Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has launched the Battery Innovation Programme: Battery Skills Initiatives.
Funded by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and delivered by Innovate UK, up to £3.7m will be invested to establish or scale regional skills initiatives for battery manufacturing.
The funding is to ensure the UK continues to attract businesses looking to grow and invest by offering a strong pipeline of skilled talent across battery manufacturing and the wider value chain.
The competition will support projects that establish a new regional training initiative with a focus on national qualifications (levels two to three) to ensure learners can train and work across the UK.
It will also support projects that scale up existing regional battery skills provision to deliver commercially sustainable, nationally accredited programmes (levels two to five) that strengthen the UK’s battery skills pipeline.
The programmes aim to accelerate existing skills initiatives and address known skills gaps by collaborating with current provision in innovative, commercially viable ways.
The Battery Skills Initiatives include the two strands, Establish and Scale.
‘Establish’ is for skills levels two to three, with a total grant request between £440,000 and £1.2m for projects lasting one to three years.
‘Scale’ is for skills levels two to five, with a total grant request between £440,000 and £1.2m for projects lasting one to three years.
To work alone or lead a collaborative project, organisations must be an academic institution, a research and technology organisation (RTO), a charity, a not-for-profit or a public sector organisation.
Dr Valentina Gentili, programme director, Battery Innovation Programme at Innovate UK, said: “As the UK battery sector accelerates, the Battery Innovation Programme recognises that gaps in specialist skills still hold back growth.
“With our expanded remit across automotive, aerospace, off‑highway, energy storage and maritime, we aim to back projects that develop the skilled people industry needs across the entire value chain.
“We are especially keen to support collaborations that address regional demand and help businesses continue to see the UK as the place to invest and scale.”
