Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Aerospace
  • /
  • Innovate UK announces £4.5m PEMD competition fund

Aerospace

Innovate UK announces £4.5m PEMD competition fund

Innovate UK, part of UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), has announced a new funding competition that will put the UK at the forefront of the research and manufacture of the power electronics, machines and drives (PEMD) sector.

Image courtesy Innovate UK

Investing up to £4.5 million into the sector, the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge’s Building Talent for the Future 2 competition aims to encourage the creation and delivery of industry-focused course content and materials to support skills and training across PEMD manufacturing and supply chains.

Advertisement
ODU RT

Building awareness of PEMD whilst filling key gaps in the UK’s workforce talent and training capabilities, the competition will be run in two stages:

  1. Opening on Monday 10th January 2022, organisations interested in applying for a grant valued between £50,000 and £1,000,000 will be required to submit an expression of interest (EOI) by Wednesday 2nd March 2022
  2. Upon receipt of an EOI, successful organisations will then be invited to apply for funding in March 2022.

Organisations submitting an EOI must deliver a clear game-changing intervention or address a clear industrial requirement whilst providing a long-term commitment to supporting the UK PEMD industry talent need. Organisations looking for a funding grant of less than £50,000 will not be required to submit at EOI, but will be required to submit their full proposal in March 2022.

Professor Will Drury, Challenge Director for Driving the Electric Revolution, said: “If we are to meet our Net Zero commitments by 2050, industry needs to move to clean technologies and electrification. PEMD technologies underpin electrification in all sectors and the UK is a world leader in the development of PEMD technology. But for years now we’ve lacked the skills needed to bring these ideas to reality.

“Without a skilled workforce we cannot create a strong PEMD manufacturing supply chain in the UK, forcing us to import these technologies from around the world.”

Advertisement
ODU RT

“By investing in skills, talent and training in this sector we aim to support the growth of not only the UK’s PEMD supply chains, but its people too.”

For further information or to register your interest in the Building Talent for the Future 2 – Expression of Interest Briefing at 10am on Wednesday 12th January, please visit: https://ktn-uk.org/events/building-talent-for-the-future-2-expression-of-interest-briefing

 

 

Advertisement
General Atomics LB
Red Hat to enhance EUROCONTROL air traffic management system

Aerospace

Red Hat to enhance EUROCONTROL air traffic management system

11 May 2026

Red Hat today announced it is helping EUROCONTROL deliver a unified digital platform to enhance organisational resilience and accelerate innovation in air traffic management, replacing 25-year-old legacy systems using Red Hat OpenShift.

Intralink to drive Amprius drone battery tech into South Korea

Aerospace Defence Security

Intralink to drive Amprius drone battery tech into South Korea

11 May 2026

Business development consultancy Intralink, has been appointed by Silicon Valley battery specialist Amprius Technologies, to deepen its presence in South Korea, one of Asia’s most active markets for drones, robotics and advanced mobility.

Manchester Airport Skills partnership wins Educate North Award

Aerospace Events

Manchester Airport Skills partnership wins Educate North Award

11 May 2026

Trafford & Stockport College Group and Manchester Airports Group (MAG) are celebrating after winning a prestigious Educate North Award (ENA), recognising the success of the Manchester Airport Skills Hub partnership.

Airports across the UK taking part in health and safety week

Aerospace Events

Airports across the UK taking part in health and safety week

11 May 2026

Airports Health and Safety Week was launched today at Luton Airport and will be taking place at sites up and down the country until Friday 15th May.

Advertisement
ODU RT
NMITE graduates find jobs in local aerospace and defence

Aerospace Defence Events

NMITE graduates find jobs in local aerospace and defence

11 May 2026

The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE)  celebrated the achievements of its second cohort of 20 students at Hereford Cathedral on 9th May, who graduated with either a BEng (Hons) or MEng (Hons) Integrated Engineering degree, with companies such as Airbus and BAE Systems among those now hiring NMITE ...

Heathrow sustains strong demand in April

Aerospace

Heathrow sustains strong demand in April

11 May 2026

April passenger numbers decreased by 5% year on year to 6.7 million, reflecting the ongoing impact of the Middle East conflict on some markets and short-term adjustments to travel plans, yet underlying demand remained resilient, with strong transfer passenger demand continuing into April with a 10% increase year on year.

Advertisement
ODU RT
Advertisement
Hexagon leaderboard