The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £2.5m in feasibility studies and collaborative research and development projects in the field of high-value chemicals. The competition is also being supported by Innovation Norway which intends to provide additional funding to Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that join UK-led projects.

We aim to encourage the development and commercialisation of innovative processes that will generate high-value chemicals through industrial biotechnology and biorefining.

Industrial biotechnology can help the chemical industry move away from a dependency on oil to a future based on renewable and biological substances. The aim of this competition is to help business to develop early-stage biotechnology projects into pilots and to turn pilots into commercially viable processes.

Both feasibility and collaborative R&D projects must include more than one organisation and be led by a UK business. Both types of project are also open to inclusion of one or more Norwegian small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).

Feasibility projects must be led by a UK SME. Collaborative R&D projects must be run at production scale and include an end user.

The competition opens on 19 September 2011 and closes at noon on 3 November 2011. We will invest up to £1m in feasibility studies. These projects are likely to have a total budget of between £150,000 and a maximum of £200,000 and will attract up to 75% public funding.

We will also invest up to £1.5m in collaborative R&D projects. These projects are likely to have a total budget of between £500,000 and a maximum of £1m and will attract up to 50% public funding.

There will be a briefing day for potential applicants on 27 September 2011.