Apply for funding through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Non-CO2 programme
Funding for research and technology development to maintain and grow UK’s competitive positions in civil aerospace.
The ATI Non-CO2 programme offers funding for civil aerospace research and technology development in the UK.
You must read this guidance before you apply to the programme via the ATI website for Stage 1 and the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) for Stage 2.
Overview of the ATI Non-CO2 programme
The ATI Programme offers funding for research and technology development in the UK to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace. Sustainability is a core element of Destination Zero – the UK’s aerospace technology strategy. Priorities are focused on reducing CO2 emissions in line with aviation sector’s target of Net Zero 2050, as well as further reductions of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Noise.
This Non-CO2 programme focuses on addressing challenges with reducing non-CO2 emissions from the aerospace sector, outlined in the ATI’s new non-CO2 emission roadmap. Funding will be awarded from the ATI programme budget valued at £685 million for 2023 to 2025 and an additional £975 million for 2026 to 2030.
The Non-CO2 programme is coordinated and managed by:
- the Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
- Innovate UK (IUK), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
- ATI
All 3 organisations work in partnership. Together they deliver a portfolio of projects to meet the objectives and priorities of Destination Zero, including the ATI’s non-CO2 technology roadmap.
The ATI Non-CO2 Programme is a funding stream 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 programme will focus predominantly on industrial research, and technology development or enabling-technology projects.
The non-CO2 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 existing technology roadmaps.
Roles of the 3 partner organisations
DBT is accountable for the programme budget and decides which projects will be funded with government resources. DBT carries out a value-for-money and policy assessment on each eligible application.
IUK is the delegated budget holder and contracting authority for the programme. Innovate UK provides independent assessment and evaluation of application submissions, monitors live projects, and manages the distribution of grant funding.
The ATI creates the technology strategy for the UK aerospace sector. The ATI reviews applications for strategic and technology alignment.
Assessment overview
The ATI Non-CO2 programme is a 2-stage competition:
- stage 1: outline stage
- stage 2: full stage application
As the budget holder, DBT is the decision maker for the ATI Programme. This means DBT decides which projects pass the outline stage and which projects are funded following the full-stage application assessment.
The outline stage opens 3 times per calendar year and is assessed by the ATI only. DBT makes the decision on which projects proceed to the full-stage application. There is no funding in stage 1. All funding will be awarded in stage 2.
Only successful applicants from the outline proposal will be invited to apply for the full-stage strands which are assessed separately by IUK, the ATI, and DBT.
If your full-stage application is successful, your application will progress to final approval through DBT ministers. Contracts will be issued by IUK.
Information on how to apply, the assessment process and feedback is set out below. It is strongly recommended that you read this before beginning your application.
Before you start an application
Research categories
The ATI Non-CO2 programme will only fund industrial research and technology development projects (as defined in the categories of research and development section of the Innovate UK general guidance).
General eligibility guidance
Eligibility guidance in any current competition brief takes precedence over guidance here, for the purposes of entering that competition.
To lead a project your organisation must:
- be a UK-registered business of any size for research projects
- carry out your aerospace research project work in the UK
- intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
- address the challenges outlined in Destination Zero (UK’s aerospace technology strategy), that must include specific requirements set out in the ATI’s non-CO2 technology roadmap
- sign up to the ATI framework agreement
- claim funding
More information on the different types of organisations can be found in our funding rules. We accept single applicant led projects, though encourage collaborative project applications.
Your project’s duration must be appropriate and in proportion to the planned objectives and prioritisation within the ATI’s non-CO2 technology roadmap.
The programme does not fund projects that:
- do not have a primary exploitation in the civil aerospace sector
- are defined as technical feasibility studies or fundamental research
We recognise that technologies can be exploited in multiple sectors. However, to be fundable, the primary exploitation route or application must be in civil aerospace.
Stage 1: outline proposal
Help from the ATI before you submit your outline proposal
Before submitting your application, you can engage with the ATI to support the development of the outline proposal. Your project will be assigned a project lead from the ATI technology team to provide development feedback, where appropriate. It is entirely optional whether you decide to use this service and does not guarantee success at this stage.
Meetings with the ATI will provide an opportunity to discuss the key requirements of the Outline Stage application and give feedback on any parts of the project which require further development. At no point will the ATI project lead give a preliminary indication of project evaluation against the assessment criteria. At all times the responsibility for the application and its completion rests with the lead applicant and its partners.
