CfI: Battery innovation for dual use & defence Phase 1

Overview

Innovate UK is investing up to £2 million, inclusive of VAT, through Contracts for Innovation to accelerate the development of battery technologies that address defence sector challenges, strengthen UK manufacturing capabilities and improve critical supply chain resilience.

The competition aims to bring battery technologies developed for civilian applications into the defence sector, while identifying opportunities for military-grade technologies to enter commercial markets. By supporting innovation across battery cell manufacturing, battery pack design and associated systems, the programme seeks to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers and strengthen the UK's sovereign capabilities.

Phase 1 will fund industrial research projects to investigate technical feasibility, develop practical use cases and establish credible business cases for commercial adoption. The programme prioritises technologies at higher technology readiness levels (TRLs) that can progress towards operational use.

Up to 40 projects are expected to receive contracts worth between £20,000 and £50,000, inclusive of VAT, with 100% of eligible project costs covered through procurement contracts.

This is Phase 1 of a potential two-phase competition. Phase 2, subject to confirmation and funding, may support further prototype development and evaluation. Progression is not guaranteed and may require a separate competitive application.

Scope

The programme will support the UK civil and defence battery sectors by identifying dual-use battery technologies and routes for transferring them between sectors. It will also develop the use cases and business cases needed to support wider adoption.

This includes battery technologies that do not align with current large-scale manufacturing priorities but are critical to the UK's sovereign defence capability.

The programme will focus on industrial research, prioritising projects at higher technology readiness levels (TRLs) that can progress rapidly towards operational use.

Projects must focus on battery cell manufacturing or battery pack design and manufacturing technologies suitable for defence environments and address at least one of the eight challenge areas.

Projects must deliver both a use case and an outline business case demonstrating the technical application, supply chain resilience and commercial potential of the proposed technology.

Successful projects are expected to demonstrate how their technology has been developed to meet defence sector challenges. Evidence can include simulation, prototyping, demonstrator trials or other appropriate methods.

Applications must define clear project goals, outline plans for a potential Phase 2 and demonstrate a credible route to market, including a strategy to commercialise the results.

Successful applicants will also be expected to attend a programme event, engage with the wider innovation community and provide progress updates.

Key themes and topics

Projects must cover one or more of the following eight challenge areas.

1. UK-based supply of high-performance cell manufacturing technologies

This can include:

• Pouch cells
• Primary cells
• Li-S
• Li-metal anodes
• Na-ion

Projects must demonstrate supply resilience through:

• Secure domestic sourcing
• Minimal foreign dependency
• Scalable production for defence requirements

2. Define the most effective level of standardisation

Projects must define the most effective level of standardisation for one or more of the following:

• Cell
• Battery pack
• Interface
• Use case

This must enable seamless integration of dual-use batteries between civilian manufacturing lines and defence applications.

3. UK-based design and manufacture of battery packs

Projects must design and manufacture battery packs in the UK using 18650 and 21700 cells from secure and resilient supply chains.

Projects must evaluate the viability of 21700 cells compared with 18650 cells. Findings must inform the development of future military standards for industry.

Applications can include:

• Personal soldier battery packs
• Drone battery packs
• Replacements for portable generators
• 21700 BB-2590 demonstrators
• Soldier Tactical Universal Battery (STUB) demonstrators

4. UK-based low-volume and custom cell manufacture

Projects must establish a dedicated UK capability for the prototyping, pilot production and low-volume manufacture of bespoke battery cells tailored to specialised operational requirements.

Projects must demonstrate manufacturing agility, such as:

• Pilot-line adaptability without high capital reconfiguration
• Sovereign control of intellectual property and tooling
• Reliable supply chains for specialised precursors and active materials

5. Progression of a UK High Power (UKHP) cell production facility

Projects must advance the technical maturity, manufacturability and performance baseline of a sovereign UK High Power (UKHP) cell to support high-rate defence capabilities.

Projects must develop and de-risk cell designs capable of high continuous and pulse discharge rates.

