Aerospace SMEs poised to benefit from multi-million pound funding

The UK government has launched a new multi-million pound SME programme aimed at advancing net zero aviation and helping to secure more high-skilled aerospace jobs.

The programme offered by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) in Bedfordshire and announced in Birmingham on November 14 will give UK-based small and medium-sized firms the chance to bid for a share of £10 million per year towards innovative research projects.

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It will be delivered in partnership with the ATI and Innovate UK.

"UK aerospace businesses, with their expertise and innovation, are helping drive the industry on its journey to Net Zero by 2050, and in the process are helping us grow the UK economy and support high-skill, high-wage jobs," said the government's industry minister Nusrat Ghani," who announced the initiative.

The programme will allow SMEs in the sector to bid for grants of up to £1.5 million each and will be open to applications in February, 2024.

It builds on the government’s commitment to backing UK aerospace research and development (R&D) to succeed, as demonstrated by the ATI programme, for which the government provided £685 million in 2022.

The ATI programme is a joint government and industry investment. Its purpose is to competitively offer funding for research and technology development in the UK, to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace and accelerate the transition to net zero aviation.

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