Ultra Long Duration Energy Storage Project Development Studies

Ultra Long Duration Energy Storage Project Development Studies is sponsored by Innovate UK (part of UK Research and Innovation). This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

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Ultra Long Duration Energy Storage Project Development Studies UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £3 million for project development studies to support the development of ultra long duration battery energy storage demonstrators in the UK.

Competition opens: Monday 3 August 2026 Wednesday 30 September 2026 11:00am Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £3 million from the UKRI R&D Missions Accelerator Programme in this competition. This is to support the delivery of electrochemical ultra long duration energy storage (ULDES) project development studies in Phase 1.

This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. The aim of this competition is to support the development, scale-up, and UK manufacture of electrochemical ULDES technologies. These ULDES technologies must be capable of delivering cost effective electrical power to the UK’s electricity grid with a discharge availability of at least 100 continuous hours.

They must also achieve a working life of at least 25 years. Your proposal must deliver a project development study that includes: cost and scale-up roadmap manufacturing and supply chain plan This is Phase 1 of a planned two phase competition, with Phase 2 scheduled to launch in the middle of 2027.

A further funding of at least £10 million has been allocated for a planned Phase 2, to support the development and delivery of large scale ULDES demonstrators. The award of funding for the project development study under this Phase 1 will not be a condition of eligibility for Phase 2.

Eligible businesses are strongly encouraged to use this Phase1 competition to address the practical delivery issues that determine whether projects can move from concept to construction. In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects.

It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it. We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, for example, any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI.

Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny. We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief . We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information. Your project’s total eligible grant funding request must be between £350,000 and £700,000.

Accessibility and Inclusion We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us. You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline. You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). have a grant funding request of between £350,000 and £700,000 last between 3 and 9 months Any organisation receiving funding must carry out its project work in the UK, intend to exploit the results in the UK, and spend most of the funding within the UK.

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs . If your project’s grant funding request or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.

ukri. org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will then decide whether to approve your request.

If your project does not meet our criteria and you have not requested justification approval, your application will be made ineligible, and it will not be sent for assessment. To lead a collaborative project or to work alone, your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules .

Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone. To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered: public sector organisation research and technology organisation (RTO) Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project.

Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in the IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must: apply for funding when entering their costs into the application include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application ensure any no single organisation can claim more than 70% of the total project costs Your project can include organisations who do not claim any funding for their work on the project.

Their costs will be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.

Where non-funded partners have been invited to the application on IFS, their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs. Subcontractors are allowed in this competition. Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK. You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. An eligible organisation can only lead on one application. Any further applications by the same organisation as lead will be made ineligible.

An eligible organisation that is leading an application can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications. An eligible organisation that is not leading an application can collaborate in any number of applications.

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions .

For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups . Use of animals in research and innovation Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation . Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process.

This information will be reviewed before an award is made. You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

We will not award you funding if you have: failed to exploit a previously funded project an overdue independent accountant’s report failed to comply with grant terms and conditions Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable) This competition provides funding to enterprises using the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme. The Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme can be viewed on the subsidy database here: SC10780 . This is in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation. gov.uk) Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We 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. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation. In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

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 not do anything which could cause a breach of Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries. This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or de minimis allowance. Up to £3 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in Phase 1 of this competition.

This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. A planned Phase 2 competition aimed at supporting demonstrator projects will be subject to the outcomes of this competition and subsequent approvals. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions. Under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Route rules, no more than £3 million can be awarded in the form of a grant to any one enterprise in any one competition.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

Category 1 Feasibility studies For feasibility studies you can get funding for your eligible project costs of: up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation up to 50% if you are a large organisation For more information on company sizes, refer to the company accounts guidance .

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 . Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn. The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs.

If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them.

Of that 30% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to: 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are an academic institution Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding Research organisations must use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) method as the Je-S form has now been decommissioned.

We pay 100% of the 80% Full Economic Cost (FEC). On IFS only enter the 80% being claimed. To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics .

The aim of this competition is to support the development, scale-up, and UK manufacture of electrochemical ultra long duration energy storage (ULDES) technologies. These ULDES technologies must be capable of delivering cost effective electrical power to the UK’s electricity grid with a discharge availability of at least 100 continuous hours. They must also achieve a working life of at least 25 years.

involve the proposed deployment of electrochemical ULDES technologies fulfil the requirements under one of the two streams outlined in this section support a planned UK demonstration project by 2030, meeting the scale and timetable requirements of your selected stream, as part of a pathway to scalable deployment in the UK energy system demonstrate that the proposed lead or team has the capabilities required to progress from project development studies through to demonstration and deployment The competition is the first phase of a two phase process: Phase 1: Project development studies, to be funded under this competition Phase 2: Technology demonstration, to be funded under a future competition planned for mid-2027.

