EPSRC South Wales Compound Semiconductor Place Based Impact Acceleration Account (SWCS PBIAA)
SWCS PBIAA funding is available for up to 5 early-stage commercialisation projects that require support from expertise and facilities available at Cardiff University Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS) or Swansea University Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Manufacture (CISM), or any other Cluster entity, to set up a company and innovate in South Wales.
Closing date: Monday 13th October 2025
Calls to action and opportunities list
Find here the latest opportunities and calls to action for the semiconductor sector.
New Calls and Events
Webinar - Introduction to Horizon Europe
This one-hour webinar is purposefully designed to help those with no or low recent knowledge about Horizon Europe gain an understanding of the opportunities it offers, and the basics about how to explore these opportunities further for yourself. Takes place: 18 September, then repeated on 15 October, 19 November and 17 December 2025
EU-Taiwan Matchmaking Event 2025
The European Commission (EC), through the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), will host the EU–Taiwan Matchmaking Event in Taipei, Taiwan on 21 October - 23 October 2025. The EU– Taiwan Matchmaking Event aims to foster collaboration between European clusters, SMEs, and Taiwanese partners in key industries.
Advanced materials: highlight notice
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is seeking to support applications through their standard research grant scheme in the following two areas:
- advanced materials solutions for critical minerals
- in-situ and in-operando materials metrology and characterisation
Existing Calls and Events
HMGCC Co-Creation Challenge: Development of advanced electromagnetic sensors
The latest research into advanced radiofrequency (RF) sensing capabilities is being sought in a new 16 week, funded project, by HMGCC Co-Creation. Competition closes: Thursday 18 September 2025 at 5pm
Semiconductor Industry Workshop
Join the team from REACT - the £6m UKRI-funded Responsible Electronics and Circular Technology Centre - along with leading voices from industry, academia, and government for this Industry Workshop. Date: 18 September 2025
Horizon Europe Brokerage Visits 2025/2026
Innovate UK, in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the UK Science & Technology Network (STN), and the UK National Contact Points, will be leading Horizon Europe Brokerage Visits from September 2025.
- Germany – Advanced Materials, Raw Materials and Chemicals – 23-25 September 2025
- Netherlands – Innovative Advanced Materials/Technologies & AI for Manufacturing – 1-4 December 2025
2025 STFC Cross Cluster Proof of Concept: SparQ Quantum Computing Call
This call seeks business-led projects focusing on practical applications and use cases relevant to the public, private, and charitable sectors. It aims to identify and develop early practical applications and use cases for quantum computing and analyse these applications to understand the software and hardware requirements. Registration closes: 30 September 2025 at 12:00PM
Materials and Manufacturing Show and Tell Series - Expression of Interest
Use this link to register your interest in taking part in Innovate UK Business Connect's Materials and Manufacturing Show and Tell series. These take place every Wednesday from 12pm - 1pm and will restart on Wednesday 1st October.
DRIVE35 innovation fund: collaborate
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £40 million for late-stage collaborative research and development projects. Your project will support the UK’s transition to zero emission vehicles and a pathway to a net zero automotive industry. Closing date: 1 October 2025 11:00am UK time
Drive35 innovation fund: demonstrate
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £40 million for late-stage demonstration research and development projects. Projects will support the UK’s transition to zero emission vehicles and a pathway to a net zero automotive industry. Closing date: 1 October 2025 11:00am UK time
Exhibit at SEDEX 2025 with the Department for Business and Trade Building on our successful participation in 2024, British Embassy Seoul is leading another UK delegation to SEDEX in October 2025.
Horizon Europe 2025 work programme Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space
The European Commission has pre-published all of the 2025 Horizon Europe Work Programmes, which list the funding opportunities under the 2025 call topics. Topics available under Horizon Europe’s Cluster 4 programme for 2025/26, with up to €75m available for the largest single projects. Closing date: 02 October 2025
Call for input: techUK’s 6 devolved tech priorities for 2026
Connect with DBT at SEMICON West Arizona - October 2025
DBT are gathering insights from UK companies attending SEMICON West in Arizona this year to help coordinate opportunities, support, and connections.
DASA - Innovation in Support of Operations | Phase 2
Funded by the Ministry of Defence, DASA launches Phase Two of Innovation in Support of Operations - a Themed Competition seeking fast paced scalable proposals across five new challenge areas. Aim: To identify and accelerate innovative solutions and techniques, ensuring they can be scaled and deployed faster than adversaries. Closing: 05 August 2025 12:00 Midday; 14 October 2025 12:00 Midday (BST)
The VInnovate Call 2025 will open on 2 May (17:00 CET)
Following the successful implementation of the VInnovate Call 2024, the Vanguard Initiative is launching a second Call in the framework of its own Interregional Funding Mechanism, designed to enable the funding of industry-led international projects. Closing of the submission of “full” proposals: 15 October 2025
Competition overview - Canada-UK Semiconductors - Innovation Funding Service
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to invest at least £1 million in innovation projects. The aim of this competition is to stimulate the development of innovative semiconductor technologies. Competition closes: Wednesday 15 October 2025 11:00am.
