CfI: Battery innovation for dual use and defence phase 1
CfI: Battery innovation for dual use and defence phase 1 supports organisations researching battery cell and pack technologies to strengthen UK defence supply chains and manufacturing capabilities.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: November 4, 2026, 11:00am UK time (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: £20,000–£50,000 per project, inclusive of VAT, for up to 3 months; up to £2 million total
Summary: Supports industrial research into dual-use battery technologies that strengthen defence supply resilience and critical UK capabilities.
Key Information: Contracts go to a single legal entity; most work, key deliverables, and funding must remain in the UK.
Description
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, delivers this Contracts for Innovation competition on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. It supports industrial research adapting technologies from the civil battery market to defence challenges, strengthening UK manufacturing, reducing overseas dependence, and securing critical dual-use supply chains.
Projects must focus on battery cell manufacturing or battery pack design and manufacturing technologies for defence environments. The programme prioritises higher technology readiness levels that can progress rapidly towards operational use. Each project must develop a use case and an outline business case, supported by evidence of technological development. This is phase 1 of a potential two-phase competition; phase 2 is unconfirmed and would require a separate application.
