Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation: CR&D Round 2

Overview

Innovate UK is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to invest up to £7 million in sustainable technologies for making medicines. The money is a grant. The full amount depends on enough high quality applications being received. The competition backs projects in three areas: green chemistry, circularity, and productivity and resource efficiency. Your project must also deal with two enablers: regulations, and measurements, standards and data. You need to show significant, measurable improvement in at least one of productivity, waste reduction, emissions reduction, energy use reduction or resource efficiency. Your claims must be backed by baseline measurements. It suits collaborative projects where the technology is already at Technology Readiness Level 6 or above and can move up by at least two levels towards use in a manufacturing environment. At least one UK micro, small or medium sized enterprise must be in the consortium and claiming grant funding. Your proposal must show how the project helps that enterprise grow. Each project can request between £500,000 and £1 million in grant. Projects must last 9 to 12 months, start by 1 April 2027 and end by 31 March 2028. The share of costs Innovate UK pays depends on the size of your organisation and whether the work is industrial research or experimental development. Applications opened on 5 October 2026 and close at 11:00am UK time on 2 December 2026. Be realistic about the odds. The page says experience from similar competitions suggests a 15% chance of success, and a high scoring project may still go unfunded. Projects on non-human medicines or medical device manufacturing are out of scope. Official source: https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/sustainable-medicines-manufacturing-innovation-crd-round-2-1. Last checked by GrantMatch on 16 October 2026.