Renée’s round-up of grants and funding - December

As we head into the festive season, it’s the perfect time to start planning for 2026. There are plenty of new grants and challenges launching, so take a look at our latest grants and funding round-up to ensure you don’t miss out. Things move quickly, so check back each month for updates on new programmes and competitions.
Good luck, and let me know how you get on!

Renée

National Materials Innovation Programme: Feasibility Studies Competition

This competition is operated by Innovate UK (IUK) and supports projects that accelerate the translation of advanced materials innovations into industrial adoption. Projects must align with one of six high growth themes identified in the National Materials Innovation Strategy, or with the strategic opportunity theme of metamaterials and metasurfaces.

Eligible focus areas include net zero energy solutions, future healthcare, structural innovations, advanced surface technologies and materials durability, next generation electronics, telecommunications and sensors, and consumer products, packaging and specialist polymers. Applicants must demonstrate how their proposed work will enable faster progression of materials innovation toward industrial application.

The competition will fund feasibility projects with a total budget of up to £2 million. Eligible projects can request grant funding between £50,000 and £100,000.

Closing date: 17 December 2025 (11:00)
Apply here: Competition overview – National Materials Innovation Programme: Feasibility Studies – Innovation Funding Service

World of Opportunity – SME Exporter Grants Programme

Heathrow is calling for SMEs in every corner of the UK to come forward and share their exporting ambitions. The UK’s hub airport is relaunching its World of Opportunity Programme, which helps UK exporters to sell their goods and services around the world, for 2025-2026.

The Programme is designed to support the UK’s SMEs in boosting their export potential, with previous grants being used for trade missions, research, and training to further exporting ambitions. This programme will provide £2,000 grants to 12 SME businesses across the UK, with one grant awarded to a business from each region and nation.

Closing Date: 31 December
Find out more: World of opportunity | Heathrow

UNltd – Awards for Social Entrepreneurs

The funding is intended to support social entrepreneurs by helping them nurture their social ventures and grow their impact.

The following levels of funding are available:

Starting Up – funding of up to £8,000
Scaling Up – funding of up to £18,000 for a social enterprise that has been operating for between one to four years.

In addition to funding, award recipients will be assigned to one of UnLtd’s dedicated programmes to provide support aligned with the needs of their social venture for up to one year.

Closing date: 31 December
Find out more: Awards | UnLtd

Enterprise Nation’s Finance Beyond Borders

Finance Beyond Borders is a free learning programme offering funding and business support to small businesses engaged in, or planning, international trade.

The initiative provides practical guidance and tools to help businesses simplify cross-border payments, manage multi-currency accounts, and strengthen their financial operations. The programme aims to help founders understand how to expand internationally while managing costs, streamline financial management, and make informed decisions.

Through the programme, two grants of £1,000 each are available, alongside a mentoring session and live, interactive webinars. In addition, participants can benefit from an exclusive offer from Airwallex, a financial platform designed to support cross-border transactions, multi-currency management and cost efficiency.

Closing date: 31 December 2025 (16:59)
Find out more: Airwallex Finance Beyond Borders | Scale your business stronger

TechX Clean Energy Accelerator

TechX Clean Energy Accelerator is provided by the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC). The funding is intended to help innovative clean energy start-ups develop their technologies and grow their business.

Applications will be accepted from companies at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) three to six, specialising in the following focus areas:

CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage)
Renewables and grid
Hydrogen and alternative fuels
Industrial decarbonisation.

Applicants must be developing a novel clean energy technology which is fully owned by the start-up. Up to £50,000 in grant funding is available for selected start-ups.

Closing date: 5 January 2025 (23:59)
Find out more: TechX Clean Energy Accelerator

Green Growth Awards

Small Business Britain, in partnership with BT, is proud to launch the Green Growth Awards. This is a celebration of 100 inspiring UK small businesses that are successfully using sustainability to drive business growth.

From cutting waste and saving energy, to rethinking supply chains and attracting new customers, these businesses are showing that sustainability isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for business too!

Successful businesses will be invited to an awards event in March 2026, hosted by BT. At the event two standout firms will each receive a Green Growth Award. This is a £5,000 grant to help them scale their sustainability goals.

Closing date: 9 January 2026
Find out more: Small Business Britain | Green Growth Awards

Enterprise Nation’s Work Reimagined Webinar Series & Prize Draw

Sign up to Enterprise Nation and Dell’s webinar series and download ‘Getting AI-ready: The small business tech checklist’ to simplify set-up, security and updates.

By signing up, you’ll be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a tech bundle worth over £1,000 including a Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 Laptop, a Dell Pro 14 Portable Monitor and Dell Pro Ear Buds.

