Guidance

State aid notification: Research, Development, Innovation Scheme

• From: Innovate UK
• Published: 16 December 2019
• Last updated: 24 February 2022

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Introduction

The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Innovate UK Research, Development and Innovation Scheme provides the State aid coverage with the majority of support provided by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, which is part of UKRI, in line with the General Block Exemption Regulation. The Scheme itself does not provide any additional funding or budget.

UKRI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and was established by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. It has been set up by bringing together the 7 research councils, Innovate UK, and the research and knowledge exchange functions of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Aid reference

SA.55252

Member state

UK

Member state reference number

UKRI-RDIS/2019

Region

The Scheme covers all Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) areas of the UK.

Granting authority

The granting authority for the Scheme is:

UK Research and Innovation
Polaris House
North Star Avenue
Swindon
SN2 1FL

UKRI website

Title of aid measure

UKRI and Innovate UK Research, Development and Innovation Scheme.

European legal basis

The scheme operates under Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty as published in the Official Journal of the EU on 26 June 2014 (the “Regulation”).

National legal basis

The Scheme operates under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

Type of measure

The UKRI and Innovate UK Research, Development and Innovation Scheme is a scheme providing funding for research, development, innovation and environmental protection programmes, projects and activities, where the beneficiaries are predominately businesses of all sizes, research and knowledge dissemination organisations and academia.

Amendment of an existing aid scheme

This notification amends the Innovate UK (Technology Strategy Board) Research, Development and Innovation Scheme, State aid reference no: SA.40761 (2015/X).

Duration

The notification covering the Scheme will operate from 1 January 2015 until 31 December 2022.

Date of granting, (revised)

30 August 2019

Economic sector(s) covered

All economic sectors eligible to receive aid.

Type of beneficiary

The main types of beneficiary for the Scheme are SMEs and large undertakings and also includes research and knowledge dissemination organisations and academia.

Total annual amount of the budget planned under the Scheme

The total budget for the Scheme has been estimated at £1 billion each year.

Aid instrument

All aid awarded under the Scheme will be transparent and in line with criteria set out in Article 5 of the General Block Exemption Regulation. Aid may be awarded by way of:

• grants
• loans
• repayable advances.

General Block Exemption Regulation aid measures to be implemented

Primary objective

The primary objective of the Scheme is to support research, development, innovation and environmental protection activities primarily in undertakings and research organisations. The Scheme is to allow the stimulation of research and development (R&D) and innovation activity, encouraging businesses to develop innovative products, processes and services with future commercial potential as well as to support areas of environmental protection.

Objectives

The key objectives are:

• to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation
• encourage collaboration and effective cooperation between companies and research organisations including higher education institutions to raise both the level and the quality of commercially relevant R&D activity
• help boost the levels of R&D&I expenditure in businesses and higher education and increase the number of businesses performing R&D&I
• to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) grow and prosper
• to support environmental protection.

Definitions

For the purposes of the Scheme:

• any reference to an “Article” shall mean an Article of the Regulation
• the definitions set out in Article 2 of the Regulation shall apply to the descriptions of the types of aid outlined below

Aid measures

The UKRI and Innovate UK Research, Development and Innovation Scheme provides the State aid coverage with the majority of support provided by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, which is part of UKRI in line with the General Block Exemption Regulation. The Scheme itself does not provide any additional funding or budget.

It should be noted that the aid amounts stated reflect the maximum levels of support permitted under the Regulation and UKRI and Innovate UK may set lower aid intensities for specific products or programmes created under the Scheme, taking into account the strategic rationale and market failure being addressed through the aid.

Aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs

Any aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs shall be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 18 of the Regulation.

Eligible costs shall be the costs of consultancy services provided by external consultants.

The aid intensity shall not exceed 50% of eligible costs.

The services concerned shall not be a continuous or periodic activity nor relate to a company’s usual operating costs (for example routine tax consultancy, legal services or advertising).

The maximum amount of aid that can be granted under this provision is EUR 2 million per undertaking per project.

Aid to SMEs for participation in fairs

Any aid for SMEs for participation in fairs shall be provided in accordance with Article 19.

