(Text update 17/05/2023: revised wording around the competitions funding priorities for clarity)

The Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC) aims to ensure:

• the UK automotive sector meets its net zero commitments in the required timescale, by enabling the development and scale-up of sustainable battery technologies
• the UK prospers from a just and fair transition to electrification, by taking action to develop a world class intellectual and physical supply chain for batteries in the UK

The aims of this competition are to:

• accelerate development and commercialisation of state of the art battery technologies in the UK
• support growth of the supply chain and companies in the UK battery sector
• increase UK competitiveness in the global battery industry
• demonstrate ability of battery technologies to meet the needs of specific applications

Your project must balance specific technical, market, and business requirements for developing and emerging technologies, and enable UK competitiveness across the battery value chain.

You must demonstrate how your technology will address at least one of the following battery performance metrics:

• reduce cost at the cell and pack level, as well as minimising manufacturing costs
• increase energy density (Wh/kg) at cell and pack level
• increase power density (W/kg) at cell and pack level
• increase safety by reducing or eliminating thermal runaway risk
• increase first life by lengthening cell and pack life
• broaden the temperature ranges that a pack efficiently operates at
• increase predictability by developing ways to better predict range and battery health
• increase recyclability by designing for end-of-life or reuse and improving recycling techniques
• increase sustainability by reducing carbon emissions, energy consumption and improving resource efficiency

We are particularly interested in funding projects that will enable:

• a competitive and sustainable nickel-rich UK battery supply chain
• high performance, high-value, modest volume applications where UK has established and emerging strength
• low cost, appropriate energy density solutions, at pack level, for applications requiring lower performance and low cost
• greater than 350Wh/kg energy density at pack level
• improved fast charge capability for specific applications
• high cycle life and reduction of battery degradation
• battery safety to enable higher performance
• total end-to-end life-cycle sustainability, including reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions, across the battery supply chain and throughout battery life
• increased equipment manufacturing capability for state-of-the-art batteries within the UK
• enhanced digital capability across the battery value chain, for example big data and AI for materials discovery, design optimisation and performance verification and digitisation of the end-to-end bill-of-process or of provenance and state

For feasibility studies we encourage applications that:

• trial advanced and very novel battery technologies for the first time
• exploit scientific advances from the Faraday Institution and wider research base
• trial novel approaches, tools and methods
• support trial and adaptation of existing materials, processes or equipment for application in battery technologies or the battery supply chain

Where this could have a transformational effect for example on cost, performance or sustainability.

Our first priority for funding will be projects targeting performance requirements for automotive applications. This includes:

• on and off-highway vehicles
• medium and heavy goods vehicles
• passenger cars and vans
• buses
• motorsport
• e-motorcycles

Our second priority for funding will be projects:

• targeting applications with performance requirements that are related to automotive performance requirements
• developing breakthrough technologies that have the potential for widespread sectoral adoption

You must clearly demonstrate your understanding of the performance synergies and route to market in your application.

Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across the battery value chain and different technologies and markets. We will apply a portfolio approach across the two strands of the competition.

Specific themes

(Text update 17/05/2023: revised wording around shared information for clarity)

Your project must focus on one or more areas of the battery value chain:

• raw materials
• cell materials and cell components
• modules, packs, battery management systems and their components
• recycling and second life

Your project activities may require one of the following:

• an Environmental Permit (England and Wales)
• an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland and Northern Ireland) Permit
• a Waste Management Licence (Scotland and Northern Ireland)
• compliance with the Waste Battery and Accumulator Regulations (UK)

Further information can be found here:

Check if you need an environmental permit - GOV.UK

Environmental management : Environmental permits - detailed information - GOV.UK

Get an opinion from the definition of waste service - GOV.UK

Innovate UK reserves the right to share information regarding your grant application with the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency or Natural Resources Wales or Northern Ireland Environment Agency to ensure appropriate environmental compliance in conducting project activities.

Research categories

We will fund feasibility projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that are:

• research projects or projects which are academic intensive​
• business as usual R&D projects​
• non-collaborative projects ​
• projects with over reliance on subcontracting
• aiming to secure funding for capital equipment as a primary focus​
• not demonstrating considerations of the cost, market and business requirements of the technology​
• focussed on off-vehicle charging
• focussing on physical system integration of battery technologies for example into vehicles or energy storage systems

We cannot fund projects that are:

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

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