Innovate UK is the United Kingdom’s national innovation agency and a council of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It funds and supports business-led research, development, and commercialisation across sectors, working with companies of all sizes, universities, and the Catapult network. Support includes competitive grants, collaborative R&D competitions, innovation loans, and specialist advisory services (such as Innovate UK EDGE). It also operates internationalisation schemes, including the Global Business Innovation Programme, to foster partnerships and access to overseas markets.
For the chemical and materials sectors, Innovate UK backs projects in advanced materials, sustainable and bio-based chemicals, process intensification and scale-up, digital and modular manufacturing, circular economy solutions, and industrial decarbonisation. Funding and collaboration frameworks are used to develop pilot and demonstration projects, de-risk technology adoption, and build commercial supply chains in the UK.