Successful applicants will be given the opportunity to pitch their solution to Clean Colour Ltd. The winning applicant(s), as selected by the company, will collaborate with them to solve this challenge and receive up to £25k to work on the project.  
The selected solution(s) will be trialled during a 3-month pilot study with Clean Colour Ltd, with the possibility of further co-development if the trials are successful.  

Sequins made from plastic film are frequently used in fashion, but the current industrially significant materials used to manufacture those are fossil based. Clean Colour Ltd, a dynamic start-up, has developed a scalable, biobased and biodegradable sequin film that is almost comparable to traditional fossil-based sequins and could be used as a drop-in replacement. The innovations around these biodegradable sequins are set to pave the way to support a sustainable fashion industry whilst minimising the impact to the environment. Two functional challenges stand in the way of the sequin being near perfect; 1) its ability to be spooled (i.e. the strength of the link between the adjoined sequins without tearing when die cutting machinery is operating at optimum speed); 2) the link retaining the ability to snap off the adjoined sequin chain once the industrial embroidery machine sews the sequin onto the fabric at high speeds.

Background

Clean Colour Ltd has developed a biodegradable sequin which is attractive to the market and now needs to ensure its solution can run at the speeds currently required by industry for scaled fabric manufacture. Traditional sequins that are affixed to fabric are deployed from a spool at high speed and Clean Colour Limited's solution aims to displace the traditional sequins with biodegradable equivalents, but this comes with its challenges. &nbsp;
As they currently stand, the joints between the sequins on the spooled chain are not strong enough to withstand the fast de-spooling/machining process and this is where the solution is required. &nbsp;
Clean Colour Ltd is looking to use open innovation to find a solution provider that can provide a solution to the challenge of machining sequins onto substrate fabrics at speeds on par with fossil based current sequin solutions. &nbsp;
The current biodegradable solution tends to snap between adjoined sequins, and this does not lend itself to a fast deployment of sequins to the substrate fabric during the embroidery machining stage.
The current bioplastic substrate mechanical properties are:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Tensile strength ASTM D882 80-110 Nmm-2</li>
<li>Elongation at break ASTM D882 20-45%</li>
<li>Tear initiation ASTM D1938 0.85 N</li>
</ul>
Solutions are sought that allow sequins to stay linked together on the spool (as a guide to the strength, fossil-based PET polyethylene terephthalate and some vinyl thermoplastics are currently used to make sequins) until sewn on the fabric and then snap to separate. &nbsp;
Solutions could be but are not limited to, stronger material joins between sequins by strengthening the bioplastic substrate, or development of die cutting processes that result in a stronger/thicker join between the sequins, but that still snaps on machining.

The Challenge

The solution should consider the following:
<ul>
<li>A material solution could be in any form i.e. a coating, filler, additive or stiffener.</li>
<li>If a material solution is envisaged it must be sustainable, biobased and biodegradable in the natural environment. If alternative sustainable feedstocks, such as biomass are used, they must not be competing with food supply chains. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Water insolubility would be a bonus.</li>
<li>Be compatible with wide-spread processing equipment such as roll to roll printing and spray coating.</li>
<li>Material solutions must be lightweight and not add significantly to the overall mass (ideally light weight, clear, transparent and water resistant). &nbsp;</li>
<li>If possible, the solution should be near market ready, but the challenge holder is open to consider novel, lower TRL innovations.</li>
<li>The material should be able to be scaled up or have a readily available volume in the supply chain through non-invasive methods, and not exploit rare species.</li>
<li>Address either the die cutting process or be an innovative material with stronger yet snappable characteristics. &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
This is a 3-month project, the sustainable material could be demonstrated at low volume and size. However, the solution provider would need to demonstrate or explain how the solution can be scaled up to large volumes. Expected volumes in the medium term would be in dozens of kgs increasing to industrial scale in tonnes/annum.
Note: There are multiple approaches to this challenge, e.g. the solution could be permanently added to the sequin, or it could be a solution that is in residence just long enough in place to provide the rigidity needed for sewing onto the garment. In this case the removal of the material solution needs to be included in the solution process.&nbsp;

Solution Requirements 

<ul>
<li>Fossil based solution</li>
<li>Materials which are not likely to be bio-degradable in fresh water/seawater.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

  Out of Scope 

The cost should not be prohibitive but at this point in the challenge we do not expect them to be on par with current costs.&nbsp;

Cost Requirement 

Successful applicants will be given an opportunity to pitch their solution to Clean Colour. &nbsp; The winning pitch, as selected by Clean Colour Ltd, will receive &pound;25,000 funding from Innovate UK to trial the solution in a 3-months project with potential for further adoption if trials are successful.
The benefits package for a successful applicant may also include: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Support from Innovate UK Business Connect &nbsp;</li>
<li>Support in the development of a prototype or pilot &nbsp; &nbsp;</li>
<li>Technical support &nbsp;</li>
<li>Invitation to attend or present at Innovate UK Business Connect events &nbsp;</li>
<li>A potential business collaboration &nbsp;</li>
<li>Investor introductions (if investment is required) &nbsp;</li>
<li>Support if any Innovate or similar competitions are relevant.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Rewards & Benefits 

Successful applicants will be invited to a pitch day, giving them a chance to meet Clean Colour and pitch their project plan, followed by a Q&amp;A. &nbsp; After the pitch day, a final funding decision will be made by the challenge holder. For unsuccessful applicants, feedback will be given in a timely manner.

