NON-CO₂ PROGRAMME

Summary

The Non-CO₂ Programme is a two-stage competitive funding programme aiming to address challenges with reducing aircraft non-CO₂ emissions, outlined in the ATI’s Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap.

This funding stream is linked to the wider Aviation Non-CO₂ Programme and builds upon the “Jet Zero: aviation’s non-CO₂ impacts on the climate”, which is managed by DBT in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The ATI Non-CO₂ Programme focuses predominantly on industrial research, and technology development or enabling-technology projects.

The aim of this competition is to encourage industrial investment in the development of innovative technologies to reduce non-CO₂ emissions in the aerospace sector and its supply chain. It focuses on driving innovation and encouraging further collaboration between academia and industry, to build the foundations for a competitive and sustainable UK aerospace sector, maximising economic benefits to the UK.

The ATI’s Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap was generated following comprehensive consultation with industry, academia, aviation and international stakeholders. It complements the existing Destination Zero roadmaps and in some instances, non-CO₂ technology research and development will also span across one or more of these roadmaps.

Stage one – Outline Stage (OS)
Details on the Outline Stage of the Non-CO₂ Programme including links to apply can be found on this page. Further guidance is available in our webinar recording and slide pack.

Stage two – Full Stage Application (FSA)
Successful Outline Stage applicants will be invited to apply to the Full Stage Application stage via the Innovation Funding Service with guidance available on the UKRI website soon.

Eligibility

This competition is open to any registered organisations in the UK looking to develop technology for the civil aerospace sector. Applicants may apply as individual organisations or as a part of a consortium.

Lead organisation
To lead a project your organisation must:

• Be a UK registered business of any size for industrial research projects
• Be a UK registered business of any size, a research and technology organisation (RTO), research organisation or academic institution for capital infrastructure projects
• Carry out your aerospace research or technology development project work in the UK
• Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• Address the specific requirements of the Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap
• Sign the ATI Framework Agreement
• Claim funding

More information on the different types of organisations can be found in our funding rules. Research Organisations cannot lead.

Project team
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK-registered:

• Business of any size
• Academic institution
• Charity
• Not for profit
• Public sector organisation
• Research and technology organisation (RTO)

Your organisation must:

• Carry out its project work in the UK
• Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• Be invited to take part by the lead applicant
• Sign the ATI Framework Agreement

Scope

This competition funds innovative and competitive industrial research, technology development or enabling technologies in line with the ATI’s Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap. Projects will develop technologies to lower emissions, improve competitiveness and/or grow the UK’s market share. The primary application for technologies developed through this competition should be for the civil aerospace sector but cross-sector application is valuable.

Projects should demonstrate specific alignment with the Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap, which is split into three themes:

Fuel characteristics
Research supporting the development and adoption of fuels with the potential for reduced non-CO₂ emissions, including SAFs and hydrogen. This may include research into how to deploy these different fuels most effectively to minimise overall climate impact. Fossil-derived fuels are potentially in scope where there is potential to reduce their non-carbon impact, for instance through changes to the aromatic or sulphur content.

Aircraft Technologies
Research focused on technologies designed to mitigate non-CO₂ impacts which will be deployed onboard aircraft. These technologies may include components of fuel or propulsion systems or sensors for control or monitoring systems.

Knowledge, Data and Operations
Research related to understanding the climate impact of non-CO₂ emissions from aircraft and how new technologies can mitigate them. This is expected to include modelling, and activities to support the validation or deployment of models and tools.

The Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap has been generated following comprehensive consultation with industry, academia, aviation and international stakeholders. It complements the existing Destination Zero roadmaps; ultra-efficient technologies, zero-carbon technologies and cross-cutting enabling technologies. In some instances, non-CO₂ technology research and development may also span across one or more of the other technology roadmaps.

Projects we will not fund
We will not fund projects that focus:

• solely on defence, space or other industrial sectors, but we will recognise dual use technologies providing the primary application is in civil aerospace
• on fundamental research, feasibility studies or experimental development
• research topics that include no scope under the Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap

We cannot fund projects that are:

• dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a manufacturer on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of parts to another country
• dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a manufacturer on the condition that it uses 50% UK materials in their product.

