Chemistry

By 2050 our industry will have embraced a circular economy and be using different feedstocks, technologies and energy sources to produce chemicals. The Innovate UK Business Connect Chemistry team can help you navigate these changes and identify innovation that will ensure your business, research or service remains sustainable.

Innovate UK Business Connect works with all sectors that use chemicals or chemistry in their business. These include:

  • UK Chemical Manufacturers
  • “Chemistry-using” Sectors – where chemistry is critical to the business, e.g. Pharmaceuticals, Home & Personal Care, Agrochemicals, Fuels and Energy
  • Innovative companies (particularly SMEs and start-ups) and leading academics developing technologies and solutions for a Net Zero future

Innovate UK Business Connect uses sector knowledge to help businesses innovate through providing access to connections and collaborations as well as expertise and funding.

We can also help with innovation related to:

  • Synthesis and catalysis. Materials chemistry, including formulated products, polymers and composites
  • Digitalisation of manufacturing and R&D operations – for increased productivity
  • Exploitation of Industrial Biotechnology and Engineering Biology (often called Synthetic Biology) for improved products and low carbon processes.

Follow us on Twitter: @KTN_Chemistry

Our current focus in this area

Innovate UK KTN recognises that this sector is heavily reliant on laboratory-based R&D, as well as computational techniques for modelling the behaviour of atoms, molecules and colloids across multiple length and time scales.

Connecting the UK’s growing Chemicals community with industrial collaborators, research-base expertise, investment opportunities and funders.

For chemical-based industries to respond to global challenges, we need to improve productivity and maintain the competitiveness of our manufacturing processes.

As the world moves towards a greener future, we are changing the demand profile on certain raw materials. At the same, world population rises, resulting in an ever-increasing demand for energy and products which puts gradual pressure on raw materials (and their supply chains), contributing to the generation of more and more waste.

Related Opportunities

DASA Competition: Small, Lightweight Trace Explosives Detector

Opens: 01/02/2024 Closes: 09/04/2024

DASA seeks novel, lightweight bioassay systems with novel transduction platforms for the detection of trace explosives.

More Information

Innovation Exchange challenge: Innovations to Produce Sustainable, Biobased MDA for the Manufacture of PEEK

Opens: 01/02/2024 Closes: 15/03/2024

Victrex is seeking innovative solutions to produce sustainable biobased MDA (4,4’-methylene dianiline), a precursor in the PEEK manufacturing process.

More Information

Mobile Evidential Drug Testing Instrument (MEDTI) Demonstrator

Opens: 19/02/2024 Closes: 16/04/2024

The DfT are seeking innovations to develop roadside evidential drug testing capability to enable effective enforcement of drug driving offending.

More Information

Royal Society Industry Fellowships, February 2024

Opens: 14/02/2024 Closes: 10/04/2024

The Industry Fellowships enable the mobility of talented scientists and engineers from industry and academia in order to move between the sectors.

More Information

Global Cement and Concrete Association: Innovandi Open Challenge 2024

Opens: 19/02/2024 Closes: 15/04/2024

GCCA are looking for start-ups working on Carbon Capture Use and Storage for low carbon concrete.

More Information

DASA competition: Sample Preservation, Analysis, and Attribution

Opens: 04/03/2024 Closes: 30/04/2024

DASA (Defence & Security Accelerator) seeks proposals for sample preservation, analysis and attribution of hazardous chemical and biological materials.

More Information

Related Events and Recordings

Wed
28
Feb
2024

Innovate UK Analysis for Innovators, Round 13 briefing event

13.00 - 15.00 | Online

Watch now
Mon
22
Jan
2024

Mission Innovation: Integrated Biorefineries programme

12.00 - 14.00 GMT | Online

Watch now
See all events

Our Experts

Related News

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12/07/2023

Chemical and biological innovations for rare earth processing and refining

Through the Circular Critical Materials Supply Chain (CLIMATES) programme, we are supporting the development of innovations that could improve the economic and/or ESG performance of the processing and refining of rare earth elements.

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Announcing the Cohort for the Faraday Battery Challenge Investment Readiness Programme 2023

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Running for the third consecutive year, the Faraday Battery Challenge Investment Readiness Programme is going stronger than ever.

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For general enquiries regarding our Chemistry sector contact us now

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