The ATI will be able to provide development feedback up to 2 weeks before the competition closing date. After this date, the ATI cannot guarantee any feedback will be provided. Details of how draft applications can be submitted is available on the ATI website.
How to apply for the first stage via the ATI website
Before you start
Applications will be submitted via the ATI website. 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
There are 2 parts in the outline stage application:
- Part 1 - application details
- Part 2 - outline stage presentation
Part 1
Application details
In this section you will be asked to provide background information for your application. This is not assessed.
Project details
This includes the following: project title, start date and duration. We also request your total project costs (includes ineligible costs) and total grant request (only eligible costs).
Lead applicant’s contact details
The lead applicant is the main point of contact for the project. In this section we request the name and email address for a representative of the lead applicant’s company who is responsible for submitting the application.
Location of lead company
You will be required to enter the postcode for the location of the company site where the majority of the project work will take place for the lead company.
Project 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 (maximum 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 ATI 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 full stage application notification. The ATI framework link takes you to ATI’s secure Adobe Sign page where you can read and sign the agreement. Your digital signature will be reviewed by the ATI team, and you will receive confirmation via email once the validation process is complete.
Part 2
Outline stage presentation
You must submit a copy of your presentation as a PDF and no larger than 10MB in size. Please note that the copy of the presentation submitted must be the same as the one used during your Outline Stage Panel Day.
Presentation document rules require you to:
- have no more than 10 slides
- use arial font
- use as minimum font sizes:
- title slide and section header – size 36
- content slide titles – size 28
- body text – size 14
- captions and references – size 10
- use file format- pptx
- use slide aspect ratio – widescreen
Your presentation must address the technology and innovation criteria, and the market and exploitation criteria.
Technology and Innovation
Describe project alignment with the non-CO2 technology roadmap and explain the benefits to the aerospace sector.
You should:
- explain how the project helps to deliver the non-CO2 technology roadmap
- explain how 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
You should:
- explain the innovation step(s)
- explain why the outputs from this project are required
- explain the challenges the research addresses
- 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
Market and exploitation
Routes to market and business opportunities
You should:
- set out what UK economic benefits are enabled by the project deliverables - will it create jobs or safeguard jobs and is there going to be any follow-on investment?
- describe the route to market and how it will be implemented.
- set out who are the customers for the project outputs, if applicable
- indicate if applicable, state the addressable market size for the technology
Exploitation opportunities for the project
You should set out:
- 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
Outline stage panel and presentation guidelines
After submitting your application, the ATI will carry out an eligibility check to determine if your project is in the scope of the competition. Only projects that are in scope will be invited to present their application 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.
You will be invited to present your application to the panel on one of the published panel dates. The panel could include ATI technologists and strategy leads, representatives from the regions and devolved administrations, a chair, and a moderator. The presentations will be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams. You are responsible for ensuring your availability to present your application to the panel on the published panel dates.
Presentation to the panel
You will be invited to an hour’s long meeting. From that hour, you will be allocated 25 minutes for your presentation. An additional 15 minutes is allocated for questions and answers.
The project lead must attend the panel and lead the presentation. No more than 3 members of the project consortium, including the project lead, can attend the panel session.
See an example of the meeting agenda below.
| Agenda item | Attendees | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome and introductions | All | 5 mins |
| Project presentation | All | 25 mins |
| Questions and answers | All | 15 mins |
| Panel feedback and assessment | Panel only * | 15 mins |
*Applicants will be asked to leave the meeting.
Assessment process and feedback
Your project will be assessed on the following criteria:
- your project’s alignment to the UK aerospace technology strategy
- the proposed technology and innovation
- the strength of your business and market case
- benefits of your project to the UK
The ATI will make recommendations to DBT. DBT is responsible for the decision to progress your outline stage application to stage 2.
If your project is successful, you will be invited by IUK to apply to the full stage application stage of the competition. The outcome of your application and feedback on your outline stage application will be provided on the published notification date from the ATI.
If your outline stage application is not successful, you will be given the opportunity to discuss your feedback with the ATI should you wish to. Details of how this can be arranged will be provided in the feedback document.
Stage 2: full stage proposal
How to apply to a competition via the IFS
The IFS is an online application process. You need to create an account in the service to start an application, or sign into your existing account.
Applications are separated into sections, which all need to be completed to submit your application. You cannot submit an application unless you have correctly completed each section.
Once you submit your application, the process cannot be reversed.
Collaborating in the IFS
Many Innovate UK competitions require organisations to work with others on collaborative research and development projects.
The collaboration rules are stated in the eligibility section of the guidance for each funding opportunity. This section outlines the different roles of organisations who intend to work collaboratively in completing an application and setting up a project on the service.
Lead applicants
The lead applicant represents the lead organisation for the application. As the lead applicant you will be responsible for:
- starting an application
- adding people from your organisation to the application and removing them
- adding partner organisations, you wish to collaborate with, where applicable, and removing them
- assigning questions
- answering questions relevant to you
- submitting the application before the deadline
- accepting the terms and conditions on behalf of your organisation
- uploading permitted appendices
You should only add people who are directly involved in the project. If your project wants to change who is leading the application, the new person will need to start a new application and the proposal would have to be restarted as an outline stage proposal.
Partner organisations
Partner organisations are invited to join an application by the lead applicant. They will receive an email invitation from the IFS and will need to accept the invitation and create an account, or sign into an existing account.
As a partner you are responsible for:
- completing project costs and finance details for your organisation
- inviting other people from your organisation to help with the application
- answering questions assigned to you by the lead applicant
- accepting the terms and conditions for your organisation
Partners can see:
- all application questions and answers
- their own organisation’s finance details
- the application finance summary
Neither the lead applicant nor partners can view the financial details of any of the other organisations involved in the application. They can only view their own.
Partners are not able to:
- start an application
- invite people from other organisations
- assign questions
- submit the application
We will share information with other authorised parties in order to deliver our public tasks and functions. This includes our close network of affinity partners with an interest in research or dual use technology. Further information beyond the delivery of our public tasks and functions will be subject to prior agreement with the applicant.
Subsidy control (and state aid where applicable)
This competition provides funding in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. Innovate UK will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.
EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. You should see the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.
The non-CO2 programme activity is part of the ATI Programme. As such funding will be awarded and administered under the Subsidy Control Scheme SC10689.
Further Information
If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.
You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current subsidy control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.
This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries. If there are any changes to the above requirements that mean we need to change the terms of this competition, we will tell you as soon as possible.
How to apply to the full stage competition
If you are invited to apply to the full stage competition IUK will send you a link to the full stage competition in an email.
You must complete the application on the IFS. To complete the application, follow the competition guidance on IFS.
Detailed guidance is provided for each question. It is important to read this and ensure you stick to the word limit and appendix guidance.
Individual sections can be allocated to partner organisations or individuals for completion where required by the lead applicant.
The application is split into 3 sections:
- Project details.
- Application questions.
- Finances.
Project details includes:
- application team
- application details (project’s title, start date and duration)
- equality, diversity, and inclusion
- research category
- project summary
- public description
- scope (describe how the project fits the scope of the competition)
Application questions includes:
- project partners location (not scored)
- Animal testing (not scored)
- ATI Framework Agreement (not scored)
- business opportunity
- market
- results (including exploitation plan)
- benefits (including a ‘value for money spreadsheet’ to be assessed by DBT)
- technical approach
- innovation
- risks
- team and facilities
- costs
- added value to the UK
- value for money questions (to be assessed by DBT)
Finances includes:
- list the eligible costs for each organisation
- finances overview
Additional information including graphical information or diagrams can be submitted in the relevant IFS section as an appendix. Read the IFS question guidance for the eligible page limit. Pages exceeding this limit will not be assessed.
Help from DBT for full stage applications
You can contact DBT via the ATI at competitions@ati.org.uk to:
- clarify what information you need to provide
- request feedback on draft value for money returns
DBT will prioritise requests for feedback based on the date received by them. Applicants are therefore advised to contact DBT as early as possible, and not later than two weeks before competition close.
DBT cannot guarantee that it will respond to all requests for feedback.
At no point will DBT give a preliminary indication of project evaluation against assessment criteria.
Full stage application evaluation and feedback
Applications for the ATI Non-CO2 programme are assessed by the 3 partner organisations in parallel:
- DBT
- ATI
- IUK
These assessments are reviewed by the Programme Investment Board (PIB). The PIB typically meets 3 times per calendar year to review applications.
DBT is accountable for the ATI Programme budget and decides which projects will be funded with government resources.
DBT full stage evaluation
DBT carries out a value for money and policy assessment on each eligible application.
The value for money assessment considers whether ATI funding is necessary for the success of your project, that is why private funding from a range of sources is not sufficient to make the project a success in the UK. You must demonstrate why this is the case for your project by providing clear evidence of either financial constraints or alternative pathways for your project overseas.
