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Meet Sustainable Innovation's New Cohort

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Helping a Vertical Farming Business Flourish and Grow

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Eligibility
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Applications Currently Closed

Sustainable Innovation is not currently recruiting. Please complete the expression of interest form below to be notified when applications open later in the year.

Express Interest
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Application Process

Interested SMEs should complete the below form, which allows us to capture your contact details and check eligibility. You will then be asked to complete the 'Academic collaboration Application Form' to help us understand your technical requirements and challenges.  
   
Applications will be assessed as they are received. SMEs will be invited for scoping meetings on a first come, first served basis.

Application Form

Eligibility Criteria

To get access to all that Sustainable Innovation has to offer you must:

  • Have received less than €200,000 State Aid within the last 3 years;
  • Be a start-up or SME with less than 250 employees;
  • Be a company developing a low carbon product, process or service;
  • Be a businesses registered in Greater London, or registered elsewhere in the UK with an operational address within Greater London (co-working spaces and virtual offices are fine with us). Sole traders may also apply.
Deadline Monday 3rd May
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Sustainable Innovation

Supporting you to drive
our zero carbon future

LSBU logoERDF logo



With the combined £4m resources of two ERDF projects, A2i and LCLDN, participants are able to access bespoke research and development to remove the barriers to growth.
Sustainable Innovation connects London SMEs with University academics and expert consultants to bring new clean tech products and services to market.

Expertise

Staff Grants

Research & Development

Personal Development

A good leader is as valuable to a business as a good product or idea. Throughout participation you will have opportunity to meet with subject matter experts and gain the benefit of their experience.

Support & Guidance

Throughout the programme you will meet with the Sustainable Innovation Team to discuss your progress through the programme.

Showcase Event

The cohort culminates in a showcase event in which members will have the opportunity to present their business, as if to a panel of investors.

It enables participants to expand their network as they graduate from the programme and generate momentum towards their business goals.

Peer Network

Members will be able to join the cohort Slack Channel, providing them the opportunity to connect with each other and seek out collaboration and feedback where appropriate.

Man standing at lectern in from of people

Without the support of Ben and LSBU numerous opportunities to display our prototype to industry experts would have been missed, which would have had a negative effect on the securing of the IP.

Our involvement has helped If.Vehicles receive investment of £750,000, and to secure collaboration meetings with Royal Mail and the Department for Transport (DfT).

Read the case study
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R&D Collaborations

As part of the application process, businesses can propose projects with experts from the schools of Engineering and the Built Environment. This project should help them to further develop their product, conduct an independent evaluation, and support their progress towards launching to market.

If you have a design prototype and would like to support to develop a MVP, or you already have a MVP and are ready to start independent testing, then we are able to assist.

Technical Product Development

  • Academic Consultancy – Expertise from the schools of Engineering and the Built  Environment   
  • Experimentation – Well equipped laboratories to support a variety of experimental activities
  • Prototype  Development - Capability to fabricate in-house to provide proof of concept   
  • Prototype Testing –  Evaluation of usability and performance
  • Materials Development and Analysis      

Academic Consultancy

  • Theoretical Investigation, Modelling & Simulation
  • Life-cycle Assessment - Assess costs, energy balance and emissions for materials, products, and processes   
  • Literature and Technology Reviews
  • Product Strategy – Market analysis, business development, and commercialisation strategy   

Subsidised Staff

We offer a wage subsidy for a new R&D hire to help accelerate your product/process development goals.

  • We will provide 40% of the salary + employers contributions of pension + NI.
  • Maximum salary = £45,000
  • Maximum grant length = 1 year
  • Must be a new hire to the business, for research or development of a low carbon product or process.

Kyle's experience of bio-electrochemical systems has enabled WASE to redevelop existing designs and build new and more efficient systems.

WASE utilised our 40% staff subsidy offer to hire Kyle Bowman, a bio-electrochemical engineer. With Kyle's expertise and the company's increased capacity, they have significantly accelerated development.

Read the case study
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Research & Development

We're able to provide R&D support in each of the areas below. Successful applicants will work with our in-house experts until the agreed outputs are achieved.
Electronics
Computing
Fabrication
Materials
Processes

Electronics  

Component Selection
Current Sensing, AC + DC Calibration   
Breakout Board Design and Manufacture
Load, Power Consumption, Standby Power, and Power Quality Testing  
Circuit Board Layout
Product Performance at Global Power Grid Voltages and Frequencies
Trace Antenna Manufacture and Test
Antenna Measurement and Radiation Pattern Testing
Power Electronics Efficiency Measurement 
EMC Pre-compliance Testing and Radiated Emissions Investigation
Power Supply, Power Consumption, and Battery Life Testing

Computing

Software Architecture for Cloud, on Premises and Embedded Systems
Software Load Testing and Metrics
Proof-of-concept App Development
Code Review and Test Suites

Device Fabrication   

Energy Harvesting (E.G. Photovoltaics, Piezoelectrics, Thermoelectrics)
Energy Storage (E.G. Batteries, Supercapacitors, Hydrogen, Thermal Energy)
Energy Conversion Technologies (E.G. Fuel Cells)
Sensors (E.G. Gas Sensors and Toxin Measurement)

Materials Science

Chemical and Structural Characterisation
Electron Microscopes for Surface Topography and Composition
Material Imaging   
Recycled Aggregate Concrete   
Material Properties
Electrochemistry Including Corrosion and Electroplating
Surface Engineering
Setting up Standard Operating Procedures

Sustainable Processes

Improvement to the Circular Economy of an Existing Product, Process or Service
Processes That Reduce Pollution in the Environment
Modelling Materials and Manufacturing Processes
Biomass/Waste to Products (E.G. Biogas, Biofuel, Biopolymers and Chemical Feedstock)
Green Chemistry
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Without the support of SI we would not have been able to progress as rapidly as we have and would have not yet secured our IP.

Andrew Hodgson – IF.vehicles
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I felt empowered, guided, motivated and supported by very nice people who exchanged experiences.

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I left with a feeling of community and mutual support

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It's amazing to see how many great ideas people are passionate to bring to the market.

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I felt empowered, guided, motivated and supported by very nice people who exchanged experiences.

Case Studies

Simulating Sudan’s Weather to Boost Prospects for Solar Start-up

Helping a Vertical Farming Business Flourish and Grow

Innovating Edible Packaging with Skipping Rocks Labs

Researching the Carbon Offset of Alternatives to Steel

Helping If.Vehicles Secure £750k Investment

Harnessing Electric Car Charging to Balance the Grid

Turning Waste into a Precious Resource

Shining a Light on Blinds, Shades, and Carbon Footprints

Getting Pumped about a New Low Carbon Heat System

Developing an App to Help Reduce Carbon Footprints

Previous Events

All Events
Jun
14
Building on Sustainability Bootcamp
Dec
4
Women in Cleantech: Product Development, Pitching and Investment
Mar
30
Fundraising & Investment for Sustainability SMEs
May
26
Webinar - Zoom
Legal & Governance Sprint for Tech SMEs
Jul
14
Webinar - Zoom
Financial Modelling for Tech SMEs