UK Government ‘Future Fund’ – new £500 million ‘Future Fund’ for high growth businesses, launching in May 2020. The Future Fund will issue convertible loans to innovative companies which are facing financing difficulties due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The Future Fund will provide government loans to UK-based companies ranging from £125,000 to £5 million, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors.
£1.25bn fund for innovative companies hit by Coronavirus (Innovate UK) – this investment, grant and loan fund has been launched to support the most R&D-intensive small and medium size firms through the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be administered through Innovate UK which will accelerate up to £200 million of grant and loan payments for its 2,500 existing Innovate UK customers on an opt-in basis. An extra £550 million will also be made available to increase support for existing customers and £175,000 of support will be offered to around 1,200 firms not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding. The first payments will be made by mid-May.
ESA Space Solutions: Space helping UK on COVID-19 and other pandemics – Open call for Proposals – Set up in cooperation with the UK Space Agency, calls for activities to facilitate the quick integration and deployment of concrete and sustainable solutions to contribute to help alleviate the stress on the UK healthcare ecosystem provoked by the COVID-19 outbreak, making use of the different advantages provided by space-based products and services.
Invitation to tender for ESA’s Commercial Space Transportation programme – as part of ESA’s aim to boost commercial initiatives that offer space transportation services to space, in space, and returning from space, this programme will co-fund and assist the pre-commercial development of new European space transportation services including launch opportunities and in-space transport services to return from space capabilities.