Flexible Funding Call 2021

Applications for the 2021 Flexible Funding Call are now closed.

In April the UKCCSRC closed its 2021 flexible funding call. 27 applications were received and a rigorous appraisal system was applied to determine the successful applications, below.

Click on the titles to find out much more about each project.

InvestigatorsTitle of projectsStart dateStatusAward issued (£ GBP)
Dr Kevin Hughes, University of SheffieldAdvancements in mixed amine atmospheric kinetic models01/08/2021Ongoing29,690
Dr Chenggong Sun, University of NottinghamAutarkic embedded Direct Air Capture for breakthrough cost reductions01/08/2021Ongoing28,852
Dr Eni Oko, University of HullDevelopment of an energy-efficient and cost-effective catalytic regeneration system in the post-combustion CO2 capture process01/07/2021Ongoing29,966
Dr Michael Holynski, University of BirminghamFeasibility study into Quantum Technology based Gravity Sensing for CCS01/08/2021Ongoing29,993
Dr Peter Clough, Cranfield UniversityFugitive amine emission scrubbing using electrostatic precipitation01/07/2021Ongoing49,819
Prof Jon Gibbins, University of SheffieldPCC-CARER: Post-Combustion Capture – Cost And Residual Emission Reduction01/07/2021Ongoing49,938
Prof Ed Lester, University of NottinghamPilot Scale Carbon Capture using Solid Sorbents PICASSO01/09/2021Ongoing49,886
Dr Enrico Andreoli, Swansea UniversityScale up of F4_MIL-140(Ce) for next generation carbon capture (F4-Next-CC)01/09/2021Ongoing29,970
Dr Anna Lichtschlag, National Oceanography Center SouthamptonSensor Enabled Seabed Landing AUV nodes for improved offshore Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) monitoring01/07/2021Ongoing29,355
Dr Salman Masoudi Soltani, Brunel University LondonTechno-economics of Biomass Combustion Products in the Synthesis of Effective Low-cost Adsorbents for Carbon Capture01/09/2021Ongoing29,699

Please see below for the scope of the call, plus details on workshops supporting this funding call.

Read More: call details

UKCCSRC 2021 Funding Call

1. Scope of Call

The UKCCSRC invites proposals for CCS research projects supporting the UK Government’s net-zero objectives that address but are not limited to the following:

  • Seed funding for a piece of work that could lead to responsive mode applications
  • Work that can be used (e.g. a feasibility study) to establish a principle / understand the challenges for a larger bid to other sources of CCS funding later. [Noting that bid preparation in and of itself can’t be funded]
  • Research linked to problems identified and supported by industry or other CCS research users.

2. Call Process and Timeline

Key dates for the UKCCSRC 2021 Funding Call are:

3. Funding

Approximately £250K is available for between 5-8 projects, but the UKCCSRC Board is not obliged to allocate all of these funds during this call. Proposals are expected to be either:

  • £30k (100% FEC) for proposals with no additional funding.
  • £50k (100% FEC) for proposals that can obtain 20% (£10k) additional (cash) funding
  • It is envisaged that funding will be split approximately 25-75% between the £30k and £50k options

Notes for Proposers:

  • This call is for proposals to a fixed budget amount of either £30K or up to £50k (100% FEC)
  • Costings should be submitted at 100% FEC using a SINGLE dummy JeS form and include only EPSRC-eligible costs
  • Research organisations will be paid at 80% of FEC
  • Invoices will need to be accompanied by the UKCCSRC breakdown of expenditure form
  • No equipment purchase expenditure will be covered but applicants can request funds at reasonable UK academic researcher rates for the use of established research facilities
  • If you are successful with your application, you will be required to complete a project agreement with Sheffield on the terms set out in one of the following two templates (one template is for projects where you are the sole project partner and the second, for where you are the lead partner in a consortium). The project details will be added into the final agreement, but no other amendments will be made to the templates. In submitting your application to us, you agree to these terms.