Eligible costs shall be the costs incurred for renting, setting up and running the stand for the participation of an undertaking in any particular fair or exhibition.

The aid intensity shall not exceed 50% of eligible costs.

The maximum amount of aid that can be granted under this provision is EUR 2 million per year.

Aid for start-ups

Any aid for start-ups shall be provided in accordance with Article 22. The aid shall take the form of:

• loans with interest rates which are not conform with market conditions, with a duration of 10 years and up to a maximum nominal amount of EUR 1 million, or EUR 1.5 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. For loans with a duration comprised between 5 and 10 years the maximum amounts may be adjusted by multiplying the amounts above by the ratio between 10 years and the actual duration of the loan. For loans with a duration of less than 5 years, the maximum amount shall be the same as for loans with a duration of 5 years.
• guarantees with premiums which are not conform with market conditions, with a duration of 10 years and up to maximum EUR 1.5 million of amount guaranteed, or EUR 2.25 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. For guarantees with a duration comprised between 5 and 10 years the maximum amount guaranteed amounts may be adjusted by multiplying the amounts above the ratio between 10 years and the actual duration of the guarantee. For guarantees with a duration of less than 5 years, the maximum amount guaranteed shall be the same as for guarantees with a duration of 5 years. The guarantee shall not exceed 80% of the underlying loan.
• grants, including equity or quasi equity investment, interests rate and guarantee premium reductions up to EUR 0,4 million gross grant equivalent or EUR 0,6 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty.

A beneficiary can receive support through a mix of the aid instruments listed above, provided that the proportion of the amount granted through 1 aid instrument, calculated on the basis of the maximum aid amount allowed for that instrument, is taken into account in order to determine the residual proportion of the maximum aid amount allowed for the other instruments forming part of such a mixed instrument.

For small and innovative enterprises, the maximum amounts set out above may be doubled.

Aid for scouting costs

Any aid for scouting costs shall be provided in accordance with Article 24.

Eligible costs are the costs of initial screening and formal due diligence undertaken by managers of financial intermediaries or investors to identify eligible undertakings for risk finance aid or aid for start ups within the meaning of the Scheme.

The aid intensity shall not exceed 50% of eligible costs.

Aid for research and development projects

Any aid for research and development projects shall be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 25.

Support can be provided for:

• fundamental research
• industrial research
• experimental development and
• feasibility studies

The eligible costs of research and development projects shall be allocated to a specific category of research and development and are as set out in paragraph 3 of Article 25.

The eligible costs for feasibility studies are the costs of the study.

The aid intensities for research and development projects are set out in the table below:

	Small enterprise	Medium sized enterprise	Large enterprise
Aid for R&D projects
Fundamental research	100%	100%	100%
Industrial research	70%	60%	50%
1. The project involves effective collaboration or 2. The results of the project are widely disseminated (i)	80%	75%	65%
Experimental development	45%	35%	25%
1. The project involves effective collaboration or 2. The results of the project are widely disseminated (i)	60%	50%	40%
Aid for feasibility studies	70%	60%	50%

(i) the project involves effective collaboration:

between undertakings among which at least 1 is an SME or is carried out in at least 2 Member States, or in a Member State and in a Contracting Party of the EEA Agreement, and no single undertaking bears more than 70% of the eligible costs or
between an undertaking and 1 or more research and knowledge dissemination organisations where the latter bear at least 10% of the eligible costs and have the right to publish their own research results
(ii) the results of the project are widely disseminated through conferences, publication, open access repositories or free or open source software.

The maximum amount of aid that can be granted under this provision is:

• if the project is predominately fundamental research: EUR 40 million per undertaking, per project
• if the project is predominately industrial research: EUR 20 million per undertaking, per project
• if the project is predominately experimental development: EUR 15 million per undertaking, per project
• in the case of aid for feasibility studies: EUR 7.5 million per study

The maximum amounts above for fundamental research, industrial research and experimental development may be:

• doubled if the project is a EUREKA project or implemented by a Joint Undertaking established on the basis of Article 185 or 187 of the Treaty
• increased by 50% if aid is granted in the form of a repayable advance

Investment aid for research infrastructures

Any aid for the construction of upgrade of research infrastructures that perform economic activities shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of Article 26.

