If your company is innovation-driven and growing, but you want to take it to the next level, Innovate UK is here to help.

Innovate UK EDGE have announced an SME Growth Fund, awarding up to £15,000 of grant funding to ambitious high growth SMEs registered in the UK who are looking to scale and innovate. The Catapult Network, including the Satellite Applications Catapult, is taking part in this scheme as supplier, providing our Business Support Sessions as well as access to our Facilities.

Businesses that are suitable for the service and the appropriate use of the grant funding include:

• Businesses that need to explore and test new product ideas
• Provision of technical expertise and sector knowledge
• Advice on regulatory and government processes along with access to networks of customers, services and funders.
• Identifying opportunities for R&D, collaboration and partnership building
• Sector specific expert advice and support with market analysis, cost modelling, business‐case support, creation of industry‐relevant R&D project plans
• Businesses that need sector specific advice and support to commercialise their innovation and their adoption, improve efficiency, make their business operations more sustainable, or investigate market gaps, Catapults have dedicated teams to explore specific needs in detail. 

Apply

To start your application process, please reach out to Innovate UK via their website.

SME SUPPORT PROGRAMMES

Sprint Programme – Short burst, high intensity workshops that supports companies with market, technology or user needs to develop a strategy for the next stage of their business: https://sa.catapult.org.uk/business-sprints/

• Market Sprint – Explore commercial opportunities for product/service concepts 
• User Sprint – Customer and user engagement and validation 
• Technology Sprint – Explore and validate space technologies
• Service Design Sprint – Service design and blueprinting
• Commercialisation Sprint – Development of go-to market strategies 
• Communication Sprint – Communication of value to stakeholders

Westcott Incubator – Bespoke start-up support services for 5G, drones, and propulsion start-ups: https://wbic.org.uk/

Rapid Commercialisation – Fail-safe exploration of the value of space-based datasets for non-space start-ups, primes, and government

Scale-Up Programme – Bespoke business support package tailored to companies needs covering market intelligence & access, access to finance and investment, network and supply chain building.

FACILITIES PACKAGES

Disruptive Innovation for Space Centre (DISC) – Bespoke packages providing access to design, protypoing, assembly integration and testing facilities: design software, cleanrooms, vibration table, thermal cycle testing, RF testing, antenna testing, prototype and low volume production facility, near-field (non-reflective chamber), far-field testing ranges and equipment. Coming soon: metal 3D printing rapid prototyping: https://sa.catapult.org.uk/facilities/disc/

Future Networks Development Centre and Drone Testing Facilities (at Westcott) – Access to 5G telecoms hardware, software, platform and the latest generation of equipment, offering an environment designed to enable product prototyping and product development to start-ups, SMEs and other businesses. Drone testing support packages: https://futurenetworks.space/

Data Acquisition & Command Control

• Goonhilly Ground Segment – Access to ground station capability comprised of S and X band tracking dish antenna, VHF and UHF high-gain al-el tracking Yagis, remote access and scheduling using InfoStellar StellarStation: https://sa.catapult.org.uk/facilities/goonhilly-ground-segment/
• National Operations and On Orbit Service Centre – Access to a robust flight operations centre for a variety of mission profiles. It is comprised of a virtualised software hosting platform for mission-specific tools hosted in CEMS, workstations configured as thin clients, videowall with capability for full HD replication of any or all workstations: https://sa.catapult.org.uk/facilities/operations-centre/
• Geospatial Data Storage and Access – Bespoke package of support on how to use satellite imagery. Data Access and Storage services include SEDAS, CEMS and DDH. The most appropriate choice depends on the requirement details: https://sa.catapult.org.uk/work-with-us/our-capabilities/accessing-satellite-data/