FAQs

The ETI is focused on outcomes, and as such adopts a flexible approach towards each programme.  Therefore, some calls to action will take the form of an expression of interest, whilst others may require proposal submission.

The ETI can fund up to 100% of the eligible costs of a project.  However, each project will be considered individually to determine the appropriate level of funding and balance of funding between the ETI and the project participants, based upon a number of factors including how the ownership and licensing of arising Intellectual Property is dealt with.  It is likely that if a project consortium wishes to reserve certain rights to the arising IP from a project to one or more of the project participants, a substantial contribution to the costs of the project will be required from the project participants.

All ETI Industry Members may bid for funding in the same way as any other party seeking funding from the ETI.
The ETI Industry Members (BP, Caterpillar, EDF, E.ON UK, Rolls-Royce and Shell) are closely involved in setting the ETI’s overall strategy and setting direction and priorities for each Programme area and will participate in the overall management of Programmes and projects  This is one of the strengths of the ETI, as these companies bring engineering expertise and potential routes to commercialisation. 
If any of the ETI Industry Members choose to bid, they will be engaged in the project development process in the same way as other organisations. The ETI has Conflict of Interest policy to ensure that all requests for funding are treated in the same way.

Public sector funding for the ETI is subject to EU state aid rules.  This limits the proportion of public sector funding for a particular project depending on the classification of the type of work being carried out and the nature of the entity receiving funding.  However, due to the fact that the ETI is funded partly from public funds and partly from non public funds, the ETI has the flexibility to fund projects up to 100% of the eligible costs while still complying with the EU state aid rules. 

The ETI has a set of IP principles which govern how IP should be dealt with on ETI funded projects.  These IP principles will be reflected in the technology contract which the project participants will enter into with the ETI.

Among other matters, the IP principles address who should own the arising IP and the rights of the Industry Members and project participants to exploit that arising IP.  The IP principles also deal with how pre-existing IP should be licensed, both for the conduct of the project and, where required, for the exploitation of any arising IP.

The ETI recognises that a single model may not be suitable for each and every project.  Therefore, the IP principles have sufficient flexibility to allow the ETI to tailor the treatment of IP to fit the needs of a particular project, if this is appropriate.

On submission of an EoI an automated receipt response is issued.  Notification of the Project Building Workshop will be sent out soon after the EoI deadline.  Most communication will be handled via email, so we strongly recommend you add the ETI address to your ‘safe senders’ listing to ensure that our emails are not stopped by your firewall.

Once the call is closed and we have received EoIs for a Programme, we record the information and submit the EoIs to a “Sift panel”.  The Panel comprises of ETI staff, representatives from ETI member companies, and independent experts in the Programme field.

The members of the panel use their professional judgment to invite organisations that offer a range of skills and experience,  most likely to create innovative consortia with the necessary skills sets to deliver the best possible projects.  Typically, 30-40 organisations will be invited to attend.

The Panel’s selection criteria are:

• Level of expertise, technology and/or intellectual property directly relating to, or readily transferable to, the identified Focus Areas in the Call;
• Track record in Research, Development and Demonstration (R,D & D) in areas relevant to the Call;
• Track record of implementing or bringing to market innovative products, services or processes;
• Track record of collaboration with other organisations.

We do not expect that any one organisation will be able to satisfy all the above criteria.

The Sift Panel needs to ensure that they achieve a suitable balance of organisations at the workshop, ensuring that relevant technology areas, skill-sets and organisation types are represented. Decisions are made by consensus by the Sift Panel. We regret that the ETI cannot give feedback on individual cases.

As a result of this submission, a balanced group of approx. 30-40 organisations will be invited to attend a Project Building Workshop, where they will be encouraged to form consortia to devise and deliver projects in the Programme area.

If you are unsuccessful, you will receive an email advising you as such and thanking you for your efforts.  We appreciate the time that people put into creating their submissions.

However, subject to your approval, you may still be invited by the consortia that are formed at the workshop, to join them.  If you agree to make your EoI submission available at the Project Building Workshop, then if a consortium needs to add expertise in a particular area, they can review the submissions and may choose to contact you.     

Your key partners should submit EoI forms which indicate your project idea and consortium members.