UK-Switzerland CR&D Round 3

Overview

The UK-Switzerland CR&D Round 3 competition supports collaborative research and development projects between UK and Swiss organisations developing innovative technologies. Delivered by Innovate UK and Innosuisse, the competition aims to strengthen international partnerships while accelerating the commercialisation of emerging technologies.

Projects must focus on Semiconductors, Life Sciences or Engineering Biology, with UK businesses collaborating with at least one eligible Swiss implementation partner. Successful projects should demonstrate strong commercial potential, balanced international collaboration and deliver economic benefits through the development of innovative products, processes or services.

Scope

Projects must enhance UK and Swiss collaboration in emerging technologies through business-led innovation projects supported by grant funding.

Projects must address innovation in Semiconductors, Life Sciences or Engineering Biology, while demonstrating:

• a clear game-changing or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
• a strong and deliverable business proposal that demonstrates market need and commercial potential
• sound, practical financial plans and realistic project timelines
• good value for money, with a clear plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and business growth through commercialisation within two to three years of project completion
• significant potential to benefit the UK economy or improve national productivity
• the added value created through UK and Swiss collaboration
• a clear approach to the ownership, use and sharing of intellectual property (IP)
• a clear route to market within two to three years of project completion

Innovate UK will adopt a portfolio approach, supporting a range of projects across different technologies, markets, technology maturities and research categories.

Key themes and topics

Projects must focus on one or more of the following technology areas:

Semiconductors

Applications of particular interest include:

• Compute, including AI chips and accelerators, CPUs, GPUs, TPUs, AI ASICs, chiplets, heterogeneous integration, 3D packaging, neuromorphic computing and photonic computing.
• Photonic interconnects and data movement, including chip-to-chip connectivity, integrated photonics, co-packaged optics, memory technologies and data storage.
• Sensing technologies, including vision, radar, lidar, RF-based sensing and photonic sensing for AI applications.
• Power and energy systems using advanced semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride.

Engineering Biology

Applications where the core innovation is based on engineered biological systems, including:

• Biotechnology and genetic engineering platforms.
• Bio-based production and bioprocesses, including food and agrifood applications.
• Bio-engineered medical and diagnostic solutions.
• ClimateTech and CleanTech applications

Life Sciences

Projects that will not be funded

Projects will not be funded where they:

• do not include a genuine collaboration with a Swiss implementation partner that has been successful in the corresponding Innosuisse programme
• do not collaborate with at least one UK or Swiss research institution (unless the Swiss applicant is an eligible individual start-up that is pre-market and has fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees)
• do not meet Innovate UK eligibility requirements
• are dependent on export performance
• require the use of a specified proportion of UK components or domestic inputs

Project duration

18 to 36 months

Must start on 1 February 2027

End by 31 January 2030

Award value

Grant funding request of £450,000

Swiss partners will not receive any of this UK competition funding. Swiss partners will be funded by the Innosuisse programme following a parallel application.

No one country or project partner can represent more than 70% of the total project cost.

Funding rates

For feasibility studies, which evaluate a project's potential by uncovering key factors and informing confident, well-founded decisions about moving forward, organisations can receive funding for eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For industrial research projects, purposeful research that builds new knowledge and skills to improve or develop products, processes or services, often through prototypes or system components that validate ideas in realistic settings, organisations can receive funding for eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For experimental development projects, which use existing knowledge to shape and refine new or improved products, processes or services through prototyping, testing and validation, and are closer to market, organisations can receive funding for eligible project costs of:

• up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 25% if you are a large organisation

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 be a UK registered business of any size; an academic institution; a charity; a not for profit; a public sector organisation; or a research and technology organisation (RTO).
• Projects must collaborate with at least one separate, non-linked Swiss implementation partner applying to the equivalent Innosuisse competition.
• Subcontractors should preferably be UK or Swiss based, with fully justified and appropriate costs. Third-country subcontractors are permitted where a clear justification is provided, and UK subcontractor costs must not exceed 20% of the UK eligible project costs.
• The majority of funded project work must be carried out within the UK and Switzerland. UK partners must carry out the majority of their work in the UK.
• Projects must intend to exploit the results from or in the UK.
• Subsidy control and State aid rules apply under the Subsidy Control Act 2022.