical materials and black mass refining
• integrate recycled materials back into upstream production
• develop reuse, second life or remanufacturing technologies
• reduce waste and environmental footprint across the end-of-life system
• introduce digital tracking, provenance and circular economy systems across the lifecycle
• create business models or technologies that enable circularity at scale

Projects can target performance requirements for at least one of the listed sectors and can support emerging use cases or cross-sector applicability, including:

• automotive sector, including on and off highway vehicles, motorsports and niche automotive
• aerospace
• battery energy storage systems
• rail
• maritime
• defence (innovation must be dual use with clear relevance beyond defence applications)

Projects must clearly demonstrate an understanding of the target sector, industry and market demand across the UK, Europe and globally.

Project duration

Between 12 and 36 months

Must start on 1 October 2026

End by 28 September 2029

Award value

Grant funding request between £500,000 and £4 million.

Funding rates

For industrial research projects, which build new knowledge and capabilities to develop and scale products or processes, funding is available for eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% for micro or small organisations
• up to 60% for medium-sized organisations
• up to 50% for large organisations

Research organisations can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs.

Eligibility criteria

• Projects must be collaborative and led by a UK registered business of any size
• Projects must include at least one grant-claiming SME
• Collaborators can include UK registered businesses, academic institutions, charities, not for profits, public sector organisations or RTOs
• Subcontractors must be preferably UK-based with fully justified and appropriate costs
• All funded project work must be carried out within the UK (with exceptions for non-funded partners)
• Projects must intend to exploit results in or from the UK
• Subsidy control and state aid rules apply