Global Business Innovation Programme - Robotics & Automation in Manufacturing, South Korea
Innovate UK is inviting ambitious innovative companies to participate in a 9-12 month programme to help them grow in the South Korean market. Closing date: 30 October 23:59
CS MANTECH 2026 Call for Papers
Submissions are open to submit abstracts for CS MANTECH 2026, which will take place in Portland, Oregon, USA. Abstract submissions close on 31st October 2025
Future Leaders Fellowships: Round 10, business and non-academic
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £110 million for ambitious research and innovation projects in any sector, and tailored support to develop careers for future leaders. This funding is from UKRI. Competition opens: Monday 23 June 2025. Competition closes: Wednesday 5 November 2025 11:00am
SAT/SETB recruitment 2025 for 2026 start
EPSRC is welcoming applicants for vacancies on their Science, Engineering and Technology Board (SETB) and on their Strategic Advisory Teams (SATs). Seeking applications from individuals with experience in either academia, industry, users of research, or in the third sector and government organisations. Closes: 07 November 2025
Call for Abstracts for the Annual MicroTech 2026 Conference
IMAPS-UK announces this call for abstracts, with the theme of Driving Innovation in Semiconductor Packaging. The MicroTech 2026 Conference will be held at the King’s Conference Centre, Southampton on Thursday 26 March 2026. Abstracts are due by Friday 28th November 2025.
The QuantERA III Consortium announces a new Call for international research projects in Quantum Technologies. Funding: ca. €53M. Deadline for proposals submission: 05 December 2025, 17.00 CET
Wales Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition
This event, taking place on February 26th at ICC, Newport, Wales, is a premier national gathering of manufacturers, supply chain specialists, engineers, and decision-makers shaping the future of Welsh industry.
Help Shape a New Advanced Packaging Conference at CS/PIC/PE International 2026
With growing industry focus on chiplets, heterogeneous integration, and packaging innovation, we want to explore the need for a technical, application-focused event dedicated to this space.
Open-ended Calls
CSA Catapult Business Impact Survey 2025
This survey is designed to find out about the experiences of organisations that have engaged with the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, and how this has had an impact on them and their work.
The EIC Accelerator is a funding programme under Horizon Europe that offers support to start-ups and SMEs that are looking for substantial funding, have the ambition and commitment to scale up, and have an innovative, game changing product.
The EIC Transition is a funding programme under Horizon Europe targeting innovation activities that goes beyond the experimental proof of principle in laboratory. It supports both the maturation and validation of novel technologies from the lab to the relevant application environments.
EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Scale Up Scheme
This scheme is part of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), offering financial support in the form of investments to startups, SMEs, and small mid-caps, between EUR 10 to 30 million.
Semiconductor Packaging Survey
This survey is a vital step in helping the UK Government fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the UK semiconductor packaging sector and identify critical gaps in the supply chain where targeted intervention may be needed.
NPL has launched Measurement for Business (M4B)
Are you a UK company that qualifies for M4B funding? M4B can give you access to NPL's specialist measurement science and engineering experts and facilities, at no charge, to help your business grow.
The Flexible Skills Programme (FSP) is a Welsh Government funded initiative that helps businesses across Wales build a stronger, more skilled workforce. Employers can apply for funding to cover up to 50% of the accredited training costs, with a maximum value of £50,000 per application.
Travel support for UK businesses to attend European events in 2025 & 2026
Innovate UK is offering Travel Support of up to £750 for companies to attend Horizon Europe consortia-building events in Europe.
Pre-announcement: Local Innovation Partnerships Fund
This programme earmarks at least £30 million for each of ten regions across the UK, including one in each of the devolved nations. The programme is designed to support places that have an identifiable innovation ecosystem, with high-potential innovation clusters aligned to national policy priorities.
UK Quantum Skills Taskforce report
The Quantum Skills Taskforce is a sector-wide coalition, including representatives from industry, academia, professional societies, national labs, and government departments and agencies. The Taskforce has considered the current and future skills needs of the sector, and how these needs could be met.
Agile Cymru
Agile Cymru is a scaleable programme of coordinated action, an agile tool to deliver greater economic co-operation at speed, guided by the International Strategy and our economic policies. This includes a flexible grant mechanism to support cross-border and international activity that maximises shared opportunities across themes, sectors, and geographies. Agile Cymru funding can support a wide range of activity; the focus is on the outcome and benefit for Wales.
Made Smarter Innovation Network: Digital & AI in Manufacturing
Made Smarter Innovation has identified AI as a keystone industrial digital technology, strategic to all sectors, and other digital technologies are critical to making AI useful. By filling out this short survey, you will directly contribute to shaping the future of AI and digital technologies within industry.
SMART Flexible Innovation Support (FIS) | Business Wales (gov.wales)
The Welsh Government is building a stronger, fairer, greener country, with an economy based on fair work, sustainability and the sectors of the future. SMART Flexible Innovation Support (FIS) is open to any organisation wishing to engage in Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I), including the third sector, local authorities and health boards. Open ended
Academic-Industry Partnerships In Cardiff Capital Region
Jointly funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) the Academic-Industry Partnerships programme, part of the Cluster Development and Growth Programme, aims to bring together industry and academia to identify innovative solutions to enterprise challenges, particularly amongst micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Open ended
Strategic Innovation Fund: Round 5 Challenges
Innovation Challenge 1: Advanced Energy Transmission and Networks: How can we leverage breakthroughs in semiconductor, superconductor,
and wireless power transmission technologies to enhance grid performance? Projects applying to this challenge should align with and build upon existing UK and international initiatives in advanced energy transmission. Applicants should consider how their innovations complement prior research and industry developments.
The Innovate UK Scaleup Programme: for high potential scaleup businesses
Share your news and opportunities with us at comms@csconnected.com.