Taking part in Phase 1 is not required to apply for the planned future Phase 2 competition. A technology neutral approach has been adopted within defined boundaries. There are promising ULDES technologies at different levels of technical and commercial maturity.

Support under Phase 1 and Phase 2 will be provided across two streams. You must demonstrate that your technology and proposed project fits within one of these two streams to be eligible for this Phase 1 competition, and the planned future Phase 2 funding.

Stream 1: near commercial scale-up Stream 1 will develop and demonstrate near commercial electrochemical ULDES systems that could compete with installed lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology on cost and performance.

feature an electrochemical ULDES technology able to store energy for several days and provide intraday and interday energy arbitrage, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and backup power for long outages including commercial and industrial applications and critical infrastructure plan to deliver a grid connected demonstration project of at least 100 MWh by 2030 envisage reaching a total ownership cost of less than US$40/kWh by 2030 or provide evidence that the technology could compete with installed LFP battery technology provide a commercialisation plan showing how the technology will scale in the UK energy system demonstrate your ambition for developing UK manufacturing capacity and building domestic supply chains Stream 2: system innovation and low cost pathways Stream 2 will develop early stage electrochemical ULDES technologies.

They must have the potential to compete on cost with unabated combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs), which currently provide the UK’s strategic reserve to 2050.

feature an electrochemical ULDES technology that can provide monthly and seasonal energy arbitrage, equivalent to a UK strategic reserve, demonstrating the potential for minimal degradation or self discharge over long periods plan to deliver a grid connected pilot demonstration project of at least 100 kWh by 2030 envisage reaching a total ownership cost of less than $15/kWh by the early 2030s or provide evidence that the technology will compete with CCGT generation provide a commercialisation plan showing how the technology will scale in the UK energy system demonstrate your ambition for developing UK manufacturing capacity and building domestic supply chains Project Development Studies This Phase 1 competition is providing funding for project development studies (formally classified as feasibility studies) to strengthen demonstration project proposals under the planned future Phase 2 competition.

A first draft of your project development study must be completed by 31 May 2027. This is to ensure that your project is able to inform your application to a Phase 2 competition.

Priority will be given to demonstration projects with: strong site and technology readiness consenting and permitting routes promising commercial prospects commitment to building UK manufacturing and supply chain capabilities Your project under Phase 1 must show a clear route to construction and operation in the UK, with a specific site identified as part of the project development study.

Your selected site may be located at a demonstration or test facility that you have an arrangement with, a facility you already own, or within a greenfield development. Any site preparation and development risks must be clearly outlined, and we encourage project sponsors to prioritise sites that minimise such risks.

Your project development study must contain, as a minimum: cost and scale-up roadmap manufacturing and supply chain plan Here is a list of further details on each of these components of your study.

Your project development study must include detailed technical information on the proposed solution, including: expected operational lifetime and degradation profile, both idle and operating energy density, including gravimetric and volumetric, and power density charge characteristics and time needed to change safety, reliability, and operational considerations sustainability and emissions assessment Your project development study must include an engineering design for implementation of a demonstration project.

This must include a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study, including: plant layout and infrastructure safety, environmental, and regulatory assessment Cost and scale up roadmap Your project development study must include a roadmap showing how your proposed solution will meet the installed cost target for your selected stream when deployed at scale, including: a description of how the proposed technology can scale a techno economic assessment of how it can meet the cost target fixed CAPEX, including a costed development and deployment plan with a detailed breakdown of components, materials and equipment fixed OPEX, including ongoing operating and maintenance for example, electrolyte top up, hydrogen degassing variable OPEX, including costs that change with operation, for example, consumables and replacement components an assessment of the potential rollout after commercialisation Your project development study must include a market assessment describing the key markets for the technologies and their potential size, including: evidence that the technology can provide critical services to the UK electricity system during periods of severe system stress, for example, a Dunkelflaute event, when wind and solar generation are both very low for an extended period evidence that the technology can store enough energy to support system stability throughout these events evidence that the technology can maintain strategic reserve capacity, even if it also takes part in other revenue generating markets an assessment of operation at very low cycling frequencies, potentially as low as one cycle a year evidence of whether the technology can preserve reserve capacity while also providing revenue and additional system services an assessment of the market potential and replicability of the solution across the UK an assessment of wider market potential if the technology is manufactured in the UK, for example in Northern European states details of whether the solution can provide benefits outside the power sector, for example backup power for data centres evidence of engagement with prospective investors for wider scale deployment evidence of engagement with prospective customers Your project development study must include a deployment plan that demonstrates your ability to complete a demonstration project under Phase 2 by 2030.

