£2 million investment to advance materials innovation

3 Sep 2026 03:11 PM

Innovate UK is investing £2 million in 23 feasibility studies to accelerate advanced materials innovations across key UK growth sectors.

The projects are the first to be supported through the National Materials Innovation Programme, announced as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan within the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.

It brings together the people, expertise and investment needed to help turn the UK’s world-leading materials capability into real-world impact.

The funding will help businesses assess the technical and commercial potential of innovations and build evidence for future development.

Why materials matter

Materials underpin many of the technologies, products and industries that drive economic growth and improve everyday life.

From batteries and medical devices to transport systems, packaging and renewable energy technologies, advances in materials are essential to addressing some of the UK’s biggest industrial, societal and environmental challenges.

Connecting UK capability

The National Materials Innovation Programme is delivered by Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

It aims to accelerate the journey from discovery to commercial adoption by connecting businesses, researchers, investors and end users.

Turning ideas into impact

The projects will assess ideas across six high-growth themes identified in the National Materials Innovation Strategy, alongside a strategic opportunity focused on metamaterials and metasurfaces.

Together, they will explore opportunities to strengthen UK capability in areas including clean energy, future healthcare, sustainable construction and next-generation consumer products.

M-Spin will explore a new high-performance material designed to make green hydrogen production more efficient and affordable, helping accelerate the transition to cleaner energy.

Bounce-Biomedical will explore a new biodegradable implant that could help people with serious knee injuries recover more quickly, reduce the need for knee replacements and return to everyday activities sooner.

Driving future growth

Bruce Adderley, Director of Advanced Manufacturing at Innovate UK said:

Advanced materials are fundamental to the technologies and industries that will drive future economic growth, strengthen resilience and support the transition to a more sustainable economy.

Through the National Materials Innovation Programme, we are helping businesses test ambitious ideas, build partnerships and move world-leading research towards real-world applications.

These projects demonstrate the breadth of UK innovation and the important role materials will play in shaping the industries of tomorrow.

Further information

Advanced surface technologies and materials durability theme

CUNEX: Surface modified copper powders for next generation additive electronic materials

Lead: Dycotec Materials Ltd

RobusTE – ‘Thermoelectric materials for scalable, robust devices through algorithm-accelerated hot extrusion’

Lead: European Thermodynamics Ltd

Interoperable materials passport infrastructure for UK circular economy (materials 4.0 focus)

Lead: Helix8 Ltd

BioBlend: Agri-pulp composites for high performance moulded fibre packaging

Lead: HUID Ltd

Seamless sustainability: AI-designed drop-in compostable plastics for high-volume consumer products

Lead: Natural Negative Ltd

ChromaCell project

Lead: Radiant Matter Ltd

LAMDA-pack: Precision vacuum-forming for semi-rigid wool packaging

Lead: Wull Technologies Ltd

Future healthcare theme

SmartAnthroSkin: Co-moulded soft-electronic and multilayer silicone skin systems for next-generation healthcare devices

Lead: AnthroTek Ltd

Feasibility testing of bouncy bioglass osteochondral implants in pilot in vitro and in vivo studies

Lead: Bounce Biomedical Ltd

CHROMASKIN: Minimally-invasive interstitial fluid sensing materials for semi-permanent dermal readouts

Lead: CipherX Technologies Ltd

Net zero energy solutions theme

Combustor optimisation through material breakthrough in additive technology (COMBAT)

Lead: Apex Additive Technologies Ltd

BriNa: British Na-ion batteries with prussian white cathodes for low-temp applications

Lead: Batri Ltd

Sustainable graphitic carbon materials for metal-free power cables and advanced composite components

Lead: Entropyst Ltd

Advanced ceramic and graphene-enhanced liners to enable efficient, low-emission hydrogen and ammonia engines

Lead: H2CHP Ltd

Electrospun high-surface-area titanium porous transport layers for low-PGM PEM electrolysers

Lead: M-Spin Ltd

Structural innovations theme

MOSAIC-composites: Market-driven opportunities for sustainable agricultural innovative construction composites

Lead: Agreka Build Ltd

COBra – Composite optimised brakes

Lead: Carbon ThreeSixty Ltd

Feasibility & investigations into rotomoulding METOL (FIRM)

Lead: Hive Composites Ltd

Physics-AI driven industrialisation of a high-performance, rare-earth-free light alloy from recycled feedstock for additive manufacturing

Lead: MetalNx Ltd

Filter cake lightweight aggregate concrete for nextgen sustainable construction (FC-LWAC)

Lead: Neal Soil Suppliers Ltd

StrucLock: Circular structural wall system validation through independent LCA and demonstrator performance testing

Lead: StrucLock Ltd

Metamaterials and metasurfaces strategic opportunity theme

Tow-spread composite metamaterial laminates for low-SWaP advanced RF, EM, and acoustic shielding

Lead: Brick Kiln Composites Ltd

Engineering nanorod–wax metamaterials to enable scalable, microfluidics-free molecular diagnostics

Lead: RapidX Bio Ltd