4. Application submission process

Proposals will need to be submitted via the UKCCSRC website with all relevant documentation attached:

  • Brief online form (i.e. name, institute, Co-Is, how your proposal addresses the scope of the call etc.)
  • 2 page proposal
  • Dummy EPSRC JeS form with all sections filled in, only one JeS form will be accepted, all information must be collated into one JeS form for the lead PI’s institute (but no attachments)
  • Justification of Resources document
  • UKCCSRC Data and Information Archive Data Management Questionnaire
  • Unlimited pages of user support letters

The proposal must include:

  • The issues that the proposal addresses and links to relevant supporting policy material
  • Details of proposed research
  • Cost breakdowns (for proposals covering multiple organisations individual budgets will be required as part of the submission and costs by institution must be clearly identified in the dummy JeS and the Justification of Resources form)
  • Timetable/Gantt chart
  • Deliverables
  • Impact delivery means and activities

5. Eligibility

Members of all organisations eligible to receive EPSRC funding may participate in proposals, subject to them personally also meeting the EPSRC funding requirements. Note that the EPSRC’s Repeatedly Unsuccessful Applicants policy does not apply to this call. All proposals must have a UKCCSRC academic member as the Principal Investigator (see membership requirements) and individual UKCCSRC members can be PI in no more than one proposal.

6. Co-funding, industrial support and collaboration

The Centre is keen to encourage researchers to attract co-funding and industrial support for their proposals. Proposals that obtain cash co-funding in excess of £10k will be able to apply for £50k of funding, in-kind co-funding will be taken into account within the value for money assessment criteria, but does make the proposal eligible for the £50k funding. All applications will also be expected to show active engagement with industry or other research users.

Researchers that envisage collaboration with other UKRI funded bodies should seek advice beforehand from the UKCCSRC Secretariat in order to identify any potential contractual difficulties prior to proposal submission.

7. Application assessment process

Proposals will be assessed by independent reviewers reporting to the UKCCSRC Board and funding will be decided solely by the Board based on their recommendations. The review process will include consideration of the following factors; the Board may interpret and apply them as it sees fit to suit the particular circumstances.

FactorWeightingNotes
Does this proposal align well with the wider CCS landscape?Yes / NoOnly proposals considered to have made a good case that the research aligns to the wider CCS landscape and supports the Government’s net-zero objectives will be considered.
Quality of the research30%Relevant criteria include:

  • High quality science
  • Research team and project management
  • Appropriate collaboration and multi-disciplinarity
  • Credible planning and deliverables
  • Novelty in the research
  • Replication of research for validation purposes
Perceived value for money20%Relevant criteria include:

  • Cost per unit output – are the funds requested reasonable
  • Gearing with other funding
  • Effective use of resources
  • Capacity building consequences
Probability of impact (including commercial, policy and regulatory)20%Relevant criteria include:

  • Links with industry and other stakeholders
  • Translation of research to commercial impact (which could include via general industry improvements, better permitting guidelines etc.)
  • International reach
Research user support10%Possible examples:

  • Participation in meetings
  • Other in kind contributions
  • Financial contributions
  • Level of co-funding attracted
Impact delivery arrangements10%
  • Dissemination expected, such as papers, workshops and other direct user engagement (e.g. secondments) as appropriate.
Economic, social and environmental benefits10%
  • Engagement with public
  • Links with relevant stakeholders

8. Expected grant duration

Grants will be expected to run for a period from 3 months up to a maximum of 9 months.

All approved proposals should start no later than 1st September 2021. Any grants that are not making progress as planned by this date, or at any time subsequently, will have their funding allocation reviewed and may be withdrawn.

All approved proposals must end by 31st March 2022 in order to meet the objectives of the funding call. There will be no extensions past this point under any circumstances.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the UKCCSRC 2021 Funding Call please get in touch with Carys Blunt, Finance and Centre Manager on 0114 2157228.

The PI and Co-Is of the UKCCSRC grant are not acting as contact points for this call and will not be involved in the handling or review of received applications.

Deadline: 3pm 22nd April 2021

Applications are now closed.

Workshops supporting this call

‘What are our research needs’ workshops led by UK industry and policy makers hosted by UKCCSRC

The UKCCSRC hosted a series of workshops 22nd-24th March: UK academics who wish to apply to this fund may find it useful to note the key UK research needs identified and published following the workshops here. The aim of these workshops was to identify some of the key CCS research needs in conjunction with UK industry, regulators and policymakers, so that future research can support these needs.

You can see the identified research needs (plus video recordings and slides, where we have permission to share) from these workshops here.

Past calls

null

Flexible Funding Call 2020

null

Flexible Funding Call 2018