Made Smarter Innovation Digital Supply Chain Hub open call

Supply chain solutions for food, hydrogen, and spare parts sectors

The Made Smarter Innovation | Digital Supply Chain Hub aims to transform UK manufacturing by using digital supply chains to improve efficiency, resilience, and sustainability.

The Hub is currently providing a funding opportunity for UK-based technology innovators through an open call focusing on supply chain challenges identified by three testbeds:

• food supply chain - enhancing ESG measurements and metrics
• hydrogen supply chain - scaling adoption for off-grid sites
• spares supply chain - implementing standardised labelling for spare parts

The call is aimed at innovators wishing to demonstrate their solutions' impact using real-world data from the Hub's supply chain testbeds.

What is available?

Businesses can apply for up to £115,000 in funding to develop and deploy their digital technology, with a 50% co-investment requirement.

As well as project funding, applicants will get a chance to:

• demonstrate practical business benefits in supply chains and beyond
• connect with industry leaders, investors, and potential customers through events
• join a platform connecting digital supply chain stakeholders
• access diagnostic sessions to assess and refine solutions with experts
• present and meet peers at showcase events to boost visibility in the field

As a delivery partner, Digital Catapult will facilitate and oversee the partnerships between technology innovators and programme collaboration partners, furthering digital adoption and driving innovation forward.

Who should apply?

The opportunity is open to applications from:

• technology innovators with a digital solution at TRL 6 or above interested in developing new use cases
• solution providers looking to collaborate with relevant industry partners to demonstrate real business value of their solutions
• startups that focus on innovative digital solutions which can be applied to any of the challenge areas outlined by the testbeds

How to apply

If you believe that your solution aligns with any of the above challenge areas, you should contact the relevant testbed. Emails and contact details are listed in the open call overview on the Made Smarter Innovation website.

The programme welcomes applications beyond these specific challenges. If you have a solution that aligns with one of the three testbeds, but isn't explicitly listed, you can still reach out to the respective testbed for further discussions.

For further information about the call, and to explore the suitability of your idea for the challenges, you can reach out to DSCHopencalls@digicatapult.org.uk.

First published 25 June 2024