Innovate UK Grant - Sustainable Plastic Packaging

Opening on the 13th January 2020, this funding competition will see Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, invest up to £1 million from the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Programme for early-stage projects in smart and sustainable plastic packaging. 

Your project must aim to:

• help make the plastics packaging supply chain more circular
• deliver the targets of the UK Plastics Pact
• improve on current state-of-the-art plastic packaging, while still demonstrating practical and close-to-market solutions

What funding is available?

Innovate UK have allocated up to £1 million to fund innovation projects in this competition.

Organisations that are primarily engaged in commercial or economic activity (known as selective advantage) as part of the project must ensure their request for funding does not exceed the limits defined below. This includes organisations that typically act non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

Projects can be either feasibility studies or industrial research. The project’s overall grant cannot exceed 40% of the total eligible project costs. Of that 40%, the maximum percentage an individual business partner can receive in a collaborative project is dependent on the size of organisation as follows:

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

The research organisations in your consortium can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation, this maximum is shared between them.

Your project:

Projects must start by August 2020 and end by September 2021. They can last up to 12 months.

If your project’s total eligible costs or duration fall outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@innovateuk.ukri.org at least 10 days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

Lead organisation

To lead a project or work alone your organisation must:

• be a registered UK business of any size
• carry out its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

Proposals:

Your proposal must focus on plastic packaging as the primary application but also include one or more of the following 4 innovation themes.

Materials innovation, for example:

• new, recyclable polymer materials
• biopolymers
• improving ‘compatibilisation’ (making it easier to use more recycled content) alternatives to plastics for current packaging applications (for example, mycelium materials to replace expanded polystyrene) where plastic is the only current option 

Design innovation, for example:

• design for recyclability
• design for reuse
• making food delivery and other delivery packaging more recyclable
• marking and identification technologies to make sorting easier

Technology and process innovation, for example:

• reuse processes (for example cleaning)
• collection
• sorting and separation
• mechanical recycling
• chemical recycling
• anaerobic digestion (AD) or composting of compostable packaging

Business model innovation, for example:

• reusable packaging systems, for example refill
• zero packaging business models and systems
• consumer or business behavioural change

Project dates:

• Competition opens: 13 January 2020
• Competition closes: 1 April 2020, 12:00pm
• Applicants notified: 15 May 2020

Interested in applying? Myriad Associates can help

• Win Rate - Myriad Associates’ boast a strong success rate with Innovate UK applications. 
• Proven templates & tools for success - Our templates make it easy to collaborate & prepare a winning bid.
• Honest & Trustworthy – We will not waste your time or money. If we feel your application won't succeed, we will tell you before we undertake the application process.
• Highly rated UK & European bid writers - We have a highly experienced team of bid writers with proven UK & European success. In 2018/19, we secured over €50m in grant funding for our clients.
• Unlimited revisions - Our grant writers provide feedback on both successful and unsuccessful grant applications. We review this feedback with you to give you ongoing advice and guidance.
• Risk-free Eligibility Call – Call us for a free eligibility call to see if you have an application worth applying for.

Click here to discuss your application with one of our expert grant bid writers or visit Innovate UK to find out more.

Where do I find more information?

For more information on this grant, please visit: https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/530/overview

Alternatively, contact us if you'd like to know whether your project would likely qualify for this grant.