Closing date: 28 January 2026 (16:59:59)
Find out more: Dell Work Reimagined |Smarter devices. Safer data. Less admin.

Innovate UK – Women in Innovation Awards

Innovate UK is offering up to 60 Women in Innovation Awards to women entrepreneurs within SMEs across the UK. The aims of this competition are to support Women in Innovation Award winners:

Whose innovation is aligned to one of the following three high growth sectors defined in the Government’s Industrial Strategy: Advanced Manufacturing, Digital and Technologies and Life Sciences.
Who have a late stage start-up with ambitions to grow a scalable business which will involve raising considerable investment in the next 12 to 24 months.

The winners will receive a £75,000 grant and bespoke business support.

Total projects costs will be 100% funded.

Closing date: 4 February 2026 (11:00)
Find out more: Competition overview – Women in Innovation Awards 2025/26 – Innovation Funding Service

Business Boost Grants – Elmbridge

The business boost grants can help your business with:

Grant support up to £2,000 to help businesses improve their shop fronts or signage
Grant support up to £2,000 to help bring a shop that has been empty for at least 3 months back into commercial use
up to £1,000 to help town or village wide projects to drive new footfall, investment, street-scene improvements or sustainability.

All applications need at least 50% match funding and 2 quotes for each element.
Town and village centre independents can also apply for support to help sell online with the digital high street boost and small and medium sized business can get help to invest in energy efficiency projects with the green business boost.

Closing date: Applications can be made at any time.
Find out more: Support for businesses | Elmbridge Borough Council

Business Support Grants – Reigate & Banstead

Business Support Grants of up to £1,000 for residents and businesses with fewer than 5 employees based in Reigate and Banstead.

Grants can be used to help fund things like marketing, new equipment or training. Please note the grant is NOT available for the development of prototypes or for IT equipment such as laptops, unless you are a brand new start up and do not possess any IT hardware.

Closing date: applications can be made at any time.
Find out more: Business Support Grants | Business Support Grants | Reigate and Banstead

Greener Homes Alliance Development Loans

Homes England and Octopus Real Estate have launched the second phase of the Greener Homes Alliance. The scheme provides discounted development finance to small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders. The initiative supports the construction of energy-efficient homes across England.

A total of £150 million is available. Loans range from £2 million to £20 million. Interest rate reductions of up to 2% are available for developers who meet environmental and social criteria. Eligible applicants include SME housebuilders and developers operating in England.

Closing date: Applications can be made at any time

Find out more: Greener Homes Alliance | Octopus Capital

Co-operative Enterprise Loans

Co-operative and Community Finance offers loans of between £10,000 and £85,000 for new or existing co-operatives across the UK. Loans are to assist with the expansion, setup, or development of a co-operative enterprise.  

Loans will only be made to economically viable enterprises that are democratically owned and controlled organisations registered in the UK.

Closing date: Applications can be made at any time

Find out more: Co-op Loan Fund – Unique lending: to co-ops, from co-ops

Surrey Hills Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) Grants

The FiPL programme provides grants to farmers and land managers in the Surrey Hills for one-off projects to make improvements to the natural environment, climate change mitigation, cultural heritage and public access on their land.

Closing date: March 2026

Find out more: Surrey Hills Farming in Protected Landscapes FiPL

The Workplace Charging Scheme

The Workplace Charging Scheme provides support for organisations towards the cost of installing up to 40 electric vehicle chargepoint sockets at their sites.

The scheme covers up to 75% of the total costs of the purchase and installation of EV chargepoints (including VAT). This is capped at a maximum of:

£350 per socket
40 sockets across all sites per applicant. For example, if you install at 40 sites, you will have 1 socket per site

All chargepoints must be installed by an OZEV authorised installer.

Closing Date: 31^st March 2026

Find out more: Before you start

The Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund Pilot

The Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund Pilot is a £50 million capital grant programme supporting large-scale research and development projects within the UK life sciences sector. The fund aims to strengthen health resilience, drive innovation and deliver economic benefits through significant investments in research capacity, facilities and technologies.

Projects should demonstrate how they will enhance the UK’s ability to respond to health emergencies and long-term healthcare challenges, for example by expanding or creating R&D capacity, improving manufacturing processes, accelerating clinical research or deploying new technologies.

Closing date: 31 March 2028 (23:59)

Find out more: Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund Pilot – GOV.UK

Further business support in Surrey

If you can’t see something in this month’s round-up that suits your business’s specific needs, check out our Support Directory, or contact our team of experts via our Business Support Form.