EPSRC Materials Innovation Partnerships 2026: Closed-Call Funding Guide and Historical Reference

EPSRC Materials Innovation Partnerships 2026: closed-call reference

The 2026 EPSRC Materials Innovation Partnerships funding opportunity is closed. The official UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) page records an opening date of 3 March 2026 at 9:00am UK time and a closing date of 14 May 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. It does not announce a later round or an alternative deadline. This page is therefore a historical reference for the 2026 call, not an invitation to submit an application now. The retained deadline in the metadata is the real closing date, while historicalReference = true tells the site that the entry describes a completed cycle.

The opportunity was run by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with applications hosted in the UKRI Funding Service. EPSRC offered this call for ambitious collaborative research programmes in advanced materials. The central condition was not simply that a university and a company appear on the same proposal. The partners had to co-create the programme, co-deliver it, and show an established working relationship of at least one year before applying. The programme also had to address one or more of the six high-growth opportunity themes in the National Materials Innovation Strategy and aim to create long-term prosperity for the UK.

At a glance

The funding figures need to be read together. EPSRC’s minimum £250,000 award represents 80% of a minimum £312,500 FEC project. The business contribution is a separate cash requirement: it must equal or exceed the amount requested from EPSRC. For example, on a project with an FEC of £625,000, EPSRC’s 80% share would be £500,000, and the business partners would need to provide at least £500,000 in eligible cash. The official guidance also says that the primary business partner’s cash contribution must be the greatest single business contribution when a consortium is involved.

What the 2026 opportunity was intended to support

EPSRC described the call as part of the National Materials Innovation Programme, which was announced through the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy. The objective was to build a portfolio of at least four ambitious, collaborative, fundamental research programmes. Projects were expected to accelerate advanced materials research and development around real-world challenges, move materials innovation closer to industrial application, and produce novel or enhanced materials solutions that meet business needs.

The official opportunity required a project to focus on at least one of these six themes:

• Materials for energy solutions, including battery storage, large-scale electrochemical energy generation and conversion, hydrogen transport, storage and use, heat exchange and recovery, energy harvesting, and advanced nuclear fuels or nuclear test capability.
• Materials for future healthcare, including biocompatible materials and materials for bioelectronics.
• Materials for structural innovations, including low-carbon construction materials, sustainable structural systems and composites, metallic materials, and ceramic materials.
• Materials for advanced surface technologies, including surface engineering, tribology, and surface treatments or materials for demanding environments.
• Materials for next generation electronics, telecommunications and sensors, including power electronics, quantum technologies, connectivity, and telecommunications.
• Materials for consumer products, packaging and specialist polymers, including sustainable packaging and sustainable elastomers.

The project needed to be at least 50% within the EPSRC remit and was aimed at low technology readiness levels, specifically levels 1 to 3. Cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary work was welcome. The call was not intended for projects focused solely on fundamental chemical or materials synthesis, projects without clear sector relevance, or projects focused solely on defence. Dual-use material innovations could be considered when civil applications were the primary focus.

Who was eligible

The primary academic partner had to be a research organisation eligible to receive EPSRC funding. The official examples included UK higher education institutions, research council institutes, UKRI-approved independent research organisations, public sector research establishments, and NHS bodies with research capacity. EPSRC standard eligibility rules applied to individual applicants.

The primary business partner had to have an established relationship with the lead academic partner and had to meet one of the call’s definitions. It could be a UK-based business of any size, a business of any size with a UK presence and significant UK-based research activity, or a public sector research establishment whose match contribution did not come from public funds. It could also lead a consortium whose members collectively met the stated requirements and supplied the match funding. International collaborators were possible, but the required match had to come from an eligible partner or consortium. Other international researchers were to be included as project partners unless they qualified for one of the specified international project co-lead arrangements.

“Established partnership” had a precise meaning in this call. The relationship had to be recognised by both organisations, have individual relationships at its core, and show at least one year of significant and regular collaborative research that the primary academic and business partners had developed and progressed together. Applicants also had to show a clear trajectory for future collaborative work. A recent introduction or a letter of general interest would not be enough evidence for the 2026 opportunity. The relationship could be formalised through a memorandum of understanding or collaboration agreement, but the proposal still needed to explain what the partnership had already delivered and why the planned programme was an appropriate next step.

The primary academic and primary business individuals could be named in those joint roles on only one application. Organisations could participate in multiple applications, but they had to confirm in their support letters that they could provide the stated resources for each successful application.

