Published:
The National Interdisciplinary Centre for the Circular Chemical Economy is holding an SME Workshop to scope out partners for Innovate UK funding opportunities.
The Centre for the Circular Chemical Economy is part of a £30 million government investment, funded by UKRI to transform the UK chemical industry’s linear supply chain model into a fossil-independent, climate-positive and environmentally friendly circular economy.
This will be achieved by creating a novel circular resources flow of olefins and their complementary feedstocks, which is of overwhelming importance to the chemical industry, accounting for >70% of all organic chemical production.
The invite-only workshop will take place online on 8th September 2021, and we are looking for SMEs whose businesses align with our research themes.
All interested SMEs can express their interest in attending the workshop by filling out this questionnaire.
The deadline for completing the questionnaire is 9th August.
Dr. Bing Xu, Associate Professor in Finance, said: “The UK chemical sector makes a significant contribution to the UK’s economy, with an average annual turnover of ~ £32 billion and 99,000 direct jobs. SMEs accounted for over 95% of the business population and over half of the employment. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the barriers and opportunities for SMEs to adopt circular business practices and create opportunities to enable the transition.”
The NICER Programme includes plans for two rounds of Collaborative Research and Development funding calls (a total of £2.5m), delivered by Innovate UK, to enable further engagement of SMEs with the centres. Competitions will be open to any eligible SME, in line with Innovate UK’s usual processes.
Round 1 is likely to go live for applications in October 2021 for projects up to 12-months in duration (starting April 2022), project size £50-100k. It will be expected that SMEs can demonstrate engagement with the Centres before applying to these competitions.