The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is set to fund manufacturing SMEs investing in R&D through its Process Industries North East Launchpad competition.
TSB will invest up to £1m in innovative research and development projects, with a focus on a cluster of manufacturing process businesses in the North East, grouped around the Wilton Centre, Seal Sands and Billingham.
The competition aims to stimulate process industries in the region by attracting investment and people, as well as encouraging networking and collaboration.
TSB is targeting projects that firms may consider too risky to pursue without support or schemes that take businesses into new areas of innovation.
The institution will finance 60% of project costs providing the ventures are budgeted between £50,000 and £200,000 and run between 12 and 24 months.
A spokesperson for TSB said: “An integral part of Launchpad is the offer of support to help applicants raise additional external finance that we expect will be needed to fully fund the project and its subsequent commercialisation.
“In addition to receiving project funding, successful applicants will participate in a programme of business support and growth activities that will run in parallel to projects.”
The competition will open for applications on 1 September and close on 15 October.