Research categories
We will fund industrial research projects as defined in the guidance on categories of research and investment aid for research infrastructure.

Assessment criteria

As part of the Outline Stage application, you are required to submit a PowerPoint presentation in PDF format. This presentation must address the following criteria:

Technology and Innovation
Describe project alignment with the Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap and explain the benefits to the aerospace sector.

• How does the project help to deliver the Non-CO₂ Technologies Roadmap?
• How do the planned project deliverables compare to current state-of-the-art technologies or competitor research?
• Describe the non-CO₂ emissions benefits, and operational and commercial benefits of the technology.

Describe the project ambition.

• Explain the innovation step(s).
• Why are the outputs from this project required?
• What challenges does the research address?
• Describe the key technology or knowledge base that is being developed in the project.
• Describe any upstream dependencies for the project, or previous funding that this project builds on.

Exploitation and market
What are the routes to market and business opportunities?

• What UK economic benefits are enabled by the project deliverables?
• Describe the route to market and how it will be implemented.
• Who are the customers for the project outputs, if applicable?
• If applicable, state the addressable market size for the technology.

What are the exploitation opportunities for the project?

• What is the timeline for exploitation of the technology or knowledge base?
• If applicable, what engagement has there been with end-users to date with respect to the exploitation of the project outputs?

Restrictions and finances

Financial restrictions
Organisations that are in financial difficulty will not be awarded grant funds. Innovate UK will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests at the application stage.

Funding ratios
The planning assumption is that grants totalling up to £17 million for the four years from 2024 will be allocated to successful projects. This is not a limit or target, and allocations will depend on the number and the quality of applications received across the ATI Programme.

The maximum grant per project must be 60% or less of the total overall eligible costs of the project. Individual partners that are conducting commercial or economic activities as part of the project, which may include research organisations, can request grant funding of up to:

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

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance. This is a change from the EU definition unless you are applying under State aid.

Research participation
The UK-registered  research organisations  in your consortium undertaking non-economic activities can share up to 30% of the total project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation, this maximum will be shared between them. Of that 30% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:
80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic
100% of your project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

Industrial contribution fee
Applicants to this competition are required to pay an industrial contribution fee to the operating costs of the ATI. The industry contribution is fixed at 2.5% of the total grant per project. For more information on how the industrial contributions are calculated, please refer to the ATI Framework Agreement.

Non-funded partners
Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will not count towards the total eligible project costs but must be included your application.

Subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process. You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the UK. Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will review this on a case-by-case basis. You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor. All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.

Previous applications
You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition. If you are submitting a new application and are unsuccessful, you can only resubmit an updated application into one future competition that allows you to resubmit.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project
• an overdue independent accountant’s report
• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions
• received funding previously for the same project from the government
• already developed technology via private funds

Multiple applications
When a business leads on an application it can collaborate in a further two applications.
If a business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in up to three applications.
An academic institution, charity, public sector organisation, research organisation or RTO can collaborate on any number of applications.

Funding restrictions and sanctions
Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian and Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian and Belarusian source.

Applications are submitted via the link on this webpage which will become live between the published competition dates.
Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• the application is completed and submitted before the deadline
• that all the information provided in the application is correct
• your application meets the eligibility and scope criteria
• all sections of the application are marked as complete
• if collaborative, that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

You cannot edit your application once submitted.

What we will ask you
The Outline Stage is made up of two parts:
Part one: Application details and presentation submission
Part two: Presentation to the Panel

View the launch webinar recording
Before commencing your application, we recommend viewing the Non-CO2 Programme launch webinar from 18th April 2024 here. The slides from the webinar are available to download here.

Stage one – Outline Stage
Part one – Application details and PowerPoint presentation
This section provides background for your application and is not assessed.

Project details
Including project title, start date and duration plus your total project costs (includes ineligible costs) and total grant request (only eligible costs).

Lead applicant’s contact details
The name and email address for a representative of the lead applicant organisation who is responsible for submitting the application and is the main point of contact for the project.

Location of lead company
The location of the site where the majority of the lead organisation’s project work will take place.

Application team
List the organisations which you will work with on your project. Give the name, location and email address of the key point of contact from each organisation.

