Innovation of Agriculture Round 2: Farming Futures Automation and Robotics Competition is Now Open
The innovation of agriculture is continuing to evolve, with Round 2 of the Farming Futures Automation and Robotics Competition now open for applications. The £20 million competition, delivered as part of the Farming Innovation Programme, will support projects developing advanced automation and robotic technologies designed to help farmers improve operational productivity, resource efficiency and the delivery of agricultural processes.
Applications close on 30 September 2026 at 11am.
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WHAT IS THE FARMING FUTURES AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS COMPETITION?
The Farming Futures Automation and Robotics competition is designed to bring together businesses and agricultural partners to develop advanced smart energy solutions for business with commercial applications. By supporting collaboration between technology developers and agricultural businesses, the competition aims to accelerate farming innovation and the adoption of practical technologies across the sector.
Round 2 of the Farming Innovation Programme is going to expand the range of agricultural sectors covered compared with the 2023 competition, including ornamental plant propagation, cultivation and monitoring, where technologies could also have applications in food-producing horticulture.
Eligible forestry projects can focus on a range of activities, including tree nursery operations, woodland establishment and planting, woodland monitoring, and forest management technologies. However, projects centred on heavy machinery or timber harvesting operations fall outside the scope of the competition and are therefore not eligible for funding.
HOW MUCH FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR THE FARMING INNOVATION
The funding available is up to £20 million to support innovative technology projects, with funding provided in the form of grant support. This level of investment demonstrates the increasing importance of farming innovation in improving productivity, sustainability and the long-term resilience of agricultural businesses. If a project includes farmers, growers or foresters applying for grant funding, at least 50% of the total grant funding requested by organisations must be allocated to organisations based in England.
The Gov.UK website has stated that they “reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.”
Where an organisation’s activities within the project are commercial or economic in nature, the amount of grant funding requested must remain within the applicable limits below. These limits apply even where the organisation generally operates on a non-economic basis but will carry out commercial or economic activities as part of the project.
WHO CAN APPLY FOR THE FARMING FUTURES AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS COMPETITION?
The competition is open to collaborative innovation projects that meet the following requirements:
The project must have eligible total costs of between £500,000 and £2.5 million.
The project must run for 12 to 36 months.
The project must begin no later than 1 March 2027.
The project must finish by 28 February 2030.
The project must involve cross-organisational collaboration.
Organisations receiving funding must undertake their project activities, plan to use or commercialise the resulting technologies or intellectual property, and spend the majority of the grant funding within the UK.
Projects must have a planned start date that falls on the first day of a month, work should not begin until Innovate UK has approved the Grant Offer Letter. If there are delays during the project setup process, the planned start date may need to be moved.
Applicants should make sure that their application includes only costs that qualify for funding under Innovate UK’s eligible expenditure criteria.
HOW CAN AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS IMPROVE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY?
Automation and robotics can improve agricultural productivity by helping farmers carry out essential operations more efficiently, precisely and consistently. As farming innovation continues to progress, technologies such as autonomous machinery, robotic systems, sensors, imaging equipment and automated monitoring can support a wide range of agricultural activities while helping businesses respond to challenges such as labour availability, increasing operational expenditure and the need to optimise resource utilisation.
For example, robotic and automated systems can perform repetitive or labour-intensive tasks with a high degree of precision, reducing the requirement for manual intervention. Sensors, imaging technology and automated data collection can also provide farmers with real-time or data-driven insight into crop and livestock conditions, allowing them to make more informed decisions and optimise the allocation of resources.
Renewable energy plays an important role in supporting the wider adoption of agricultural automation. For farming innovation to deliver its full potential, agricultural businesses also need reliable and increasingly flexible energy infrastructure. Commercial solar panels can generate electricity at the point of use to help meet the energy requirements of farms and agricultural businesses, including electrical equipment, automated systems and other operational electrical loads. By generating renewable electricity locally, farms can potentially reduce their reliance on imported grid electricity while supporting the energy of agricultural operations.
When combined with technologies such as battery energy storage, solar PV can provide greater energy-management flexibility over when renewable electricity is used. Excess solar generation can be stored within the battery system and dispatched during periods of increased demand or reduced solar irradiance, helping agricultural businesses maximise the utilisation of on-site renewable generation.
The combination of agricultural robotics, automation, data-driven systems and renewable energy therefore has the potential to support a more efficient, resilient and technologically advanced farming sector. This wider innovation of agriculture is also creating new opportunities for farms to integrate renewable energy technologies alongside increasingly automated and electrified operations. Automation can improve how agricultural tasks are performed, while technologies such as solar PV can help provide the energy-generation and electrical infrastructure required to support increasingly electrified operations.
FAQ ABOUT THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FARMING FUTURES AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS COMPETITION
As farming innovation continues to evolve, the integration of automation, robotics, data-driven technologies and renewable energy is becoming increasingly important to the future of agricultural operations. For farms investing in new electrical equipment and automated systems, solar PV and commercial battery storage systems can provide an opportunity to generate and manage more of their electricity on-site.
By combining innovation of agriculture with renewable energy solutions, agricultural businesses can work towards greater energy efficiency, reduced reliance on grid electricity and more resilient farm operations. As agricultural processes become increasingly electrified, having the right energy infrastructure in place can help farms make the most of emerging technologies.
HOW CAN YOU POWER YOUR NEXT AGRICULTURAL PROJECT?
If you’re considering solar PV, battery storage or other renewable energy solutions for your farm, get in touch with our team to discuss your requirements and explore how we can support your energy needs.
Enquire with our expert team today: https://excelenergy.co.uk/project-enquiry/