Manufacturing businesses in Greater Manchester can apply for a portion of a £1 million fund for the advancement of manufacturing machinery. This funding is provided through the UKRI Strength in Places Fund (SIPF) and is supported by the Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute (AMPI). The competition aims to encourage the development of new manufacturing technology within advanced machinery, robotics, automation, and associated industries. 

To stimulate and support the rapid growth of the UK’s machinery manufacturing sector as it transitions to highly integrated digital solutions with sophisticated automated and autonomous systems, APMI is here to drive innovation to enable machinery manufacturers to overcome the challenges of developing new technologies. AMPI is a pivotal intervention that fulfils a critical aspect of the UK’s manufacturing innovation landscape. 

To apply for this competition, the project’s lead organisation must be a UK-registered business of any size with significant technical operations based within the Greater Manchester or West Yorkshire regions. In addition, the project has to involve at least one university, academic institution, or research and technology organisation (RTO) based in the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire regions. 

The project submitted must focus on delivering advancements in machinery for manufacturing and demonstrating innovation at an industrially relevant scale. The project’s total grant funding request must be between £100,000 and £250,000, lasting between 3 and 18 months, and fall within the period of 1 November 2024 to 30 April 2026.  

The competition was opened on 20 May 2024 and will close on 19 June 2024, 11:00 PM. Applicants will be notified on their result in August 2024. 

For full details of the competition, please go to: 

Competition overview - Advanced Machinery Innovation Fund - Innovation Funding Service (apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk)