Upcoming UKRI funding opportunities for engineering biology
A pipeline of encouraging funding opportunities for the engineering biology community
Maddie Cass
Policy and Public Affairs Manager, BIA
The slowdown in UKRI funding calls over recent months has created difficulty for engineering biology startups and SMEs. Reduced opportunities have made it harder to plan, hire and sustain momentum at a critical stage of the sector's development. We have been hearing this consistently from members and raising it with funders accordingly.
UKRI has now published a forward-looking timeline of upcoming funding opportunities across research and innovation. For the engineering biology community, the pipeline is encouraging, spanning proof-of-concept awards, scale-up infrastructure support, collaborative R&D, and investor partnership programmes, with calls expected to open between now and the end of September 2026.
One call we are particularly excited to see is the Engineering Biology Scale-up Infrastructure Access Fund. The fund is a positive step towards supporting companies with access to scale-up infrastructure and skills to scale their technologies. Funding support to access scale up infrastructure was a core ask in our 2025 policy recommendations, which we submitted to DSIT.
We have compiled the most relevant opportunities for members below. Several of these calls are still under development, with funding yet to be deployed, and some details remain unclear or subject to change. For the most part, eligibility criteria are yet to be announced. We encourage members to monitor UKRI's opportunity finder for confirmed open calls as they are released.
June 2026
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships 2026 to 2027 round three
These partnerships fund collaborative innovation projects between businesses and universities to deliver strategic change, develop new products or processes and build capability. It has atotal fund of £10 million with a maximum award of £750,000.
August 2026
UKRI Translation: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Proof of Concept Awards
These awards translate bioscience research into biosolutions. Projects progress prior research by demonstrating feasibility through advancing clear, milestone-driven programmes to commercial outputs, including products, processes, services, and licensable IP, enabling real-world impact.
It is expected to proceed but is subject to the relevant approvals. Awards range from £200,000 to £800,000.
September 2026
AI for Science Pump Priming
This funding is available to pump prime AI use across science and engineering disciplines.
It has a total fund of £5 million, with a maximum award still being finalised (likely to be several smaller awards up to £250,000).
It is expected to proceed but is subject to the relevant approvals.
Bioinformatics and Biological Resources Fund
This provides funding to implement, improve or consolidate bioinformatics or biological resources in support of UK bioscience. It helps drive forward progress in bioscience research and innovation.
It has a maximum award of £2 million.
It is expected to proceed but is subject to the relevant approvals.
Engineering Biology Collaborative Research and Development
This provides funding to enable high growth-potential engineering biology businesses to work across a supply chain with end-users in a range of engineering biology relevant application areas. The aim is to take forward technologies and solutions, progressing towards commercialisation.
It has a total fund of £12.5 million with a maximum award of £2 million.
It is expected to proceed but is subject to the relevant approvals.
Engineering Biology Foundational Technology Awards
These awards fund tools in critical areas. These include: AI-ready data; biological design and predictive engineering tools; automated and high-throughput platforms; novel chassis; systems and modalities; and measurement, characterisation and standards infrastructure.
Engineering Biology Mission Hubs
These hubs provide funding to build engineering biology research capability in areas of significant societal importance, to accelerate the application of engineering biology technologies and deliver tangible benefits for the UK. It has a maximum award of £15 million.
Engineering Biology Scale-up Infrastructure Access Fund
This fund supports high-growth potential engineering biology businesses to access scale-up infrastructure and skills to scale their technologies. It will provide grant funding for lab-proven technologies to pilot, trial and validate commercial testing of their technical and economic viability.
It has a total fund of £5 million with a maximum award of £750,000.
It is expected to proceed but is subject to the relevant approvals.
National Materials Innovation Programme: Collaborative Research and Development
These competitions accelerate industrial adoption of advanced materials in high-growth and strategic areas, funded through the National Materials Innovation Programme as announced in the UK’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan. It has a total fund of £24 million (across two rounds) with a maximum award of £1 million (to be confirmed).
Engineering Biology Investor Partnership
This partnership aims to enable high-growth potential engineering biology businesses to complete late-stage development. It also supports business growth, scaling and market entry. It will align grant funding with private investment from Innovate UK investor partners.
It has a total fund of £8 million with a maximum award of £3 million.
It is expected to proceed but is subject to the relevant approvals.
Small Medium Enterprise Champions: Frontier AI Phase One
This competition aims to advance state-of-the-art AI and machine learning in the UK by supporting SMEs to validate ambitious innovations that could deliver step-change capabilities and enable new products, services, or platforms. It has a total fund of £3.1 million.