Access to infrastructure shall be open to several users and be granted on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. The price charge for operation or use of the infrastructure shall correspond to a market price. Undertakings which have financed at least 10% of the investment costs of the infrastructure may be granted preferential access under more favourable conditions. In order to avoid overcompensation, such access shall be proportional to the undertaking’s contribution to the investment costs and these conditions shall be made publicly available.

Eligible costs are investment costs in tangible and intangible assets.

The aid intensity shall not exceed 50% of the eligible costs.

The maximum amount of aid that can be granted under this provision is EUR 20 million per infrastructure.

Where a research infrastructure receives public funding for both economic and non-economic activities, a monitoring and claw-back mechanism shall be put in place in order to ensure that the applicable aid intensity is not exceeded as a result of an increase in the share of economic activities compared to the situation at the time of awarding the aid.

Aid for innovation clusters

Any aid for innovation clusters shall be granted exclusively to the legal entity operating the innovation cluster (cluster organisation) in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 27.

Access to the cluster will be open to several users and granted on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. Undertakings which have financed at least 10% of the investment costs of the innovation cluster may be granted preferential access under more favourable conditions. In order to avoid overcompensation, such access shall be proportional to the undertaking’s contribution to the investment costs and these conditions shall be made publicly available.

Fees charged for using cluster facilities and participating in activities shall correspond to market price or reflect their costs.

The aid intensity of investment aid for innovation clusters shall not exceed 50% unless the cluster is located in an Article 107(3)(c) assisted area, where it may be increased by 5%.

Operating aid may be granted for the operation of innovation clusters for a maximum period of 10 years to cover the costs set out in paragraph 8 of Article 27.

The aid intensity of operating aid shall not exceed 50% of the total eligible costs during the period over which the aid is granted.

The maximum amount of aid that can be granted under this provision is EUR 7.5 million per cluster.

Innovation aid for SMEs

Any innovation aid for SMEs will be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 28.

Eligible costs are:

costs for obtaining, validating and defending patents and other intangible assets
costs for secondment of highly qualified personnel from a research and knowledge dissemination organisation or a large enterprise, working on research, development and innovation activities in a newly created function within the beneficiary and not replacing other personnel
costs for innovation advisory and support services
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50% of the eligible costs.

The maximum amount of aid that can be granted under this provision is EUR 5 million per undertaking per project.

In the particular cast of aid for innovation advisory and support services the aid intensity can be increased up to 100% of the eligible costs provided that the total amount of aid for innovation advisory and support services does not exceed EUR 200,000 per undertaking within any 3 year period.

Aid for process and organisational innovation

Any aid for process and organisational innovation shall be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 29.

Aid to large undertakings shall only be compatible if they effectively collaborate with SMEs in the aided activity and the collaborating SMEs incur at least 30% of the total eligible costs.

Eligible costs are set out in paragraph 3 of Article 29.5.

The aid intensity shall not exceed 15% of eligible costs for large undertakings and 50% of eligible costs for SMEs.

The maximum amount of aid that can be granted under this provision is EUR 7.5 million per undertaking per project.

Aid for research and development in the fishery and aquaculture sector

Aid for research and development in the fishery and aquaculture sector provided under Article 30 will comply with the conditions set out there.

Aided projects shall be of interest to all undertakings in the sector or sub-sector involved.

Information on the project shall be published on the internet before it starts, as detailed in Article 30. Results shall also be made available following completion of the project and remain available for a period of at least 5 years from completion.

Aid will be granted directly to the research and knowledge dissemination organisation involved in the project.

The aid intensity shall not exceed 100% of eligible costs.

Investment aid enabling undertakings to go beyond Union standards for environmental protection or to increase the level of environmental protection in the absence of Union standards

Any aid for enabling undertakings to go beyond Union standards for environmental protection or to increase the level of environmental protection in the absence of Union standards shall be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 36.

