UK Tenders for Small Businesses & Startups 2026

Startup Networks

DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification) is a Department for Business and Trade led programme aimed at transforming the UK’s automotive industry. This is achieved by supporting R&D and the commercial scale up of innovative zero emission vehicle technologies, and unlocking capital investment in zero emission vehicles, batteries and their wider supply chain.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) to invest up to £5 million in the DRIVE35 Scale-Up: Feasibility Studies competition.
This competition is part of a long-term commitment for driving growth sectors within the governments Industrial Strategy.
The aim of this competition is to support detailed feasibility studies into the deployment of UK based manufacturing facilities for zero emission vehicle technologies, such as:
pilot scale manufacturing demonstration scale manufacturing industrial scale manufacturing Your proposal is expected to enable an investment ready business case, advancing your readiness for manufacturing at your targeted production maturity and volume.
If your project is at a stage which is closer to market, two other funding competitions have been launched simultaneously with this one (total funding £40m across both strands, closing date 1 October 2025):
Strand 1: DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Collaborate (grant funding of £2.5m-£25m per project, projects must be collaborative, for technologies which target post project commercialisation) Strand 2: DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Demonstrate (grant funding of £500k-£1.5m per project to develop a product or process demonstrator, single applicants or collaborations allowed) It is your responsibility to ensure you submit your application to the correct competition for your project. You will not be able to transfer your application and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.
.accordion_cleanup .prose :where(ul>li):not(:where([class~=not-prose] *))::marker { display: none; } .accordion_cleanup li.relative { margin: 0; padding: 0; list-style: none; } .accordion_cleanup .prose ul { list-style-type: disc !important; } .accordion_cleanup .prose li { padding-left: 0.375em !important; margin-top: 0.5em !important; margin-bottom: 0.5em !important; } { const el = $refs['accordion1']; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset - 80; // adjust offset window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: 'smooth' }); }); } else { selected = null; } "> Who can apply?
To work alone your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
There are no restrictions on the number of applications on which an eligible organisation can lead. Successful applicants will be asked to confirm they have the capacity to run multiple projects simultaneously.
{ const el = $refs['accordion2']; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset - 80; // adjust offset window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: 'smooth' }); }); } else { selected = null; } "> Eligible projects
Your project must:
have a total grant funding request of between £150,000 and £750,000 last up to nine months carry out all of its project work in the UK intend to exploit the results from or in the UK start by 1 January 2026 end by 31 August 2026 Your project must have a maximum of 50% grant funding for a large organisation, or 60% for an SME. For example:
if you are applying as a large organisation and asking for £300,000 in grant, your total eligible project costs need to be a minimum of £600,000 if you are applying as an SME and asking for £300,000 in grant, your total eligible project costs need to be a minimum of £500,000 { const el = $refs['accordion3']; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset - 80; // adjust offset window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: 'smooth' }); }); } else { selected = null; } "> Scope: business
The aim of this competition is to support detailed feasibility studies into the deployment of UK based manufacturing facilities for zero emission vehicle technologies, such as:
pilot scale manufacturing demonstration scale manufacturing industrial scale manufacturing Your proposal is expected to enable an investment ready business case, advancing your readiness for manufacturing at your targeted production maturity and volume.
Your project must:
Support growth, transition and resilience of the UK’s automotive supply chain by increasing capability whilst improving productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.
Contribute to the UK’s strategic aims and priorities, for example, the Industrial Strategy, and Automotive Council’s Roadmaps and Strategic Technology areas.
Undertake a feasibility study that develops a detailed plan, business case and investment case for creation or conversion of manufacturing facilities for eligible on-vehicle technologies (including zero-emission vehicle assembly and the associated supply chain).
Support the transition to zero emission vehicles and have the potential to create and safeguard high value jobs and create a lasting economic benefit to the UK.
Deliver a detailed closeout report and present at a closeout meeting with the APC. This is to review the business case, its outcomes and next steps, prior to closure and payment of the final claim.
Your project can enable you to:
Develop a plan for the build or conversion of manufacturing facilities in the UK, including:
your technical approach your objectives a detailed timing schedule Create a flow sheet or layout of your manufacturing process or manufacturing facility.
Continue to develop robust commercialisation plans with a clear articulation on how the eligible technology will be commercialised or delivered to the automotive market at pace, from the UK and as a result of the project. This does not exclude spill over use in other sectors.
