Advanced materials: highlight notice

Open UKRI funding opportunity · Grant. Closing date to be confirmed. Opportunity page: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/advanced-materials-highlight-notice/

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is seeking to support applications through our standard research grant scheme in the following two areas:

- advanced materials solutions for critical minerals

- in-situ and in operando materials metrology and characterisation

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding.

There is no limit on the value of the grant or length of the project. You should ask for what is needed to deliver the proposed programme of research.

EPSRC will award 80% of the full economic cost (FEC) of the project.

Apply to this highlight notice via EPSRC standard research grant, Nov 2023: responsive mode.

What we're looking for Scope

Materials science drives much of what the engineering and physical sciences community can deliver for both the UK economy and the government missions. As highlighted in the UK Industrial Strategy 2025, advanced materials are pivotal in driving innovation, strengthening supply chains, and enabling sustainable growth across key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, clean energy, digital technologies and defence.

However, many of the materials that underpin these technologies, particularly in clean energy, are classified as critical minerals as identified in the UK’s 2024 Criticality Assessment. Materials research plays a central role in the critical minerals agenda, enabling discovery, substitution, and more efficient use of these scarce and strategically important elements. By supporting research into novel advanced materials, we can help reduce reliance on geopolitically sensitive sources and strengthen and diversify supply chains.

More broadly, the success of all advanced materials innovation, regardless of application, relies on a deep understanding of materials’ properties and performance.…