Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) | Universal Fabricators
Event details
| Date | 05.05.2026 |
| Category | Call for proposal |
Universal Fabricators aims to fund new interdisciplinary community to develop scalable processes that use proteins to assemble inorganic and composite materials with structures that are difficult to mass-produce. The goal is to move from biological approaches to first-principles manufacturing.
ARIA provides a live teaming tool here and organizes a webinar on 26 February 2026 (12:30 - 13:30 GMT – register here).
The program consists of two phases; this solicitation is for phase 1. ARIA will fund teams to develop protein-enabled materials manufacturing platforms:
Duration:
Funding:
Eligibility:
How to Apply:
Deadline:
Further information:
ARIA provides a live teaming tool here and organizes a webinar on 26 February 2026 (12:30 - 13:30 GMT – register here).
The program consists of two phases; this solicitation is for phase 1. ARIA will fund teams to develop protein-enabled materials manufacturing platforms:
- TA1.1 Fibre biomineralisation: Aiming to develop a biomineralization platform to produce high-performance inorganic fibres with precise control over geometry and uniformity
- TA1.2 Isoporous, defect-free metal-protein frameworks: Aiming to program the assembly of isoporous, crystalline protein lattices into mechanically resilient 2D membranes for transport channels and advanced functional devices.
- TA1.3 Monodisperse nanocrystal templating in anisotropic composites: Aiming to utilize engineered proteins to control the growth of monodisperse nanocrystals and organize them into 3D composites with unique properties.
Duration:
- The maximum project duration for this solicitation is 3 years
Funding:
- The budget depends on the technical areas, please refer to the call for proposals.
Eligibility:
- Applications from across the R&D ecosystem, including individuals, universities, research institutions, small, medium and large companies, charities and public sector research organizations are welcomed.
- Many applicants may decide to apply as a consortium consisting of two or more organizations that are proposing a cohesive proposal to work collaboratively.
- Overseas applicants are advised that ARIA's primary focus will be on funding those who are based in the UK. However, funding will be available to applicants outside the UK if ARIA believes the proposed project can boost the net impact of a program in the UK (examples of benefit listed here, p.22)
How to Apply:
- Applications must be submitted on ARIA’s grant platform, via the applicant’s account. You’ll find a walkthrough of the platform here.
Deadline:
- Concept paper submission deadline: 9 March 2026 (14:00 GMT)
- Full proposal submission deadline: 5 May 2026 (14:00 BST)
Further information:
- More information (call for proposal, applicant guidance about the program is available here
- ARIA FAQ : Refer to this page here
- Application portal can be found here
Practical information
- General public
- Free