Project summary (max 200 words)
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

ATI Framework Agreement
All applicants to the Non-CO₂ Programme must read and sign the ATI Framework Agreement. To avoid delays later in the process we recommend doing so as early as possible, but it must be completed no later than 30 days after FSA Notification. This ATI Framework Agreement link will take you to our secure page where you can read and sign the document. Your digital signature will be reviewed by the ATI team, and you will receive confirmation via email once the validation process is complete.

PowerPoint presentation
Presentation document rules

• The presentation must be submitted as a PDF up to 10MB in size.
• No more than 10 slides*
• Font – Arial
• Minimum font sizes:
  Title Slide and Section Header – Size 36
  Content Slide Titles – Size 28
  Body text – 14
  Captions and references – 10
• File format- pptx (submitted in PDF)
• Slide aspect ratio – widescreen

*If more than 10 slides are submitted, only the first 10 slides will be assessed.

After submitting your application, the ATI will carry out an eligibility check to determine if your project is in scope. Only projects that are in scope will be invited to present their Outline Stage presentation to the panel. If your project is not in scope, you will be told why but will not receive any further feedback on the application.

Part Two – Presentation to Panel
If invited to present your Outline Stage presentation to the panel, this will be on one of the published panel presentation dates. The panel will include a Chair, a Co-Chair and assessors. The presentations will be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams. Guidance on how to use Microsoft Teams, can be found here.

Please note, other than minor corrections such as typos, the copy of the presentation submitted must be the same as the one used during the Outline Stage Presentation to the Panel. Major changes may lead to your application being disqualified from the competition.

• You will be invited to an hour-long meeting.
• The project lead must attend the panel and lead the presentation.
• You must join the meeting promptly at the allocated time. Any delay in joining the meeting will result in less time for your presentation and Q&A time.
• No more than three members of the consortium, including the project lead, can attend the Panel session. If more than three attendees join the Panel, the additional project attendees will be asked to leave the meeting. In unforeseen circumstances, applicants are permitted to replace project attendees, but must inform the ATI by emailing competitions@ati.org.uk prior to their allocated panel presentation date.
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure you have access to suitable IT equipment, with your camera and sound turned on, and are able to share your screen to present your slides.
• No additional materials can be shared during the panel presentation in any format e.g., hardware, paperwork, demo. etc.
• Panels can rarely be rescheduled once allocated; you are responsible for ensuring your availability to attend the Panel on one of the published Panel dates.
• To ensure fairness, panel presentations run strictly to time.
• Please be aware recording or filming of the panel presentation meeting is not permitted [including the use of AI note taking or AI recording tools]. Automated tools may need to be disabled in advance of the pitch panel. Recording of interviews could result in an application being disqualified from the competition process.

Indicative panel presentation agenda:

*Presenters will leave the meeting after the question and answer session.

After assessing applications, the ATI will make recommendations to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) which makes the decision on projects proceeding to Full Stage Application.

If you are successful in the Outline Stage, you will be invited to submit a Full Stage Application (see below).

If your Outline Stage application is not successful, you will be given the opportunity to discuss your feedback with the ATI. Details on how to take up this feedback opportunity are provided in the feedback document. You will be able to submit the same project proposal up to a maximum of three times.

The outcome of your application and feedback on your Outline Stage application will be provided by the ATI on the published notification date.

There is no funding at Outline Stage. Funding will be awarded at Full Stage Application, if successful.

Stage two – Full Stage Application
If you are successful in the Outline Stage, you will be invited by Innovate UK to apply for the next Full Stage Application, aligned with the next Batch in the ATI Programme.

You must apply to one of the next two Full Stage Application competitions otherwise you will need to reapply to the Outline Stage.

If you wish to defer your full stage application to the following Batch, you will need to contact competitions@ati.org.uk within 10 working days of receiving your successful notification.

The ATI, DBT and Innovate UK monitor changes between Outline Stage and Full Stage Application submissions and unjustified major changes will not be accepted.

Further details on the Full Stage Application can be found on the gov.uk website.

The Outline Stage opens three times per calendar year, with successful applicants progressing to one of the three Full Stage Application (FSA) rounds held annually. Competitions close at 11:00 (UK time) on the date stated.