Biorenewables Capital Grant Scheme Expression of Interest (EOI) Guidance Notes 1|P a g e What is the Biorenewables Development Centre? The Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) is a not-for-profit company, based at the University of York that helps businesses develop ways to convert plants, microbes and biowastes into profitable biorenewable products. Using cutting-edge science and technology, we bridge the gap between academia and industry to assist companies both in development and scale-up of new greener processes and products. Established through a collaboration between the world-renowned Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence and the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, our expertise, services, open-access facilities and access to over 100 scientists across the fields of chemistry and biology puts the BDC in a strong position to help develop bio-based projects. Visit our website to learn more: www.biorenewables.org. What is the Biorenewables Capital Grants Scheme? The Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) has recently received approval and funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for a new capital grants scheme, the Biorenewables Capital Grant Scheme (BCGS), “the scheme”. The scheme has been established to support eligible small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the biorenewables sector to invest in capital equipment to deliver growth through significant innovative developments and pilot scale activities. The aim is to help foster ideas and initiate new economic activity and develop the regional bioeconomy. SMEs must be based in the Yorkshire and Humber region (excluding South Yorkshire). How much is available? Support can be paid at a grant rate of up to 64% on eligible capital costs of between £20,000 and £50,000. Therefore applications for grant investment should be for a maximum of £32,000 and minimum of £12,800. Note the £32,000 grant ceiling applies per business per funding round. Please note: grant funding will be provided in arrears and so the business must be able to fund 100% of the costs in the short term prior to grant payment being made. What kind of projects will be covered? The capital grants scheme will help develop innovate activity in the Yorkshire and Humber region’s bioeconomy. The bioeconomy is defined as ‘the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy.’ The capital equipment purchased through this scheme should enable an SME to develop new innovative products or processes. In particular funding will be used to purchase key pieces of pilot-scale production equipment that enables an SME to test proof of concept on a limited scale before committing to full scale industrial development. Examples of the type of equipment eligible for funding: Algae-based production facilities Platform chemical pilot-scale manufacturing equipment Microwave-based equipment to evaluate processing of food Natural insecticide manufacturing pilot-plant 2|P a g e Innovative anaerobic digestion pilot plant equipment Section-by-section guidance When completing this form, the SME is advised to refer to the information contained in Annex 1 at the end of the document. This shows the criteria by which submissions will be assessed and may prove useful both as a checklist to ensure answers have been provided as well as providing more clarity on the relative importance of the different aspects of the project proposal in terms of how they will be judged. Sections 1 & 2: Contact details and business information Please complete this section in full, giving a good general description of your business activity; this enables the BDC to correctly identify whether your business is in a priority sector. The main point of contact should be the day to day project manager (if we need to request additional information) however this form needs to be signed by your company budget decision maker, preferably the Finance Director or Managing Director. Question How to answer Business name Please provide the full registered name of the business related to the registered number. Business address and postcode Please provide the full registered address of the business related to the registered number. If your business has more than one site, and this project will take place at a different site address as to the registered address, please state this clearly. Please tell us what your business does. Please be specific, e.g. if ‘manufacturer’ please state what products are manufactured. Please tell us the date your business was incorporated or the date it started trading. Please confirm your Companies House registration number. General description of business activity Date established/started trading Companies house registration number VAT number Please confirm if you are VAT registered and your number. Why we need this information If your business trades under a ‘group’ and has a different name, we need to identify this for eligibility purposes. As above. We need to ensure that we work with businesses that are in an eligible sector. Again this helps us to ascertain if you are eligible. This confirms that the company exists and its legal status If you are VAT registered you can reclaim VAT from HMRC, so all grants paid will be net of VAT. If you are not VAT registered we can pay VAT on your grant claim. 