Defence Innovation Loan/26 Cycle 5
Offers United Kingdom defence innovation teams a government-backed low interest loan route through an official loan programme.
The Defence Innovation Loan programme is a repayable financing mechanism jointly delivered by UK Defence Innovation (UKDI, formerly DASA) and Innovate UK Loans Ltd, designed to help UK small and medium-sized enterprises bring mature defence technologies to commercial scale. Unlike DASA's grant competitions, the loan instrument is intended for innovations that have already cleared proof-of-concept …
Below-market repayable loans of £100K–£1M for UK SMEs with defence or dual-use innovations at TRL 6 or above seeking to bridge late-stage development to commercial deployment.
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Guides for this application
All guides →TRL Levels Explained for Deeptech Founders
Learn what TRL levels mean, how to estimate technology readiness, and how TRL affects grants, EIC Accelerator, SBIR/STTR, funding stage, and application evidence.
DocumentsGrant Work Plan Template: Work Packages, Gantt, Milestones, and Risks
Use this grant work plan template to structure work packages, tasks, owners, deliverables, Gantt timing, dependencies, and risk registers.
DocumentsProof-of-Concept Data for Grants: Evidence Examples for Deeptech Applications
See how to present proof-of-concept data in grant applications, with examples for evidence registers, test logs, pilot data, and prior project proof.
Start hereStartup Funding Stages for Deeptech: From Lab to Scale
A deeptech funding roadmap that maps startup funding stages to TRL, grants, SBIR/STTR, EIC Accelerator, pilots, VC, and scale-up evidence.
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