SETsquared cleantech workshop: funding opportunities 9 th November 2009

1. SETsquared cleantech workshop:funding opportunities9th November 2009

2. Seven Research Councils covering all academic disciplines

3. The UK Research Councils • Work together as Research Councils UK • Major public funders of basic research in the UK • Total budget around $4.4 billion in 2008-09 • Funded via Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, but ‘arm’s length’ from government; independent in choice of which research to support • 11,000 staff (most of whom are active scientists at Research Council Institutes & Science and Innovation Campuses)

4. What do the Research Councils do? Fund research projects, programmes or centres in UK universities and Research Council Institutes Fund masters degrees, PhDs, Fellowships and postdoctoral training Develop and manage large research facilities in the UK and enable UK researchers to access research facilities world-wide Fund knowledge transfer and innovation activities Engage the public and young people about science

5. Research Council budgets

6. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Mission: • Promote and support, by any means, high quality basic, strategic and applied research and related postgraduate training in engineering and the physical sciences • Advance knowledge and technology and provide trained scientists and engineers, which meet the needs of users and beneficiaries (including the chemical, communications, construction, electrical, electronic, energy, engineering, information technology, pharmaceutical, process and other industries)

7. Research Councils’ interdisciplinary themes to 2010-11 NANOSCIENCE THROUGH ENGINEERING TO APPLICATION EPSRC lead BBSRC ESRC NERC STFC MRC DIGITAL ECONOMY EPSRC lead AHRC ESRC MRC LIVING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE EPSRC BBSRC ESRC NERC lead STFC MRC AHRC ENERGY EPSRC lead BBSRC ESRC NERC STFC AGEING: LIFE LONG HEALTH & WELLBEING EPSRC BBSRC ESRC NERC STFC MRC lead AHRC GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY: SECURITY FOR ALL IN A CHANGING WORLD EPSRC BBSRC ESRC lead NERC STFC MRC AHRC

8. International collaborators on Research Council grants • All Research Councils permit collaborators on grants to be based overseas • Applicants to MRC or ESRC can include overseas co-applicants; contact the relevant program manager for details • Managed by the UK-based research organisation; overseas researcher receives funds from the UK Principal Investigator

9. Models: funding international collaborative research • Special solicitations (‘calls’), e.g. - joint calls for proposals - Sandpits: intensive weeks with peer review in real-time and funding decisions at the end of the week • Joint investigator-driven funding, with parallel or single merit review (single where possible)

10. Travel and networking • As part of the grant request: all Councils • Schemes especially for UK-US – e.g. ESRC Transatlantic Fellowships, BBSRC Partnering Awards • Schemes for early career researchers and students – e.g. ESRC International Activities for Early Career Researchers • Workshops, seminars, networks – e.g. EPSRC bilateral research workshops and Network Grants • Fellowships – e.g. MRC Collaboration Grant

11. Fellowships and studentships • Studentships can be requested on research grant applications to ESRC, EPSRC • Some fellowship schemes allow international applicants – e.g. MRC and EPSRC • Offering UK students a period overseas – e.g. ESRC (as part of original application or through networking scheme)

12. Funding opportunities in Clean Energy EPSRC Networks • The main objective of Networks is to create new interdisciplinary research communities and topics, by developing interaction between the research community and appropriate science, technology and industrial groups. The aims are to: • Transfer experimental techniques, models and scientific insights • Promote mobility between academe, universities and industry. • Networks are expected to lead to new collaborative multidisciplinary research proposals. • Network proposals may be submitted at any time in the Responsive Mode.

13. TSB/EPSRC Energy Efficiency in Buildings Competition for Sandpit Participants • The Technology Strategy Board and EPSRC invite applications to a sandpit focused on achieving energy efficiency in new and existing non-domestic buildings through human factors research and user centered design. • The five day interactive workshop (sandpit) will be held near Bath from 15-19 March 2010. • The Technology Strategy Board has allocated £2m to fund industry led collaborative research arising from the sandpit.

14. Sustainable Power Generation and Supply (SUPERGEN) • SUPERGEN takes a new approach to supporting research into sustainable power generation and supply. This multidisciplinary initiative is managed and led by EPSRC in partnership with BBSRC, ESRC, NERC and the Carbon Trust. • Researchers work in consortia, multidisciplinary partnerships between industry and universities, focused on major programmes of work.

