Overview
Innovate UK’s Made Smarter Innovation (MSI) programme will award up to £15.5m across two strands to help UK manufacturers adopt industrial digital technologies (IDTs) that improve energy and resource efficiency. This summary covers Strand 2: Industrial Research. Projects must deliver affordable, easy-to-use, and scalable digital solutions for SME manufacturers, boosting sustainability, resilience and productivity.
Scope
Funded projects will develop and test innovative digital solutions in real manufacturing environments, showing clear resource/energy efficiency links, sector fit, and novelty. Outputs must include: problem understanding, solution testing, evidence the tech is near adoption-ready, and a case study with quantified benefits; where possible, set up a demonstrator with open access details.
Key themes and topics
Resource efficiency (examples): raw-material waste, process waste, packaging waste (incl. single-use), maintenance/servitisation waste, utilities waste, end-of-life waste.
Energy efficiency (examples): boilers/steam; compressed air/vacuum; motors, pumps, hydraulics; induction/welding; chilling/freezing; spray/extraction/drying; ovens/kilns/furnaces; heavy machinery/presses.
Technology expectations: digital solutions (IDTs) that are affordable, simple, scalable across SMEs.
Project duration
- Total eligible costs: £200,000–£1,000,000
- Length: 6–12 months
- Start: 1 April 2026 (projects start on the first of the month)
- End by: 31 March 2027
Award value
Total competition pot up to £15.5m across both strands. (Individual project costs for this strand must be £200k–£1m.)
Funding rates (Industrial research)
- Micro/Small: up to 70% of eligible costs
- Medium: up to 60%
- Research participation: research organisations (non-economic activity) may share up to 30% of total eligible costs (RTOs/research orgs up to 100%; Je-S academics up to 80% FEC).
Eligibility criteria
- Lead: UK-registered SME technology developer (academic institutions cannot lead).
- Consortium: must include at least two UK-registered SME manufacturers claiming grant. Other UK partners can include academics, RTOs, research organisations.
- Work in the UK and exploit results from/in the UK.
- Any one partner must not exceed 70% of total eligible costs.
- Subcontractors: allowed (UK preferred; overseas only with strong justification).
- Applications per business (across both strands): lead on up to 2 applications and collaborate on 1 more (if not leading, collaborate on up to 3).
Not suitable for: projects outside manufacturing processes; minimal-innovation installs of existing tech; distribution centres/flying factories; construction (except off-site manufacturing); off-site repair/overhaul; primarily DfMA; goods-in/warehousing-focused.
.svg)
.svg)