It also looks at whether the benefits of the project, including benefits from job creation/safeguarding and ‘spillover’ benefits from the investment in research and development (R&D) activity, are enough to justify the cost to the taxpayer. The value for money assessment is based on the answers to the questions in the application form and the MS Excel pro-forma (value for money workbook) that you must complete.
The value for money workbook should be downloaded from the relevant question in the application form. You must complete the form in full and upload as part of your application.
The ‘value for money questions’ are assessed by DBT as part of the overall value for money evaluation. These questions are there to give applicants enough space to explain the method and calculations behind the data provided on the grant requested and expected job impacts and further private investment.
Failure to submit a value for money return will make your application ineligible. Detailed guidance on how to complete each section is provided in the value for money template. It is important to read this and ensure you provide as much information as possible.
Following submission, you may be contacted by DBT and ATI who will ask you to clarify or submit additional information if an error or omission appears to have been made. This is to ensure a thorough and fair assessment.
The policy assessment is based on all the information submitted as part of your application and assesses the proposals fit with wider policy priorities.
IUK independent assessment
The IUK evaluation is based on the answers to the questions in the application form and all the attached appendices.
Applications are assessed by up to 5 independent assessors. The assessors can be from both business and academia.
All applications in a competition are assessed against the same set of scoring criteria. Assessors will provide written feedback for each scored question in the application. All applications are assessed on individual merit.
You will receive feedback on IFS for each scored question.
Your answers to ‘value for money questions’ is not scored by Innovate UK independent assessors but may be used as supporting evidence.
ATI full stage evaluation
The ATI will conduct an evaluation of your full stage application based upon:
- its alignment to the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy
- fit with existing activity
- the capability of project partners
The ATI evaluation is based on the answers to the questions in the application form and all the attached appendices.
The evaluation will consider the following criteria.
Market value
This includes the:
- strength and validity of the business need and market opportunity
- extent to which the delivery of this project provides UK competitive advantage
Market risk
This includes the level of:
- market risk involved in delivering the stated economic value
- commitment to the exploitation within the UK
Technology value
This includes:
- alignment with the UK Aerospace Technology Strategy and specifically the ATI’s non-CO2 technology roadmap
- the credibility and viability of the approach
- an evaluation of the potential to deliver innovation
Technology risk
This includes the:
- match of technical capabilities and skills of the consortium
- strength of the management structures and procedures, including project, technical, risk and innovation management
Programme Investment Board (PIB)
Each organisation (DBT, ATI and IUK) brings to the Programme Investment Board their recommendations for funding based on their respective assessments of the full stage applications.
An application must receive a positive recommendation from all three assessments to be considered for funding. DBT is responsible for making the final decision as to which applications will receive funding. Applications selected for DBT funding are sent to DBT ministers for their approval.
There are 2 possible outcomes:
- The application is recommended to proceed to the next stage of project pre-contracting checks. This might be subject to meeting further conditions, including affordability.
- The application is not recommended to proceed to the next stage of project pre-contracting checks.
Feedback on full stage application
You will receive an email notification from DBT following the PIB meeting. This email includes feedback from DBT, the ATI and the IUK independent assessment.
If your project is recommended for funding, the email from DBT will also include any additional conditions which need to be met. You may also be asked to arrange a meeting with DBT and the ATI to discuss the benefits the project will deliver to the UK. Following this you will be asked to submit a letter to DBT confirming the benefits. This will need to be agreed with DBT before the Grant Offer Letter (GOL) is issued.
If you are unsuccessful at this stage, you will be invited to set up a meeting with the programme partners to discuss your feedback.
More detailed feedback on your full stage application is available upon request from each organisation (DBT, ATI and IUK) and relates to their individual assessment.
The detailed IUK independent assessor feedback for your written application is accessible from the IFS dashboard.
The feedback from the IUK independent assessors on your written application is not available to the ATI or DBT. If you wish to discuss it with these organisations, you will need to share it in advance of your meeting.
DBT approval to proceed with the contracting process
Following the PIB, DBT will seek ministerial approval for projects that have been recommended for funding.
DBT will also share summary information of recommended projects (project title, project lead and partners, project summary) with partners of the wider aviation non-CO2 Programme – DfT, NERC, and its Expert Advisory Group – in accordance with DBT’s Privacy Policy.
What you must do prior to contract
Sign into your IFS dashboard which will provide full details under ‘Set up your project’. Complete the ‘Project details’ and ‘Project team’ sections within 30 days.