Produce detailed costing and financial models examining the costs of developing and operating your manufacturing facility and the incomes that it could enable.
Produce a business case for future investment which enables a decision:
to invest in the project in the UK or
that clearly shows the potential barriers or challenges to doing so and the additional steps or measures to overcome these barriers Develop the insight, plans and details required to show how you will secure investment in your manufacturing plan for the zero emission vehicle supply chain in the UK.
{ const el = $refs['accordion4']; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset - 80; // adjust offset window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: 'smooth' }); }); } else { selected = null; } "> Scope: technology
This competition aims to support feasibility studies, enabling investment into manufacturing of strategically important technologies for on board vehicle applications in one or more of the following areas:
electrical energy storage: development of batteries, supercapacitors, their components, management, and integrated systems electric machines and associated driveline power electronics including Vehicle to Everything (V2X) internal combustion engine (ICE) for off road applications, we will fund project proposals that support a transition to zero emissions, utilising non fossil fuels lightweighting materials and manufacturing processes fuel cell systems and associated balance of plant hydrogen storage and management systems zero emission vehicle assembly Within the technology scope outlined above, your project can include:
upstream supply chain for the technologies, including, raw materials, component manufacturing and subassembly manufacturing circularity and design for disassembly: projects delivering manufacturing systems which enable the disassembly, remanufacturing, recovery and reuse of materials the deployment of technologies, to enable productivity and cost competitiveness across the relevant aspects of applicable manufacturing operations in any of the following areas: digital transformation, manufacturing process decarbonisation and lean manufacturing Digital transformation can include: integration of digital tools within the manufacturing process, for example, the use of AI, digital twins, and Internet of Things (IoT).
Manufacturing process decarbonisation can include: processes that use renewable energy sources or innovations enabling reduced energy consumption within manufacturing processes, including capture and reuse.
Lean manufacturing can include: implementation of innovative lean principles to improve efficient use of materials used in processes, reduce their environmental impact and improve efficiency including the use of advanced automation techniques.
{ const el = $refs['accordion5']; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset - 80; // adjust offset window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: 'smooth' }); }); } else { selected = null; } "> Scope: activities
We recognise that companies in different segments of the zero emission vehicle supply chain use different terminology to describe their manufacturing development phases. Our intention with the wording of the competition is described below.
These are not suggested as absolute definitions, but instead as general categories to enable you to communicate the intention of your project:
pilot scale: scale up stage at which flexibility is key, utilised to develop initial production capability under real world conditions, whilst still maintaining significant flexibility for iterative improvements demonstration scale: scale up to intermediate production scale that reflects a production representative manufacturing workflow, focusing on repeatability with lower flexibility than pilot, and often representing final stage of manufacturing validation before industrial scale production industrial scale: full scale industrial production targeting high volume applications, deployed to fully realise the production volume potential for a product, utilising large scale industrial facilities, employing mass manufacturing techniques You may use your established terminology to describe your project in your application, but you must explain this clearly with regards to your goals and stages of development.
Target market
You must develop business cases that take new technologies towards scale up, market entry and industrialisation. You must outline how your project will enable you to enter the following vehicle supply chain or markets:
On-highway vehicles, for example, L-category, motorbike, car, bus and truck applications Off highway vehicles and non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), for example, construction, agriculture, mining and other off-highway applications Where your business case enables entry into other markets, you must be clear how the project prepares your business for entry into one of these vehicle markets.
{ const el = $refs['accordion6']; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset - 80; // adjust offset window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: 'smooth' }); }); } else { selected = null; } "> Briefing and support
Innovate UK, DBT and APC have pre-recorded a briefing event: watch the recording.
Briefing slides are available to download here.
There will also be a live Q&A session online at 2pm on Friday 18 July: click here for the joining link.
If you would like help to find a subcontractor or have other queries, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Transport team or Manufacturing team.
Find out more and apply

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