1. Investment aid enabling undertakings to go beyond Union standards for environmental protection or to increase the level of environmental protection in the absence of Union standards shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. The investment shall fulfil 1 of the following conditions:
   • (a) it shall enable the beneficiary to increase the level of environmental protection resulting from its activities by going beyond the applicable Union standards, irrespective of the presence of mandatory national standards that are more stringent than the Union standards
   • (b) it shall enable the beneficiary to increase the level of environmental protection resulting from its activities in the absence of Union standards.
3. Aid shall not be granted where investments are undertaken to ensure that undertakings comply with Union standards already adopted and not yet in force.
4. By way of derogation from paragraph 3, aid may be granted for
   • (a) the acquisition of new transport vehicles for road, railway, inland waterway and maritime transport complying with adopted Union standards, provided that the acquisition occurs before those standards enter into force and that, once mandatory, they do not apply to vehicles already purchased before that date
   • (b) retrofitting of existing transport vehicles for road, railway, inland waterway and maritime transport, provided that the Union standards were not yet in force at the date of entry into operation of those vehicles and that, once mandatory, they do not apply retroactively to those vehicles.
5. The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to go beyond the applicable Union standards or to increase the level of environmental protection in the absence of Union standards. They shall be determined as follows:
   • (a) where the costs of investing in environmental protection can be identified in the total investment cost as a separate investment, this environmental protection-related cost shall constitute the eligible costs
   • (b) in all other cases, the costs of investing in environmental protection are identified by reference to a similar, less environmentally friendly investment that would have been credibly carried out without the aid. The difference between the costs of both investments identifies the environmental protection-related cost and constitutes the eligible costs. The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of environmental protection shall not be eligible.
6. The aid intensity shall not exceed 40 % of the eligible costs.
7. The aid intensity may be increased by 10 percentage points for aid granted to medium sized undertakings and by 20 percentage points for aid granted to small undertakings.
8. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty.

Investment aid for early adaptation to future Union standards

Any aid for early adaptation to future Union standards shall be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 37.

1. Aid encouraging undertakings to comply with new Union standards which increase the level of environmental protection and are not yet in force shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. The Union standards shall have been adopted and the investment shall be implemented and finalised at least 1 year before the date of entry into force of the standard concerned.
3. The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to go beyond the applicable Union standards. They shall be determined as follows:
   • (a) where the costs of investing in environmental protection can be identified in the total investment cost as a separate investment, this environmental protection-related cost shall constitute the eligible costs
   • (b) in all other cases, the costs of investing in environmental protection are identified by reference to a similar, less environmentally friendly investment that would have been credibly carried out without the aid. The difference between the costs of both investments identifies the environmental protection-related cost and constitutes the eligible costs. The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of environmental protection shall not be eligible.
4. The aid intensity shall not exceed the following:
   • (a) 20 % of the eligible costs for small undertakings, 15 % of the eligible costs for medium-sized undertakings and 10 % of the eligible costs for large undertakings if the implementation and finalisation of the investment take place more than 3 years before the date of entry into force of the new Union standard
   • (b) 15 % of the eligible costs for small undertakings, 10 % of the eligible costs for medium-sized undertakings and 5 % of the eligible costs for large undertakings if the implementation and finalisation of the investment take place between 1 and 3 years before the date of entry into force of the new Union standard.
5. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)
   • (a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty.

Investment aid for energy efficiency measures

Any aid for energy efficiency measures shall be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 38.

1. Investment aid enabling undertakings to achieve energy efficiency shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Aid shall not be granted under this Article where improvements are undertaken to ensure that undertakings comply with Union standards already adopted, even if they are not yet in force.
3. The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to achieve the higher level of energy efficiency. They shall be determined as follows:
   • (a) where the costs of investing in energy efficiency can be identified in the total investment cost as a separate investment, this energy efficiency-related cost shall constitute the eligible costs
   • (b) in all other cases, the costs of investing in energy efficiency are identified by reference to a similar, less energy efficient investment that would have been credibly carried out without the aid. The difference between the costs of both investments identifies the energy efficiency-related cost and constitutes the eligible costs. The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of energy efficiency shall not be eligible.
4. The aid intensity shall not exceed 30 % of the eligible costs.
5. The aid intensity may be increased by 20 percentage points for aid granted to small undertakings and by 10 percentage points for aid granted to medium-sized undertakings.
6. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty.

