Call for CASE Projects

Call for CASE Projects
23rd January 2018 CASE Research
The word open made of book covers

The Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy is an industry-led research centre funded through the Invest NI Competence Centre Programme. We are currently seeking applications from suitably qualified consortia for research and development funding to support sustainable energy challenges in Northern Ireland and beyond. This call is for short term (3 – 6 month) projects, with a maximum budget of £50,000 per project in the areas of marine renewable energy, energy systems and bio-energy and is particularly focused on:

  1. Areas of ‘high impact’ – where previous CASE (or other related marine, energy systems or bio-energy research) has identified opportunities for the Northern Ireland economy. These projects are likely to focus on expansion of existing research which could lead to job creation, sales, diversification, export or foreign direct investment. Other outputs would include the development of a commercialisation plan for the product or service.
  2. Scoping / Feasibility studies – where strategic research, other funding agencies or government policy is providing direction for sustainable energy research in the UK. For example, Welsh & Scottish Government support for marine renewable energy, Industrial Strategy Challenge fund in energy storage etc. CASE welcomes R&D scoping studies into grand challenge areas in the sector and also into specific challenges that have arisen from wider research projects. Outcomes from the studies will help to provide direction to CASE in future R&D calls; helping to drive Northern Ireland’s leadership in key strategic areas of sustainable energy research.

The call will close on Friday 9th February at 5pm.

For full terms and conditions, to find out more details or for a copy of an application form, please contact Sam McCloskey / Simon Murray on 028 9097 5577 or [email protected] / [email protected].

Please see the below rules and regulations that are mandatory to qualify for CASE Research funding.

Invest NI has provided CASE with £5m (over 5 years) to fund collaborative R&D projects that will ultimately benefit the Northern Ireland economy. Projects are funded at 75% with 25% coming from an in-kind contribution from the participating companies. A summary of the main requirements can be found here, however the main things to take in to account before making an application are:

  • The project MUST be collaborative and include at least three companies and one research institution (QUB, UU and / or AFBI)
  • Projects must be classed as research & development
  • Funding goes to the academic institute carrying out the research on the consortium’s behalf
  • The consortium will pay a participation fee of 6.5% of the value of the research between them:
    • 50% of 6.5% for large companies (>250 employees)
    • 25% of 6.5% for medium companies (>50 employees)
    • 15% of 6.5% for small companies (<50 employees)
  • Companies also provide at least 25% of the value of the project ‘in-kind’
  • Projects must align with the research strategy for CASE, that is, in the fields of turbines, energy from biomass and energy systems.

Please contact us for further information and an application form.