Pre-announcement: Engineering Biology Programme: foundational technology hubs

Upcoming UKRI funding opportunity · Grant. Closing date to be confirmed. Opportunity page: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/engineering-biology-programme-foundational-technology-hubs/

Apply for funding to deliver a flagship interdisciplinary research programme that develops foundational engineering biology technologies, platforms and capabilities.

Projects must tackle key bottlenecks in the design-build-test-learn cycle, to make engineering biology faster, more predictable and scalable, accelerating innovation and adoption across sectors.

You must be based at an organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £12 million. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC.

Projects can last up to five years.

We can offer you disability and accessibility support during the application and assessment process.

This is a pre-announcement, and the information may change. The funding opportunity is expected to open for applications in November 2026. More information will be available on this page by then.

The budget for this opportunity is subject to formal business case approval.

What we're looking for Why we’re funding this

The Engineering Biology Foundational technology hubs aim to build national capacity in the development of transformative foundational technologies, platforms and enabling capabilities. They will address critical bottlenecks across the design-build-test-learn (DBTL) cycle to accelerate discovery and innovation in engineering biology. This will strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in engineering biological systems and applications.

Technologies must be developed around the needs of relevant end-users to support and accelerate their uptake and use across industry, academia, public sector or other settings. The hubs will also strengthen connectivity and coordination across the UK engineering biology ecosystem, helping to improve access to capabilities, reduce fragmentation…