Investment aid for energy efficiency projects in buildings

Any aid for energy efficiency projects in buildings shall be provided in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 39.

1. Investment aid for energy efficiency projects in buildings shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Eligible for aid under the present Article are energy efficiency projects relating to buildings.
3. The eligible costs shall be the overall costs of the energy efficiency project.
4. The aid shall be granted in the form of an endowment, equity, a guarantee or loan to an energy efficiency fund or other financial intermediary, which shall fully pass it on to the final beneficiaries being the building owners or tenants.
5. The aid granted by the energy efficiency fund or other financial intermediary to the eligible energy efficiency projects may take the form of loans or guarantees. The nominal value of the loan or the amount guaranteed shall not exceed EUR 10 million per project at the level of the final beneficiaries. The guarantee should not exceed 80 % of the underlying loan.
6. The repayment by the building owners to the energy efficiency fund or other financial intermediary shall not be less than the nominal value of the loan.
7. The energy efficiency aid shall leverage additional investment from private investors reaching at minimum 30 % of the total financing provided to an energy efficiency project. When the aid is provided by an energy efficiency fund, the leverage of private investment can be done at the level of the energy efficiency fund or at the level of the energy efficiency projects, so as to achieve an aggregate minimum 30 % of the total financing provided to an energy efficiency project.
8. Member States can set up energy efficiency funds or can use financial intermediaries when providing energy efficiency aid. The following conditions must then be fulfilled:
   • (a) Financial intermediary managers, as well as energy efficiency fund managers shall be selected through an open, trans parent and non-discriminatory call in accordance with applicable Union and national laws. In particular, there shall be no discrimination on the basis of their place of establishment or incorporation in any Member State. Financial intermediaries and energy efficiency fund managers may be required to fulfil predefined criteria objectively justified by the nature of the investments
   • (b) The independent private investors shall be selected through an open, transparent and non-discriminatory call in accordance with applicable Union and national laws aimed at establishing the appropriate risk-reward sharing arrangements whereby, for investments other than guarantees, asymmetric profit-sharing shall be given preference over downside protection. If the private investors are not selected by such a call, the fair rate of return to the private investors shall be established by an independent expert selected via an open, transparent and non-discriminatory call
   • (c) In the case of asymmetric loss-sharing between public and private investors, the first loss assumed by the public investor shall be capped at 25 % of the total investment
   • (d) In the case of guarantees, the guarantee rate shall be limited to 80 % and total losses assumed by a Member State shall be capped at 25 % of the underlying guaranteed portfolio. Only guarantees covering the expected losses of the underlying guaranteed portfolio can be provided for free. If a guarantee also comprises coverage of unexpected losses, the financial intermediary shall pay, for the part of the guarantee covering unexpected losses, a market- conform guarantee premium
   • (e) The investors shall be allowed to be represented in the governance bodies of the energy efficiency fund or financial intermediary, such as the supervisory board or the advisory committee
   • (f) The energy efficiency fund or financial intermediary shall be established according to the applicable laws and the Member State shall provide for a due diligence process in order to ensure a commercially sound investment strategy for the purpose of implementing the energy efficiency aid measure.
9. Financial intermediaries, including energy efficiency funds shall be managed on a commercial basis and shall ensure profit-driven financing decisions. This is considered to be the case when the financial intermediary and, as the case may be, the managers of the energy efficiency fund fulfil the following conditions:
   • (a) they are obliged by law or contract to act with the diligence of a professional manager in good faith and avoiding conflicts of interest; best practices and regulatory supervision shall apply
   • (b) their remuneration conforms with market practices. This requirement is considered to be met where the manager is selected through an open, transparent and non-discriminatory call, based on objective criteria linked to experience, expertise and operational and financial capacity
   • (c) they shall receive a remuneration linked to performance, or shall share part of the investment risks by co-investing own resources so as to ensure that their interests are permanently aligned with the interests of the public investor
   • (d) they shall set out an investment strategy, criteria and the proposed timing of investments in energy efficiency projects, establishing the ex-ante financial viability and their expected impact on energy efficiency
   • (e) a clear and realistic exit strategy shall exist for the public funds invested in the energy efficiency fund or granted to the financial intermediary, allowing the market to finance energy efficiency projects when the market is ready to do so.
10. Energy efficiency improvements undertaken to ensure that the beneficiary complies with Union standards which have already been adopted shall not be exempted from the notification requirement under this Article.