Funding and eligible contributions

EPSRC funded 80% of FEC. The normal remaining 20% of FEC was not an additional institutional match-funding requirement under this opportunity. The business cash contribution was the important separate condition, and neither UKRI, public, nor government funding could be used as that match. In-kind support such as data, software, management time, or facility access was encouraged because it could demonstrate commitment, but it did not count toward the minimum business cash match.

The official guidance listed eligible cash contributions such as the pro-rata gross salary of researchers, research and innovation associates, professional enabling staff, specialists, and technicians working on the project. It also identified new software licences, genuinely new project equipment, equipment produced by the business at manufacturing cost, equipment-specific materials, access to critical equipment and facilities, eligible facilities refurbishment, and a business cash donation managed by partner universities. Contributions had to be described using the required cost table, and the matching total had to be supported by partner letters or emails. The primary business partner’s own salary was not an eligible cash or in-kind contribution because that person had to be paid by the business as part of its support.

The minimum award was £250,000, but the call did not present that figure as a universal project size. EPSRC said that the requested amount should match the depth and duration of the relationship. Less established partnerships were expected to seek smaller grants, while larger requests required stronger evidence of a substantial partnership. Projects could last up to three and a half years and had a fixed start date of 1 October 2026.

What applicants had to prepare

The lead research organisation had to create and submit the proposal in the UKRI Funding Service. The Joint Electronic Submissions system was not available for this call. The project lead was responsible for the process, but every team member and project partner was expected to contribute before the application was submitted. Only the lead research organisation could send the final application to UKRI.

The application included a Vision and Approach document covering the assessment criteria. It could be no more than eight sides of A4, single-spaced, in 11-point Arial or an equivalent sans serif font, with margins of at least 2cm. An additional page could be used for a diagrammatic workplan. The application also required a Fit to Materials Innovation Partnerships response of up to 500 words. That section had to explain strategic alignment with the National Materials Innovation Strategy, how the partners had co-created and would co-deliver the work, why the cost was appropriate for the relationship, and how the project would support translation, private investment, partners, and supply chains.

Applicants had to provide team capability information using the UKRI Résumé for Research and Innovation format, with a 2,000-word limit including the R4RI modules and any additions. The primary academic partner also needed an institutional statement of up to 800 words. That statement had to evidence the established relationship, its duration, previous delivery, future direction, and any institutional cash or in-kind support. The proposal had to identify the primary business and academic partners, their organisations, and the capabilities each would bring.

Project partners had to be entered with their organisation and contact details, contribution type, and monetary value. Each named partner required a letter or email of support in a single PDF, with a two-page A4 limit per partner. The primary business partner’s letter needed to describe the current relationship, its duration and achievements, the partner’s role in developing the project, the benefits to the business, and a full breakdown of the cash contribution. Formal collaboration agreements would be required if an award was made.

The Funding Service also asked for facilities information where relevant, a resource and cost justification, a partner contributions-to-costs table, ethics and responsible research and innovation information, and Trusted Research and Innovation information where applicable. Applicants had to explain conflicts of interest, dual-use applications, relevant National Security and Investment Act areas, export-control considerations, and protections for sensitive research when those issues applied.

How submission worked when the call was open

The process was straightforward but required institutional review. The project lead selected “Start application,” confirmed the lead role, then signed in or created a Funding Service account by selecting the organisation, verifying an email address, and setting a password. Responses could be written directly in the service, saved for later, or prepared offline and pasted into the relevant fields. Required files had to follow the service’s upload instructions.

Before submission, the applicant had to check the read-only version carefully and send the completed application to the research office. The research office could return it for editing, then submit the checked application to UKRI. Research office and finance teams checked hosting arrangements and financial eligibility, but the applicant remained responsible for meeting all opportunity requirements. UKRI had to receive the application by 14 May 2026 at 4:00pm UK time, and the official page states that applications could not be submitted after that point.

Historical status and next steps

The official UKRI page now labels the opportunity “Closed.” It records the 2026 cycle’s dates, the fixed project start date, and an assessment panel in August 2026, but it does not announce a new application window. Prospective applicants should not treat this page as a live route to funding, should not submit a late application, and should not replace the closed deadline with a guessed future date. Researchers interested in a comparable future call should monitor the official EPSRC and UKRI funding pages for a new announcement and recheck all requirements when one appears; a future call could change its themes, budget, partner rules, or application questions.

For questions about the closed opportunity as an archived record, the official page lists [email protected] for opportunity-specific queries and [email protected] for Funding Service support. The authoritative source remains the UKRI opportunity page, which is the URL recorded in this page’s metadata.