3|P a g e Section 3: SME eligibility Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria can be complex and the BDC must satisfy itself that your project meets the funder’s rules. The final decision on the eligibility of your business is the responsibility of BDC. To be eligible for support from the BCGS your business must be: Located in West Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire or the Humber region. Businesses in South Yorkshire are not eligible to apply. Classified as a Small to Medium Sized Enterprise (SME)1 i.e. - Have fewer than 250 employees - Have an annual turnover not exceeding €50 million, or a balance sheet not exceeding €43 million Have received less than €200,000 of de minimis state aid funding and support in the last 3 years. You must preferably be classified as an ERDF Priority Sector, which are as follows: - Advanced Engineering & Materials, - Creative and Digital New Media, - Food and Drink, - Chemicals, - Environmental Technologies, - Healthcare Technologies, - Financial and Business Services. Other non-priority sector businesses can be supported, but must be delivering an economic benefit. We cannot support grant applications for: Renewable energy installations. Transport such as cars, vans or boats. An organisation to respond to a statutory legislative change. Some micro rural enterprises are not eligible under ERDF and are supported under EAFRD. The scheme is not appropriate for those working within the biomedical sector for example and more generally not appropriate for any biosciences businesses other than those working on innovative activities linked to bio-based materials. Section 3 must be completed with reference to the registered company applying for the grant. Question How to answer What is your annual turnover? Please state the most recent annual turnover figures available to your business. 1 Why we need this information ERDF funding criteria limits our funding to SMEs and to be considered an SME you are required to have less Source: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/sme_definition/index_en.htm 4|P a g e Value of balance sheet Please state the most recent annual balance sheet figures available to your business. How many employees do you have? Please state the total number of full time equivalent employees you have in your business. than 50 million Euros in turnover (approx. £43m). ERDF funding criteria limits our funding to SMEs and to be considered an SME you are required to have less than 43 million Euros in turnover (approx. £37m). ERDF funding criteria limits our funding to SMEs and to be considered an SME you are required to have less than 250 employees. Section 4: Equal opportunities information ERDF rules request that we ask for this information for programme monitoring purposes. Section 5: Where did you hear about the Biorenewables Capital Grant Scheme? Please state how you became aware of the grant scheme, as this will help us assess the effectiveness of our marketing. Section 6: Project summary Question a) Please tell us the title of the project b) Please provide a brief history of the business and the market you are operating in. c) Please summarise your project highlighting any feasibility work already undertaken and the current status of the project. d) Define the reason for undertaking the project, including key objectives for the project. e) What do you consider to be the ‘innovative’ aspect of the project? How to answer Please provide us with a brief ‘one line’ project title Please outline the sector and market you are working in and your track record? i.e. what do you sell, are your markets local, regional, national. Do you export? Please summarise how you have developed your project ideas to date, and confirm that you have additional evidence to provide at application stage. Why we need this information This will be used to identify the project This helps us to better understand the background to the proposal and the benefits it may have Please explain how this project fits with your businesses key strategic objectives, and explain why this grant is required. This could be the development of a new product or new development processes. The innovation should be We expect the businesses to have clear business rationale for this project. We would like to know how long you have been considering this project, its current status and to understand better the context of your project idea. The BDC receives funding from ERDF for innovate activity, so all projects supported must demonstrate they fit this criteria. 5|P a g e f) What capital items are you seeking ERDF grant support for? g) Define the timescales, including the period over which the project will be a) installed/established and b) be operational: when from and for how long. h) Summarise the total project cost and the maximum amount of funding requested (up to 64% of total cost). Detail how much will be contributed by the business and/or secured from a third party, as applicable. in terms of the process and/or the product that is being produced. What will the ERDF grant funding be used to buy? Please give specific details of each capital item. If known, please give dates, or estimated timescales. Where known, please provide breakdowns for all sources of finance you will use to match fund this project. For loans and other 3rd party funding can you confirm that these are already approved. If they are not already approved, please indicate their current status. Some capital items are not eligible for ERDF funding (e.g. vehicles) BDC grant funding needs to be applied for, spent and claimed within strictly defined timescales. A project that cannot realistically meet the current call for applications may be deferred. It is also to manage the BDCs cashflow risk. We need to know your timescales at the outset so that we can forecast and budget for your requirements. We need to be clear that the company has sufficient funds to cover the match funding required. HP and asset management finance are not acceptable sources of match funding Section 7: Project outputs Please identify any estimated outputs you expect as a result of implementing this project. If successful at full application stage your project officer will confirm the verification evidence that is required and this will form part of the grant agreement. Output Jobs created : Job safeguarded Definition A job is counted as being created when the job is a direct consequence of the project intervention. Jobs needs to be a new, permanent, and expressed as a full time equivalent (based on 37 hours – e.g. 18.5 hours would be classed as a 0.5 FTE job) The post must also be filled. A job is counted as safeguarded if the company can show that the job would have been lost if the funding had not gone ahead, However, the evidence required by ERDF to prove the initial risk is extensive2 and we would recommend that companies only use this output in exceptional circumstances. 