15. Other opportunities include: • EPSRC collaboration fund • Technology Strategy Board Collaborative Research and Development and Innovation Platform Competitions • Natural Environment Research Council (responsive mode) • International Collaboration in Chemistry between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (ICC) • S&I Collaborative Development Awards

16. Other opportunities include: • DARPA opportunities • Coal to liquid • Low-Cost Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics • NSF opportunity • Catalysis and Biocatalysis

17. www.usa.rcuk.ac.ukruth.lee@rcuk.ac.uknaomi.webber@rcuk.ac.uk

18. Funding opportunities in Clean Energy • EPSRC Networks • The main objective of Networks is to create new interdisciplinary research communities and topics, by developing interaction between the research community and appropriate science, technology and industrial groups. The aims are to: • Transfer experimental techniques, models and scientific insights • Promote mobility between academe, universities and industry. • Networks are expected to lead to new collaborative multidisciplinary research proposals and some may develop into virtual centres of excellence, providing critical mass of analytical expertise. • Network proposals may be submitted at any time in the Responsive Mode. However, EPSRC may also occasionally issue specific calls for proposals which have different objectives from those listed above. EPSRC has established various initiatives to set up Networks in specific programme areas. • Funding • Under full economic costing there is no limit on the amount of funding that can be applied for, although the network should last for no longer than three years. Funding is intended to cover the operating and support costs of the Network and full justification for the sum requested should be included in the proposal. • Each Network should: • Be a new collaboration. • Should normally have as its key objectives in the formation of a new interdisciplinary research community and identification of new interdisciplinary research topics. • Involve a group of people with a range of expertise and experience. • Be based in the UK, but may include collaboration with those overseas. • Demonstrate the added value that EPSRC funding will bring. • Applicants are encouraged to be innovative in the choice of mechanisms for operation of the proposed network.

19. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/CallsForProposals/energyefficiency.htmhttp://www.epsrc.ac.uk/CallsForProposals/energyefficiency.htm TSB/EPSRC Energy Efficiency in Buildings - Competition for Sandpit Participants The Technology Strategy Board and EPSRC invite applications to a sandpit focused on achieving energy efficiency in new and existing non-domestic buildings through human factors research and user centered design. The focus of the sandpit is creating project ideas with potential for commercial value. The five day interactive workshop (sandpit) will be held at Bailbrook House near Bath from 15-19 March 2010. The Technology Strategy Board has allocated £2m to fund industry led collaborative research arising from the sandpit. Additional funding from the EPSRC may be available for projects where there is a significant high-quality academic component and that demonstrate added value to the EPSRC portfolio, by building on or complementing existing research programs. The challenge of reducing energy demand in buildings requires an innovative and multidisciplinary approach. The aim of this sandpit is to bring together a varied group of up to 30 individuals from industry and academia who will be expected to work together to develop collaborative research proposals. Individuals from practitioner and expert camps are encouraged to apply. The first are individuals working in the buildings industry. The second are individuals who are experts from commercial companies and academia with expertise in for example, design, psychology, social science, ergonomics, engineering, architecture, arts and humanities, action research, user centered design, customer focused products, human factors, human-computer interaction, consumer testing and post occupancy evaluation. Places at the sandpit are allocated through a competitive process. Applicants will need to complete a two page application form (see further information). Once selected to attend, the sandpit will be a collaborative activity and will result on the fifth day in the commitment of funding ‘in principle’ for consortium research projects developed by the participants. Applications are welcomed from industry and academia and from both practitioners in the built environment and experts in user centered design. Industrial applicants should ensure that their companies are ready, willing and able to engage in a collaborative project before applying. Closing date: 12:00 Thursday 17 December 2009

20. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/CallsForProposals/collabfundcall.htm Collaboration Fund - Call for Expressions of Interest The Collaboration Fund offers support to researchers wishing to work with a commercialising partner in taking forward business opportunities generated from EPSRC funded research. Support will combine grant funding with the opportunity of project mentoring and access to business planning advice. This pilot initiative is financed by the EPSRC and managed by Finance South East, to whom all enquiries and applications should be made. Full details of the call and application procedure (which is not via Je-S) can be found at the Finance South East website. Closing date for Expressions of Interest: Friday 11 December 2009 Further Information:

21. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchFunding/Opportunities/FutureCalls.htmhttp://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchFunding/Opportunities/FutureCalls.htm Technology Strategy Board Collaborative Research and Development and Innovation Platform Competitions Funding for industrial-academic collaborative R&D projects in strategically important areas. Additional funding from EPSRC may be available for projects with a significant high-quality academic component that provide added value to our existing portfolio. Date of call: February 2010

22. Natural Environment Research Council http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/responsive/ Responsive Mode, NERC encourages (but does not demand): * 'adventurous' research * 'technology-led' proposals * collaboration and the exchange of ideas across and within disciplines and institutional boundaries * collaboration with international and non-academic partners.

23. Coal To Liquids (CTL) Closing Date for Applications: Jan 08, 2010 http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=GM42Kn2TZQThkp7DTyb8Qv5xQn8zQH4dZ653syDfThQHDL49KlXy!-82303134?oppId=42899&mode=VIEW DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of coal utilization as an energy resource. In particular DARPA is interested in processes that will ultimately enable the United States to economically extract energy from its coal resources in the form of liquid fuels using coal to liquid conversion technologies that are environmentally friendly and cost competitive with petroleum based fuels

24. Low-Cost Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics (PoP) Closing Date for Applications: Apr 21, 2010 http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=GM42Kn2TZQThkp7DTyb8Qv5xQn8zQH4dZ653syDfThQHDL49KlXy!-82303134?oppId=46962&mode=VIEW DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of photovoltaic power sources that excel in efficiency, portability, flexibility, durability, and ease of manufacture

25. International Collaboration in Chemistry between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (ICC) http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13627&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund United Kingdom (EPSRC) Miss Clare Bumphrey, Physical Sciences Portfolio Manager, EPSRC, Polaris House, North Star Ave, Swindon, SN2 1ET Tel: 01793 444306 clare.bumphrey@epsrc.ac.uk EPSRC ICC Program Announcement http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/good-bye?http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/CallsForProposals/nsfepsrcchem09.htm

26. International Research and Education: Planning Visits and Workshops http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12815&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund OISE does not provide support for U.S. scientists and engineers to participate in international conferences or congresses; nor does it provide support for such meetings. OISE can support workshops that may immediately precede or follow a larger-scale conference when they add an international dimension that is focused on building research collaboration. Full Proposal Accepted Anytime for Planning Visits Full Proposal Target Date: February 20, 2010

27. Catalysis and Biocatalysis Full Proposal Window: February 1, 2010 - March 3, 2010 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13360&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund The Catalysis and Biocatalysis program primarily supports fundamental and applied research on: * Kinetics and mechanisms of important catalyzed chemical reactions as they relate to the production of chemicals, fuels, and specialized materials * Fundamental aspects of reactive deposition and processing for thin film materials * Characterization of chemical and biochemical phenomena occurring at or near solid surfaces and interfaces * Kinetic modeling and theory of heterogeneous, homogeneous, and biocatalysis * Electrocatalytic processes having engineering significance or commercial potential This program promotes multidisciplinary research in all of the above areas.

28. S&I Collaborative Development Awards Small funds to allow for two-week visits for proposal generation Calls opening in April Preference for investigators who have participated in S&I workshops to make first contact. Administered by Andy Perkins, S&I LA

29. Sustainable Power Generation and Supply (SUPERGEN) SUPERGEN takes a new approach to supporting research into sustainable power generation and supply. This multidisciplinary initiative is managed and led by EPSRC in partnership with BBSRC, ESRC, NERC and the Carbon Trust. The initiative aims to help the UK meet its environmental emissions targets through a radical improvement in the sustainability of power generation and supply. Researchers work in consortia, multidisciplinary partnerships between industry and universities, focused on major programmes of work. This promotes interaction, generation of new ideas and transfer of research results as well as significant step changes in tackling broad challenges rather than incremental progress. Marine energy * Future network technologies * Hydrogen energy * Biomass, biofuels and energy crops * Photovoltaic (solar cell) materials * Conventional power plant lifetime extension * Fuel cells * Highly distributed power system * Energy storage * Excitonic solar cells * Wind energy * Energy infrastructure * Biofuel cells * SUPERGEN is currently being restructured and new information will be released shortly. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchFunding/Programmes/Energy/Funding/SUPERGEN/default.htm