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Innovate UK has launched the Engineering Biology Access to Infrastructure Pilot, with up to £5 million available to support UK SMEs that are ready to move engineering biology innovations beyond laboratory scale.
The programme is designed to address one of the major challenges facing engineering biology companies: gaining affordable access to the specialist infrastructure and expertise needed to validate whether a technology can operate successfully at pilot or demonstration scale.
Projects must therefore involve a UK organisation with the facilities or capabilities required to support engineering biology scale-up and validation. Pasted text
Key Dates and Funding
Opens: 7 September 2026
Closes: 21 October 2026, 11:00am
Total competition funding: Up to £5 million
Project size: £200,000 to £750,000
Project duration: Up to 24 months
Who Can Apply?
The lead applicant must be a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise.
Academic institutions cannot lead or apply alone.
The project must also include, either as a partner or subcontractor, a UK registered organisation with the infrastructure and capabilities required to support engineering biology scale-up and validation. This could include a business, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit organisation, public sector organisation or research and technology organisation. Pasted text
What Types of Projects Are in Scope?
Projects must focus on scaling an engineering biology innovation that has already demonstrated robustness at laboratory scale.
The core innovation must arise from the purposeful engineering of biological systems, such as engineered organisms, cells, enzymes, proteins or other biomolecular systems with new or enhanced functions.
Relevant technology areas can include:
The project should predominantly focus on scale-up, but supporting activities such as validation, manufacturing development and regulatory progression can also be included where they directly support the underlying engineering biology innovation.
Priority Themes
Projects must align with one or more of the following themes:
What Must the Project Demonstrate?
A strong application will need to show that the engineering biology innovation is genuinely ready to move beyond laboratory scale.
Applicants are expected to demonstrate:
Projects may also include activities such as a techno-economic assessment to demonstrate whether the scaled process is commercially viable.
Why This Opportunity Matters
Many engineering biology technologies demonstrate strong performance in laboratory conditions but face substantial technical and commercial challenges when scaled.
Processes that work successfully at small scale may encounter issues with yield, reproducibility, cost, process control, manufacturing compatibility or regulatory requirements when moved towards industrial production.
This programme is intended to help companies address that gap by giving them access to the facilities and expertise required to test whether their innovations remain technically and economically viable at larger scale.
For SMEs approaching commercialisation, this can provide important evidence for future customers, manufacturing partners, regulators and investors.
How Inventya Can Help
Applications to this competition need to demonstrate much more than scientific novelty. They must show that the technology is genuinely ready for scale-up, that the right infrastructure partner is involved and that the project can create a credible route towards commercial deployment.
Inventya can support applicants with:
Inventya can help ensure the application presents the project not simply as a technical scale-up exercise, but as a clear pathway from lab-proven engineering biology innovation to a commercially viable and scalable UK opportunity.