6. UK-based development of Battery Management Systems (BMS)

Projects must design and manufacture secure, modular and resilient Battery Management Systems (BMS) within the UK, engineered for defence infrastructure applications.

Systems can include:

• Multi-chemistry monitoring and adaptive state-of-charge and state-of-health algorithms
• Active cell balancing for extended mission life
• Advanced thermal management controls for high-power demands

Projects must demonstrate resilience, including through:

• Cyber-secure firmware architectures resistant to interception and tampering
• Trusted electronic component sourcing with minimal reliance on foreign silicon

7. Integration of civilian automotive battery modules into defence capabilities

Projects must assess the feasibility, safety and operational adaptation of high-volume commercial automotive battery modules for land, air or maritime defence platforms.

Proposals can include:

• Ruggedisation strategies for extreme thermal, shock, vibration and ballistic environments
• Modification of standard automotive enclosures, interconnects and cooling architectures to meet military specifications
• Assessment of supply chain security, lifecycle management and obsolescence risks relative to defence procurement cycles

8. Dual-use transition of defence standard batteries into civilian markets

Projects must identify and evaluate commercial sectors where standard military-grade power packs, such as Li-ion 6T and BB-2590, add distinct operational value through ruggedisation and standardisation.

Required project deliverables

All projects must deliver both of the following:

1. Use case

Projects must develop a use case based on one or more of the challenge areas listed above.

The use case can cover:

• Technical requirements
• User requirements
• Operational guidelines
• System architecture
• Security considerations
• Relevant standards

The use case must:

• Demonstrate the practical application of the proposed battery technology
• Explain how the project will support further development
• Consider supply chain resilience
• Clearly state supply chain resilience assumptions
• Explain how reliable access to batteries will be secured
• Demonstrate alignment with the Ministry of Defence's supply chain risk appetite

The completed use case will be shared with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), the Ministry of Defence and its subsidiaries.

2. Outline business case

Projects must develop an outline business case based on the chosen use case.

The business case must include:

• Business need
• Market analysis
• Stakeholder mapping
• Stakeholder engagement

It can also cover:

• Supply chain mapping
• Commercialisation strategy
• Strategic alignment
• Economic viability
• Commercial barriers to adoption

The business case must demonstrate the commercial viability of the chosen use case.

The completed business case will be shared with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, the Ministry of Defence and its subsidiaries.

Research categories

Phase 1: Industrial research

Planned research or critical investigation to develop new knowledge and skills that support the development of products, processes or services, or improvements to existing solutions.

Phase 2: Prototype development and evaluation (subject to confirmation)

This may include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validating new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-world operating conditions.

The primary objective is to make further technical improvements to solutions that have not yet reached their final form.

Projects that will not be funded

Projects will not be funded if they:

• Are not original in scope and duplicate someone else's work
• Do not address at least one of the specified challenge areas
• Do not generate impactful outputs that can be disseminated
• Do not focus on battery technologies
• Do not demonstrate the potential for positive economic or societal impact
• Directly duplicate existing UK government or EU-funded initiatives already funded for delivery
• Are covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the proposed solutions

The competition also excludes R&D activities involving:

• Commercial development activities such as quantity production
• Supply intended to establish commercial viability or recover R&D costs
• Integration, customisation or incremental adaptations and improvements to existing products or processes

Project duration

Up to 3 months

Must start by 1 January 2027 (latest permitted start date)

End by 31 March 2027

Award value

Contract value between £20,000 and £50,000, inclusive of VAT.

The total competition budget is £2 million, inclusive of VAT, with up to 40 projects expected to receive funding.

Funding rates

100% funded

Eligibility criteria

• Projects must be led by an organisation of any size
• Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only
• Applicants can be based in the UK, EU, EEA or internationally
• The majority of the project work and key deliverables must be completed by the applicant and carried out in the UK, with most of the funding spent within the UK
• Subcontractors can be used for specialist skills and can be businesses, research organisations, research and technology organisations or the third sector, including charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups
• You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your eligible project costs
• If you are VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT and your total eligible project costs inclusive of VAT must not exceed £50,000
• If you are not VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT and your total project costs must not exceed £50,000

Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service.