Your deployment plan must include relevant financial close documentation, or detail how this will be obtained, including: evidence of investment of at least the minimum private finance needed to progress with a demonstration project and a potential grant under Phase 2 heads of terms or final draft commercial contracts for key work packages needed to deliver the demonstrator or pilot evidence of planning permission or certificate of lawfulness for build and operating the demonstrator or pilot draft end user commercial contracts a suitable grid connection or formal grid connection offer appropriate to the stream selected evidence of a customer that will provide a revenue stream Manufacturing and supply chain plan Your project development study must include your plans for building supply chains and UK manufacture, including: evidence of established relationships with UK industry, for example, engineering, procurement and construction firms where relevant evidence of established relationships with academic or research institutions details of how these relationships will support manufacturing capability, research and innovation, and site specific technology design a strategy for developing UK workforce skills and capabilities details of training, knowledge transfer, and apprenticeship opportunities an assessment of opportunities to establish a UK based supply chain, where feasible identification of key components, materials, and services that can be sourced in the UK details of how the approach will support supply chain resilience and UK economic growth an assessment of anticipated economic benefits to the UK, including job creation, inward investment, export potential, and strategically important industrial capabilities We want to fund a variety of projects across the two streams, comprising different technologies, markets, location and technological maturities.

We call this a portfolio approach . We will fund feasibility studies, as defined in the guidance on categories of research .

Projects we will not fund We are not funding projects that are: focused on laboratory scale or early stage discovery research limited to component, material or subsystem development, or manufacturing process optimisation focused on incremental improvements to existing short duration battery energy storage technologies non-electrochemical energy storage approaches, for example, hydrogen, thermal, pumped hydro, compressed air energy, or other gaseous or mechanical storage systems We cannot fund projects that are: dependent on export performance: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of its products to another country dependent on domestic inputs usage: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it uses a set percentage of UK components in their product Online briefing event: register to attend Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event 30 September 2026 11:00am You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure: that all the information provided in the application is correct your proposal 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 can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline.

You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline. The application is split into four sections: Accessibility and Inclusion We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance. We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers. Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application. Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Select the type of research you will undertake. 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.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long. Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information.

If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project. Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

You must briefly summarise how: how your technology fits within our definition of electrochemical ultra long duration energy storage (ULDES), including its chemistry, intended discharge duration, and expected working life how your project and technology meet the requirements of your selected stream (Stream 1 or Stream 2 as described in the Scope section), including the relevant cost target or benchmark how your project development study supports a planned UK demonstration project by 2030, meeting the scale and timetable requirements of your selected stream, and the subsequent pathway to scalable deployment in the UK energy system how your proposed team has, or will secure, the core capabilities needed to complete the project development study and progress the proposed technology through demonstration to deployment Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 6. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding .

You must answer all questions. You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. Any website addresses or URLs included, will not be viewed or opened.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored) You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project. We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long. Question 2. Animal testing (not scored) Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option: We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare. Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance . Question 3.

Permits and licences (not scored) Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project? We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date. You must select one option: In the process of being applied for Question 4.

International collaboration (not scored) Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement? You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in.

You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers. If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this. Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 5. Export licence (not scored) You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance . You must select one option: Question 6.

Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored) You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles , including: a list of any dual use (both military and non-military) applications to your research a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions. Your answer can be up to 400 words long. Question 7.

Stream (not scored) Which stream does your project fit into: Stream 1: near commercial scale-up Stream 2: system innovation and low cost pathways Describe your proposed ultra long duration energy storage (ULDES) technology, its current stage of development and its suitability for the energy system functions required under your selected stream.

the electrochemical storage mechanism or chemistry, principal system components and architecture, and how the technology stores and discharges energy the current maturity of the technology and its principal components, including the system boundary, scale and operating conditions at which it has been developed or tested the research, innovation, testing or deployment completed to date, the evidence generated, and the principal technical developments and evidence still required to progress towards demonstration and deployment how the technical characteristics and operating profile of your technology meet the needs of your selected stream how the technology is differentiated from other relevant ULDES or electrochemical storage technologies addressing similar system needs how the technology could interface with relevant grid infrastructure, generation assets, storage assets or demand users the principal contribution the technology could make