The UK aerospace industry is set to benefit from a £4.5m government investment with Innovate UK announcing a new funding competition to further develop talent pipelines across electrificationtechnologies.
Part of UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), Innovate UK’s Driving the Electric Revolution challenge will invest the cash in projects which further develop talent pipelines across the Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD) industry – the technology which underpins electrification.
The Building Talent for the Future 2 competition will launch on Monday (January 10) and will support the creation and delivery of course content and materials to support skills and training across PEMD manufacturing and the wider supply chain, with grants up to £1m available to organisations within the aerospace sector.
Building awareness of PEMD whilst filling key gaps in the UK’s workforce talent and training capabilities, the competition will be run in two stages:
- Organisations seeking funding for grants for grants valued between £50,000 and £1,000,000 are required to submit an expression of interest (EOI) ahead of a formal application for funding in March 2022.
- Those submitting an EOI must deliver a clear game-changing intervention or address a clear industrial requirement whilst providing a long-term commitment to supporting the UK PEMD industry talent need. Organisations looking for a funding grant of less than £50,000 will not be required to submit at EOI, but will be required to submit their full proposal in March 2022.
Innovate UK will be hosting an online briefing on Wednesday January 12 to help organisations in the sector to find out more about the competition, including scope and eligibility alongside tips of how to apply for funding. Interested organisations within the aerospace sector can register their interest in attending the briefing at the following link.
Professor Will Drury, Challenge Director for Driving the Electric Revolution, said: “If we are to meet our Net Zero commitments by 2050, industry needs to move to clean technologies and electrification. PEMD technologies underpin electrification in all sectors and the UK is a world leader in the development of PEMD technology. But for years now we’ve lacked the skills needed to bring these ideas to reality.”
“Without a skilled workforce we cannot create a strong PEMD manufacturing supply chain in the UK, forcing us to import these technologies from around the world. By investing in skills, talent and training in this sector we aim to support the growth of not only the UK’s PEMD supply chains, but its people too.”
For further information, or to register your interest in the Building Talent for the Future 2 – Expression of Interest Briefing at 10am on Wednesday January 12, click here.
