Up to £100,000 of funding available for clean air innovation projects
If your business is working on an innovative solution to tackle air pollution, a new funding opportunity from Innovate UK could help you take it to market.
The Contracts for Innovation: Clean Air – Phase 3 Competition offers up to £100,000 (inclusive of VAT) per project to support extended field trials of pre-commercial technologies designed to improve air quality.
It is an exciting opportunity for UK businesses to test and refine their clean air innovations in real-world environments – with potential future customers involved.
Who is this funding for?
This competition is ideal for organisations that already have a working clean air innovation beyond the prototype stage, and are now looking to:
- Test and validate their product or service in a real-world or representative setting
- Work closely with potential customers and users to gather insights
- Demonstrate commercial potential and pave the way to market readiness
The technology must relate to one or more of the following themes:
- Monitoring air pollutants
- Extracting harmful pollution from the atmosphere
- Mitigating emissions at their source
What funding is available?
- Total funding available: £800,000
- Maximum funding per project: £100,000 (inclusive of VAT)
- Projects must start on 1 September 2025 and end by 30 June 2026
- Project duration: Up to 10 months
Funding will be awarded via procurement contracts, not grants.
The competition is competitive, and scoring well does not guarantee funding due to budget limitations.
Why apply?
This is not early-stage funding, it is aimed at businesses that are nearly market-ready, needing real-world testing to fine-tune their offer. Your business will benefit from:
- Valuable customer insight and collaboration during the trial period
- Increased credibility and technical validation for investors and buyers
- A clear route to commercialisation with Innovate UK’s backing
The competition closes at 11am on 25 June 2025.
Given the complexity of the application process, we recommend starting now, particularly if you need to engage subcontractors or secure customer commitments.
To explore whether your project is a good fit and get expert help preparing your bid, speak to our grant funding team today.