Invitation to pitch 

Launch of the Competition: 12th August &nbsp; Deadline for applications: 12th September &nbsp; Selection and notification of finalists: 7th October &nbsp; Date of Pitch Day: 16th and 17th October &nbsp; Pitch outcome communicated: 23rd October &nbsp;&nbsp; Populate project into Innovation Funding Service (IFS): by 11 am on 6th November &nbsp; Project start date: 1st Feb 2025 Project end date: 30th April 2025

Timeline

The application form for this challenge will require applicants to provide company information and answer 3 questions - Idea Summary, Technology Readiness and Intellectual Property &ndash; each with a limit of 300 words.
Additionally, the following documents must be attached for your application to be considered: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Project plan &nbsp;</li>
<li>Project costings</li>
</ul>
Optionally, supporting documents can be attached to the application. We recommend that supporting documents are limited to those which are directly relevant to the application. Please note that applications with no supporting document will not receive any penalty in assessment. Supporting documents which the Assessment Panel deems to be superfluous may be disregarded. Examples of useful additional documents include product images or short specification sheets, slide decks detailing the solution and/or company background, or solution case studies.
We recommend that you complete the application form in Google Chrome as other browsers may have compatibility issues. The application form does not need to be completed in one session and can be saved for future edits. Please ensure that you toggle &ldquo;Stage Complete&rdquo; for each section before submission. Note that you will no longer be able to edit your application once you have clicked &ldquo;Submit Idea&rdquo; at the bottom of the Summary page.

Application & Technical Guidance   

Entrants to this competition must be: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)</li>
</ul>
Your project must:
<ul>
<li>Have a grant funding request up to &pound;25,000</li>
<li>Last up to 3 months (project start date 1st Feb 2025)</li>
<li>Carry out its project work in the UK</li>
<li>Intend to exploit the results from or in the UK</li>
</ul>
Applications will be assessed on: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Relevance to the defined challenge</li>
<li>Benefit of implementation &nbsp;</li>
<li>Feasibility/economic viability &nbsp;</li>
<li>Innovative nature</li>
<li>Ability to launch in line with expected timescales</li>
<li>Credibility of applicant company</li>
<li>Coherence of the proposed business model &nbsp;</li>
<li>Development potential &nbsp;</li>
<li>Maturity of the solution &nbsp;</li>
<li>Suitability for the intended geographic market</li>
<li>Project plan &nbsp;</li>
<li>Project costs</li>
</ul>
Minimal Financial Assistance:&nbsp; Grant funding in this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to &pound;315,000 to an enterprise in a 3-year rolling financial period. If your application is successful and you are invited to apply for grant funding, you will be asked to declare previous funding received by you. This will form part of the financial checks ahead of Innovate UK making a formal grant offer.&nbsp;

Eligibility & Assessment Criteria 

Existing background IP associated with a potential solution will remain with solution provider(s). Where any new IP generation is envisaged, it will be subject to the mutual IP agreement of the solution provider(s) and challenge holder.
Any commercial deployment of a transferred solution or newly developed solution, through licensing, joint venture, partnership, or direct investment, will be subject to the commercial agreement between the solution provider(s) and challenge holder.&nbsp;
Where necessary, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) may be signed to uphold confidentiality in the engagement between the solution provider(s) and challenge holder. This would be expected to be after final company selection. All entries are treated as confidential and only shared with Innovate UK and the challenge holder, however if the innovator is concerned about sharing IP, it is suggested that details of IP are not disclosed. Instead, focus on the outcomes of the technology proposed at this application stage. &nbsp;
Innovate UK and Innovate UK Business Connect do not take any share of IP ownership or enter commercial ventures through the iX programme.&nbsp;

IP & Potential Commercial Route 

A selected panel of assessors will review and score your application. The panel of assessors will meet and agree a consensus score. Successful solutions will be selected by the challenge holder. Success will be based on total consensus scores, a portfolio approach and the capacity of the challenge holders to carry out the projects.
The winning applicant, as selected by Clean Colour Ltd will be invited to complete their project details within Innovate UK&rsquo;s Innovation Funding Service within a specified timeframe in order to progress to the Grant Offer Letter. Grants will be subject to Innovate UK&rsquo;s terms and conditions which can be found <a href="https://www.ukri.org/publications/terms-and-conditions-of-an-innovate-uk-grant-award/">here</a>.
Successful applicants will need to be in a position to upload the following documents to IFS once notified:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Project plan</li>
<li>Project costing</li>
<li>Minimal Financial Assistance (and de minimis where applicable) declaration (details can be found <a href="https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/general-guidance/funding-rules/">here</a>)</li>
</ul>

Terms & Conditions 

c92834b8-27ae-404d-ac74-9471f3e79fb9/Raj.jpg

Innovative Solutions to Enable High Throughput Processing of Bioplastics During Die Cutting Requiring Increased Strength.

Opportunity

Challenge opens

Challenge closes

Benefit

Background

This challenge is brought to you by:

Innovative Solutions to Enable High Throughput Processing of Bioplastics During Die Cutting Requiring Increased Strength. Copy Link

Opportunity

Challenge opens

Challenge closes

Benefit

Background

This challenge is brought to you by:

Innovative Solutions to Enable High Throughput Processing of Bioplastics During Die Cutting Requiring Increased Strength.