Advancing solutions for critical mineral production and recycling

Open UKRI funding opportunity · Grant. Closes 2027-01-07. Total fund £1.5 million. Opportunity page: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/advancing-solutions-for-critical-mineral-production-and-recycling/

Apply for pump-priming funding to explore, test and validate disruptive solutions for critical mineral extraction, processing, recovery, reprocessing, recycling or re-mining, with the potential to transform UK critical mineral value chains.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £305,000. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC.

Projects must start by 3 May 2027 and last for up to 12 months. Successful projects will be eligible to apply for funding for a further two years.

What we're looking for UKRI Critical Minerals: From Research to Industry (CMR2i) programme

The CMR2i programme is a £20 million investment delivered through the UKRI Advanced Manufacturing priority programme. It aims to strengthen the UK’s critical and growth minerals value chains, spanning exploration, extraction, processing, recycling, and re-mining, in line with the ambitions of the UK Critical Minerals Strategy.

CMR2i focuses on mineral resources and capabilities where the UK has clear strategic and economic opportunities to strengthen domestic supply chains and establish or expand key stages of the critical minerals value chain within the UK. The programme prioritises increasing the recovery, processing, recycling and supply of critical and growth minerals from emerging deposits, co-products and by-products, waste streams, and legacy mine sites. Through building the UK’s mineral capabilities, CMR2i aims to support a more secure, circular and sustainable supply of critical and growth minerals, underpinning the growth, resilience and global competitiveness of UK Advanced Manufacturing and other UK Industrial Strategy priority sectors.

The programme will be delivered through…