Zero Emission Flight Demonstrator Round 1

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of a minimum of £8 million for developing zero emission capable flight in the UK, subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. This funding is from DfT.

  • Competition opens: Monday 16 February 2026
  • Competition closes: Wednesday 1 April 2026 11:00am

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest a minimum of £8 million from the Department of Transport (DFT). This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.

The aim of this competition is to demonstrate zero emission commercial capable flight in the UK.

Your proposal must progress the development of one or more of:

  • flight operations for zero emission aircraft
  • ground handling and infrastructure technologies needed to handle zero emission aircraft
  • standards and a regulatory environment for zero emission commercial flights
  • the evidence base on the feasibility of zero emission aircraft for commercial aviation

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.

We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.

We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.

Find out more and apply.

Closing date: 1 April 2026