Investment aid for high-efficiency cogeneration (combined heat and power or CHP)

Any aid for high-efficiency cogeneration shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of Article 40.

Allows aid in support of newly installed or refurbished CHP projects which make overall primary energy savings by comparison with separate generation of heat and power in accordance with energy efficiency directive.

Eligible costs are the extra investment costs for the equipment needed for the installation to operate as a high-efficiency cogeneration installation, compared to conventional electricity or heating installations of the same capacity or the extra investment cost to upgrade to a higher efficiency when an existing installation already meets the high-efficiency threshold.

The maximum aid intensity granted under this provision is 45%.

The aid intensity can be increased by 10% for medium companies and 20% for small companies; and 15% for investments in 107(3)(a) assisted areas 5% for investments in 107(3)(c) assisted areas.

Investment aid for the promotion of energy from renewable energy sources

Any aid for the promotion of energy from renewable energy sources shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of article 41.

Investment aid of up to €15 million may be provided for new renewable energy generation projects.

The eligible costs are the extra investment costs necessary to promote the production of energy from renewable sources

The maximum aid intensity is 45%.

The total costs may be eligible for certain smaller installations where the counterfactual cannot be established because equivalent smaller scale conventional plants do not exist. In this case the maximum aid intensity is 30%.

Aid intensity can be increased by 10 or 20% for SMEs and 15% for investments in 107(3)(a) assisted areas and 5% for 107(3)(c) assisted areas.

Investment aid for the remediation of contaminated sites

Any aid for remediation of contaminated sites shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of Article 45.

Up to €20m for the remediation of polluted and contaminated sites; they must not be liable for the damaged caused.

The eligible costs are the total cost of remediating the land minus any increase in the value of the land.

The maximum aid intensity allowed under this provision is 100%

Investment aid for waste recycling and re-utilisation

Any aid for waste recycling and re-utilisation shall be provided under the provisions of Article 47.

Eligible costs are the extra investment costs necessary to realise an investment leading to recycling or reuse activities compared to a conventional process of reuse and recycling activities with the same capacity that would be constructed in the absence of the aid.

The maximum aid intensity allowed under this provision is 35%.

Aid intensity can be increased by 10/20% for SMEs and 15% in 107(3)(a) assisted areas and 5% for investments in 107(3)(c) assisted areas.

Cumulation of aid

Aid provided under the Scheme may be cumulated with other forms of aid exempted under the Regulation as long as those aid measures concern different identifiable eligible costs.

Aid provided under this Scheme may only be cumulated with other aid exempted under the Regulation or the de minimis regulation, where, in respect of the same totally or partially overlapping eligible costs, such cumulation does not result in the highest aid intensity or aid amount applicable under the Regulation or relevant scheme(s) being exceeded.

All sources of public funding shall be taken into account when considering cumulation and in determining that the relevant aid intensity or aid amount is not exceeded.

General provisions

Innovate UK is required to provide annual returns to the UK government and European Commission detailing aid provided under this Scheme, and to maintain detailed records regarding individual aid provided under the Scheme.

Such records must contain all information necessary to establish that the conditions laid down in the Regulation are fulfilled, including information on the status of any undertaking whose entitlement to aid or a bonus depends on its status as an SME, information on the incentive effect of the aid, and information making it possible to establish the precise amount of eligible costs for the purpose of applying the Regulation.

Records must be maintained for 10 years from the date on which the last aid was granted under the Scheme. The information which must be provided to Innovate UK or retained by the aid recipient will be set out in any offer of grant made under the Scheme.

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