2 Need to show all forward financial projections, contingency plan for redundancies and to show that the specific jobs listed are at risk. This is generally by showing employees have been received official notification of possible redundancy. 6|P a g e Businesses created: Increased sales: Reduced costs: When a new business starts trading in the region and is sustained for at least 12 months as a direct result of the project intervention. Value (£m) of annual sales increase attributable to new product/service introduction. For example, this could either be reduction in utility costs or waste management (landfill costs) Section 8: State aid Question How much de minimis state aid has your business received in the last three years? How to answer Please state how much de minimis state aid your business has received over the last three years. Why we need this information ERDF funding criteria limits funding to SMEs and a business that has received more than 200,000 Euros in state aid over the last three years is ineligible for further support. Section 9: Data protection Please read the data protection statement carefully and only sign section 10 if you fully agree to the terms. Section 10: Declaration Please ensure that you sign and date to confirm that you have read and understood the guidance, we need to ensure that you fully understand what you are applying for and that you believe you are eligible. This should be signed by the budget holder, either Finance Director or equivalent, or Managing Director. We require all of our documentation to have an actual signature, please ensure you print out your forms and post them in to the BDC. To facilitate your application we can receive pdf copy by email but please ensure you also post the originals to us. Next steps Please return your signed EOI by email or post using the contact details below. These will then be assessed within 2 weeks of submission. If your project is eligible and meets the scope of the BCGS you will then be invited to submit a full application. Vicky Wren ERDF Project and Contracts Manager Biorenewables Development Centre The Biocentre York Science Park Heslington York YO10 5NY Tel: 01904 567825 Email: vicky.wren@york.ac.uk 7|P a g e Annex 1: Assessment of applications To provide transparency and clarity on how submissions will be assessed, this section details the criteria used for both Expressions and Interest and Full Applications. This should provide the SME with an understanding of what assessors are looking for and the relative importance of each response that the SME provides. Expressions of Interests EOIs are assessed against a checklist of criteria to ensure that both the proposed activity and SME are eligible to receive grant funding through the scheme. The key checklist questions of the checklist are as follows and it worth companies making sure that the answer to all these questions is ‘yes’. Is the project within the region? (Yorkshire and Humber, excluding South Yorkshire) Is the applicant in an eligible sector (not primary agriculture)? Is the applicant an SME (based on turnover and employees)? Is the project above the minimum grant project threshold of £20,000 and below £50,000? Is the company’s financial situation stable? (an initial financial check will be completed through Companies House). Is this an innovative project that will deliver growth in the biorenewables sector? Has the applicant identified the capital items to be funded? Are these eligible? Does the project have a suitable level of outputs for the level of grant requested? Is the SME within the De Minimis limit (both now and if we provide the grant requested)? Full applications Should a project pass the EOI checklist it will then proceed to full application stage. Full applications are assessed at monthly panel meetings consisting of technology and business experts using the following scoring criteria. Each criteria will be marked out of 10 and the scores will be weighted by the figures in brackets. This weighting highlights the relative importance of each criteria. Clarity of Proposal (5%) How clear is the project proposal? Are you sure exactly what the SME is proposing and do you believe the SME has fully thought through the activity? Quality of Evidence (10%) How good is the evidence provided? This includes evidence of costs, sales projections, potential markets. Is there clear evidence to support the economic case for the proposal? Fit with SME Business Plan (5%) Is the project part of the company's medium to long term plan? Or are they simply chasing funding? Innovation of Proposal (20%) How innovative is this (given BDC ERDF Project is an innovation project). 8|P a g e Fit with BDC Objectives (15%) Is this the type of project it would be appropriate for the BDC to work on given its biorenewables focus? Quantity of Outputs (10%) How many ERDF outputs are being proposed and are they achievable given the proposed project? Quality of Outputs (10%) What level are the ERDF outputs at (i.e. high paid job as opposed to junior administrator)? Overall Value for Money (15%) How many outputs are being proposed for the ERDF funding proposed? Project Risk - SME (5%) What risk is associated with the SMEs financial position, management and technical capacity? Project Risk - Activity (5%) How risky is the project itself. Given that the activity should be innovative some risk is expected, but too much is an issue. E.g. risks could include the need for planning permission. 9|P a g e Annex 2: Glossary of terms Bio-based = based on biological materials or processes. Bioeconomy = the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy. Biorenewable resources = organic materials of recent biological origin [not fossil fuels, but includes wood]. Feedstocks = are inputs (raw materials) into industrial processes. For BGCS this refers to biobased feedstocks. Innovation = a new method, idea, product or service. Innovation in relation to the BCGS needs to be a process or product that is new to the company. Pilot scale = to test (a scheme, project, etc.) on a small scale before introducing it more widely; to conduct preliminary trials of; to try out. 10 | P a g e