UK–Germany ZIM call 2026: Round 5 with Innovate UK open until 1 December
German SMEs currently have very few ways into ZIM funding. One of them opened on 28 September 2026: the 5th UK–Germany call with Innovate UK, open until 1 December 2026.
Since 7 July 2026, Germany's Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) has stopped accepting regular applications. The exception: projects with international partners submitted under open bilateral and multilateral calls. The UK–Germany call run by Innovate UK and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) is one of them.
What is funded – and where the catch is
Joint R&D projects between German and British companies that lead to new products, processes or technical services with a clear route to market. On the German side the call is open to all technologies. Innovate UK, however, limits this round to industrial research in three sectors:
Clean Energy
Life Sciences
Engineering Biology
A project is only funded if Innovate UK and the German project management agency AiF Projekt GmbH each select it independently. In practice, the UK sector focus therefore applies to the whole consortium.
For microelectronics, sensor and electrical engineering companies, the way in is the application: power electronics for energy conversion, storage and grids fits Clean Energy; sensors, diagnostics and medical devices fit Life Sciences.
Who can apply
German side (ZIM, managed by AiF Projekt GmbH):
SMEs under the EU definition and mid-sized companies with fewer than 500 employees
Companies with fewer than 1,000 employees if they cooperate with at least one funded SME
Research organisations as partners of eligible companies
Each German partner submits its own ZIM application, written in German
UK side (Innovate UK):
The UK lead must be a UK-registered SME
Further UK partners can be businesses of any size, universities or research and technology organisations
At least one independent German business must apply to ZIM in parallel
Funding and key rules
German companies: ZIM cooperation project rules apply – eligible costs of up to €560,000 per company, funding rates of 40–60% for projects with foreign partners depending on company size and location.
German research organisations: eligible costs of up to €280,000, funded at up to 100%.
UK partners: grants of £100,000 to £350,000 per project, up to 70% for small and up to 60% for medium-sized companies; total UK budget up to £2.4 million.
Duration: 12 to 24 months (UK requirement), project start 1 August 2027.
Balance: no country and no partner may account for more than 70% of total project costs; both sides must make a significant technical contribution.
Documents: in addition to the national applications, a joint Proposal Application Form in English, signed by all partners.
Key dates
12 October 2026, 14:00 CEST: Innovate UK online briefing (13:00 UK time)
around 20 October 2026: AiF recommends that first-time ZIM applicants get in touch at least six weeks before the deadline
1 December 2026, 12:00 CET: submission deadline (11:00 UK time)
30 April 2027: funding decisions
1 August 2027: project start
Our assessment
Innovate UK itself puts the success rate of comparable competitions at around 10%. With £2.4 million and up to £350,000 per project, the UK budget covers only a single-digit number of large projects. This call is not for everyone.
It is realistic for companies that
already know a British partner or can find one within the next two to three weeks,
have a project that clearly falls into one of the three sectors, and
can plan for a project start in summer 2027.
If you have no partner yet, Innovate UK Business Connect helps with partner search. If no viable consortium is in place by the end of October, your time is better spent on the next round or on alternatives.
Alternatives while regular ZIM is paused
Other ZIM international calls, e.g. with Taiwan (until 28 October 2026) and France (until 18 November 2026)
Regional programmes such as SAB R&D project funding in Saxony, ProFIT by ILB in Brandenburg or the TAB FTI guideline in Thuringia
How we can help
In a 20-minute call we check whether your project fits the call and whether the timeline is realistic. We then support the German ZIM application including the project description, align it with the UK application and help with partner search.
Sources
Innovate UK competition page: UK-Germany Bilateral Collaborative R&D Round 5
German contact: AiF Projekt GmbH, zim-international@aif-projekt-gmbh.de
Information as of 3 October 2026. Please check the official call documents before applying.
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