The offer of funding is conditional and subject to the satisfactory completion of a finance and pre-contract check by IUK, project document approval by your Innovate UK assigned Monitoring Officer (MO) and ministerial approval.
Finance checks will start once written approval has been received by IUK from DBT that ministerial approval has been received.
From this point you have 90 days to complete the rest of the project set up steps.
IUK will pose all queries to you via your IFS dashboard which will notify the appropriate finance or project contact by email. Please ensure these are addressed by yourself and any collaborators in a timely manner. Once all queries are resolved the lead will be able to upload a spend profile which should be in project quarters and reflect agreed eligible costs per quarter.
To allow your project to start promptly, please ensure that your exploitation plan, collaboration agreement and second level plan are submitted via your dashboard as early as possible. You must also ensure all partners have signed the ATI Framework Agreement and you have submitted a value for money letter to DBT, if required.
Upon satisfactory completion of all the above, IUK will issue your Grant Offer Letter (GOL) which must be signed by each partner, uploaded to IFS, and approved before your project is able to start.
Project pre-contract checks process
Before your project can begin Innovate UK will need additional details and documents from you. Submitting documents in a timely fashion will speed up the pre-contract checks and contracting process.
Pre-contracting documents checklist
Refer to the quick checklist below to find links to documents you will need to complete before contracting. You should submit these documents to the appropriate party before finance checks begin:
- a collaboration agreement should be sent to IUK via the IFS dashboard - we recommend you start to consider the collaboration agreement early in the process to allow sufficient time to agree it with your project partners
- an exploitation plan should be sent to IUK via the IFS dashboard (you can find an ATI exploitation plan template in the ATI programme supporting documents)
- a second level plan should be sent to IUK via the IFS dashboard (you can find an ATI project plan template in the ATI programme supporting documents)
- a signed (by all project partners) ATI framework agreement should be sent directly to the ATI
- a value for money letter may be requested by DBT
Publicising your project
Your notification email from DBT provides the ATI programme communication guidance, which includes contact details for the ATI Programme Communications Group and requirements on when you can publicise ATI programme funding of your project.
Please note that publicising projects is not permitted before the GOL is signed and returned unless agreed with DBT. This embargo may be in place for up to a few weeks after you have successfully completed project set up.
The lead partner is responsible for ensuring that all members of the consortium and their press offices comply with this restriction.
The ATI Programme Communications Group will contact you when the embargo is lifted.
IUK frequently publicises the results of competitions and applications on their website soon after a project is contracted. The public description you provided of your project will be used for publicity purposes without further consultation with you, and by accepting this funding, you agree to these terms.
Monitoring of your project
IUK in-project monitoring
Monitoring officer
You will be assigned a monitoring officer who will work with you throughout the project. They will help to make sure your project complies with the terms and conditions of the competition. They are not responsible for project management. The outputs of quarterly monitoring reports may be shared with the DBT and ATI.
Claims and auditing
Costs are only eligible if they are incurred and paid between the project start and end dates. Claims may be subject to an independent audit. You must submit an independent accountant’s report (IAR) with your final claim. All participants must provide evidence to support each claim made.
Post-project monitoring
IUK
At project close out all participants in a project are required to complete the ATI Programme close out form. The completed form will be shared with DBT. In addition, there may be periodic reviews and requests to participate in case studies.
DBT
DBT is operates a post-project monitoring framework to gather important evidence on how the programme is delivering on its objectives. Following project close out and for up to 10 years, DBT will likely make periodic requests for data linked to project exploitation plans and the information provided through the value for money evaluation.
ATI
The ATI may participate in project close out reviews to assess strategic impact. The Aerospace Technology Institute will also require case studies to be prepared for completed projects.
Contact us
A variety of help is available to competition applicants.
Innovate UK
Contact IUK for queries relating to eligibility criteria or the IFS
Email: support@iuk.ukri.org
Telephone: 0300 321 4357
Call to speak to an adviser. Calls are free from landlines and most mobile numbers. Find out more about call charges and freephone numbers.
Department for Business and Trade
For queries relating to the value for money and policy evaluation, or to request a meeting with DBT, contact the ATI.
Email: competitions@ati.org.uk
Aerospace Technology Institute
Contact the ATI for queries relating to the strategic and technology suitability of your application.
Email: competitions@ati.org.uk
Make a complaint
If you have a complaint about the ATI Programme, please send us your complaint or comments.
Last updated 19 April 2024 + show all updates
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Links to ATI Framework Agreement updated.
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First published.