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DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund Drawdown 6

DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund Drawdown 6 is a grant of £2.5 million to £20 million for UK-registered businesses of any size carrying out large automotive manufacturing research projects, which must be matched by at least twice the grant in private investment. Open, closes 27 January 2027.

Run by Innovate UK · funded by DRIVE35, DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund

Checked against the official page (apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk) on 5 Nov 2026.

A DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund competition for industrial research projects focused on developing and validating manufacturing processes and assets for the automotive sector. Grant requests must be matched by at least twice the grant in private co-investment.

Apply or find out more Official page

These details are gathered from public web pages and are not financial advice. Check them with Innovate UK before you apply.

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Status and deadline

Status

Open

Confirmed on the official page

Deadline

Closes 27 January 2027 at 11am

As stated: Competition closes: Wednesday 27 January 2027 11:00am

Confirmed on the official page

How much

£2,500,000 to £20,000,000

Whole fund: £150,000,000, shared between applicants

You put in: Private co-investment of at least twice the grant request must be unlocked, with the co-investment raised within nine months of the grant offer (extendible by three months, plus one month in some cases).

Confirmed on the official page

Who can apply

UK registered businesses of any size can lead a project alone or lead a collaboration, provided the project's total grant request is between £2.5 million and £20 million and its total eligible costs are at least £5 million. Research and technology organisations and academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.

Confirmed on the official page

Business size

Micro (under 10 staff), Small (10 to 49 staff), Medium (50 to 249 staff), Large businesses

Not confirmed on the official page

Could your business apply?

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How to apply

Use the Innovation Funding Service application form, which has project details, application questions and finances sections.

Confirmed on the official page

Where it is open: UK-wide

United Kingdom

Confirmed on the official page

HartlepoolMiddlesbroughRedcar and ClevelandStockton-on-TeesDarlingtonHaltonWarringtonBlackburn with DarwenBlackpoolKingston upon Hull, City ofEast Riding of YorkshireNorth East LincolnshireNorth LincolnshireYorkCounty DurhamCheshire EastCheshire West and ChesterNorthumberlandCumberlandWestmorland and FurnessNorth YorkshireBurnleyChorleyFyldeHyndburnLancasterPendlePrestonRibble ValleyRossendaleSouth RibbleWest LancashireWyreBoltonBuryManchesterOldhamRochdaleSalfordStockportTamesideTraffordWiganKnowsleyLiverpoolSt. HelensSeftonWirralDoncasterRotherhamNewcastle upon TyneNorth TynesideSouth TynesideSunderlandBradfordCalderdaleKirkleesLeedsWakefieldGatesheadBarnsleySheffield

Open across United Kingdom, so every council area in the North of England is shaded.

Drawn from the areas the funder names. If a scheme is only for part of a council area, check its own page. Boundaries from the Office for National Statistics.

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Source and last checked

Local Landscape gathers this information automatically from the pages below, then checks the key details against the official page. Checked against the official page (apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk) on 5 Nov 2026. Its details have not changed since it was listed on 5 Nov 2026. No person has checked it, so confirm the details with Innovate UK before you apply.

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