UKRI has £1M in ‘flexible’ funding for research on offshore wind, heat decarbonisation or the green Covid recovery: register interest by 21 May

UKRI has issued a second Call for Proposals for research to be funded under its Flexible Fund. It expects to distribute £1 million of funding.

It is looking for projects in three key research areas that are important to understanding the effectiveness and impacts of policies that form part of the ‘green industrial revolution’ envisaged by the UK Government as part of its response to Covid-19.

It wants proposals from universities or other institutions eligible to hold UKRI awards in the areas of:

  • Delivering a 40GW offshore wind target – securing investment and ensuring efficient price signals.
  • The economic impacts of heat system decarbonisation.
  • Co-benefits: Covid-19 recovery, net zero and wider societal and environmental effects.

It says the call will operate a ‘one stage’ process that seeks to commission new research swiftly. To help expedite the review process, applicants must provide an intent to submit by 4pm on 21 May. The deadline for full proposals is 4pm on 4 June 2021.

Projects should start by the autumn of 2021 and are expected to last between one and two years. The supported research will form an integral part of UKERC’s research programme.

A further call will be issued in late 2021.

More details on the funding call are available here.