What is the Freight Innovation Fund?

Funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered through Connected Places Catapult, the Freight Innovation Fund is a multi-faceted programme which will accelerate the adoption of commercially ready solutions into the sector.

About the Accelerator Programme cohort 4 (2025-26)

The Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator will support up to 15 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to develop a trial to test their solutions in real-world environments to help solve pressing challenges within the freight sector.

Following the first stage where up to 15 SMEs will be selected for the programme and receive £20,000 to develop a detailed trial proposal, up to 10 will then be selected by the DfT and Connected Places Catapult to receive further up to £130,000 to deliver their trial via a pre-commercial Pilot & Trial contract.

To foster a collaborative and mutually beneficial partnership, SMEs are expected to contribute 30% of the total project cost as matching funds.

SMEs have two options when applying to the programme:

• Apply to be matched with an industry partner 
  Connected Places Catapult will work with industry partners, who will provide access to testing environments and internal expertise. They will also play an active role in the SME selection as part of the due diligence process. The industry partners supporting the accelerator programme include DFDS, DHL, Port of Tyne, Portsmouth International Port, Welch Group, Wincanton and Veterans into Logistics. If you would like to get additional details about the programme partners, their motivations, potential trial facilities and resources available, please click here.
• Apply with your own Industry Partner
  We also welcome applications from SMEs who already have a partner they wish to trial their solutions with and can offer access to testbed facilities.

Bespoke support for successful SMEs

As part of the programme, SMEs will also benefit from trial and business support tailored to their needs. This will include but is not limited to trial design training, monitoring and evaluation, investment readiness, pitch coaching, marketing support, and business modelling.

All applicants will also be able to join the Freight Innovation Cluster, a community for stakeholders operating in the freight industry. Learn more here

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Point of contact

If you have any questions about the programme and application, please contact our Freight Innovation Fund Team, FreightInnovationFund@cp.catapult.org.uk

Industry Partners

Equality & Diversity

Connected Places Catapult and the Department for Transport are collecting equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) data as part of the application process to promote and ensure equality of access for the programmes it delivers. This data will help us monitor the performance of efforts to promote ED&I in research and business innovation. All personal data will be processed in accordance with current UK data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Connected Places Catapult are part of the Catapult Network Inclusivity in Innovation Charter

Funding information

*The DfT will provide up to £20,000 to the 15 selected SMEs to support the development of their trial proposals. Following this, up to 10 SMEs will be awarded up to £130,000 each to deliver their trials. The exact amount awarded will depend on the scope and requirements of the submitted trial proposal.

Connected Places Catapult will procure these services under a pre-commercial Pilot & Trial contract. The funding does not constitute a grant and will therefore not be subject to Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) regulations. Further details can be found in the application guidance.

To foster a collaborative and mutually beneficial partnership, SMEs are expected to contribute 30% of the total project cost as matching funds. For instance, if the total project costs is £100,000 you should apply for £70,000 in  funding from the Freight Innovation Fund programme and contribute £30,000 as matching funds.

Designed to be in-kind, the matching fund could include but is not limited to:

• Labour costs
• Overheads
• Materials costs
• Capital usage (property, equipment, facilities)
• Subcontractor costs
• Travel and subsistence costs
• Other costs – Workshop/lab usage charge outs, training costs, preparation of technical reports, market assessment, licensing in new technologies and patent filing costs of new IP.

Fee payment structure:

Trial Design: £20,000

Trial Delivery: Up to £130,000

• 60% payable at the start of the live programme
• 40% payable upon completion of the programme

You will be required to provide evidence of match funding.