Digital Twin Adoption Accelerator

Delivered by Digital Catapult, the Digital Twin Adoption Accelerator programme will support partnerships between tech SMEs and industry, to fast-track digital twin adoption in the maritime, aerospace, and defence sectors. 

The programme aims to enhance technology integration, increase readiness levels and facilitate collaboration between technology innovators and industry leaders. 

Digital Catapult are inviting tech SMEs, working in the six enabling technology areas that underpin digital twins, to take part in the seven-month programme, alongside an industry partner who is seeking to adopt digital twins, to develop a solution that solves one of their adoption challenges. 

Alongside funding of up to £100,000 from Innovate UK, participants will gain access to mentorship, workshops, and specialist support to develop a proof-of-concept and help bring the solution closer to real-world deployment.   

During the seven-month programme, participants will be supported by Digital Catapult and the UK Digital Twin Centre partners through:  

• Expertise from Digital Catapult’s innovation and technology teams to refine their digital twin solutions. 

• Access to real-world environments to develop their solutions. 

• Access to 1-2-1 mentoring. 

• Support in developing more robust use cases and market fit for their technology products or services. 

• Mentorship from the UK Digital Twin Centre industry partners. 

• An end of programme showcase event to demonstrate their solutions to an audience of industry, government and investors.  

The proposed key dates for this programme includes the following:  

• Open call- Applications open Monday 1 September 2025 at 9:00 AM 

• Open call- Applications deadline 10 October 2025 at 23:59 PM 

• Intended public announcement of successful participants: Friday 31 October 2025 

• Kick-off event and onboarding (in person): Thursday 27 November 2025 

• Demo Day (in-person): June 2026  

• End Date: Thursday 29 June 2026 

Please note that dates are subject to change  

The participants will have full ownership of their intellectual property created. For full details, please refer to the programme terms and conditions. 

The Digital Twin Adoption Accelerator programme has been designed for pre-formed partnerships between a tech SME and an industry adopter of digital twins in the maritime, aerospace or defence sector to solve a challenge to digital twin adoption. The lead applicant and co-applicant of the programme may be a representative from either the industry adopter or technology supplier.   

We expect to organise a small number of in-person events at the UK Digital Twin Centre in Belfast, such activities may include programme kick-off and showcase events. Participants will be informed with plenty of notice. Participants may use part of their grant funding for travel to attend in-person activities and use of the facilities at the Centre.  

• Cyber physical systems – (Sensors and connected devices, edge computing, sensor networks, real-time monitoring)   
• Data services – (Data platforms and databases, big data processing, predictive analytics, interoperability)   
• Security and trustworthiness – (Systems for sharing data or automating decisions Cyber resilience, data integrity, secure architectures) 
• Immersive and UX – (Simulation interfaces, immersive environments, and dashboards) 
• Intelligence – (Simulation and Modelling, AI-driven decision-making, machine learning, autonomy)   
• Integration and interoperability 

It is the consortium companies’ responsibility to have the necessary data ready or a plan to obtain the data required by your use-case or solution and share between the consortium partners as needed. Digital Catapult may not ask you to share your data but if access is necessary and given, these will be regarded as confidential information.    

Month 1: Orientation and Challenge Framing

Objective: Introduce participants to the program and begin framing addressable challenges within the digital twin industry. 

Month 2: Industry Deep Dive 

Objective: Deepen participants’ understanding of the industry and how their technologies fit into existing systems.  

Month 3&4: Solution Development  

Objective: Development and refinement of Digital Twin PoC with support from UK Digital Twin Centre 

Month 5: Solution Positioning 

Objective: Development and refinement of Digital Twin PoC solution with expert insights of market positioning 

 Month 6: Final Preparation for Demo/Showcase Day 

Objective: Prepare for the final demonstration and showcase of technologies. 

 Month 7: Demo/Showcase Day 

Objective: Demonstrate technologies to potential buyers from industry, investors and partners, and facilitate further engagements that could lead to integration into the digital twin technology stack. 

Please note this timeline is subject to change

Successful applicants will receive funding of up to £100,000 to develop their use case PoC within the programme timeline. This funding can be allocated flexibly between the Technology Vendor and Industry Adopter based on project needs as stated on the proposed delivery plan as part of the application process. Funding will be cascaded from Digital Catapult to the companies through completion of milestones across the programme duration. 

Yes, you will be able to save it during the application process, so that you can complete it in more than one session if you need to 

 Applications will be assessed and scored against five criteria. All application must have a digital twin use case to take part in the programme 

1. Problem and Solution (30%): The consortium should demonstrate that their us-case is addressing a clear problem, as well as applying at least one and preferably a combination of the Digital Twin core underpinning technologies to tackle the challenges in their selected focus areas.  

1. Delivery, Team and Resource (20%): The consortium should be capable delivering the solution within the programme timeframe of 7 months. They should demonstrate team expertise and resources capable to consistently deliver their use case within 7 months.   

1. Financials (20%):  The consortium should be able to articulate the proposed budget to develop a Proof of Concept within the program timeline. The consortium should describe how funds will be allocated between the companies, how the funds were estimated and a detailed breakdown of fund allocation per quarter per milestone deliverable.   

1. Added Value and Scalability (20%): The consortium should describe a clear strategy for follow-on funding. They should articulate a clear and feasible strategy for scaling the use-case after the programme.  

1. Governance (10%): The consortium should have a clear plan for collaboration between them i.e Industry Adopter and Tech Vendor including a clear description of responsibilities and decision-making process between partners.    

Note: Successful applicants will undergo financial due diligence to confirm that the consortium companies have the capacity to effectively utilize the fund offered by the program  

Yes. You can book a 15-minute office-hours slot to speak with a member of the programme team. These informal sessions are open and accessible to all applicants and won’t affect the outcome of your application. For help with the Skipso platform or accessibility needs, email: [email protected]. 

Because of the number of applications we receive, we cannot provide feedback on applications that are not successful.  

Yes, both companies in the consortium must be registered in United Kingdom including Northern Ireland and Great Britain  

As well as meeting the selection criteria for this programme, partners must meet the following minimum requirements outlined in the terms and conditions.

1. Technology Vendor: A company that provides the digital twin tools, platforms, or technical expertise required to develop the proposed solution.  
2. Industry Adopter: An organisation from a relevant sector (Maritime, Aerospace or Defence) seeking to address a specific operational or user challenge by implementing a digital twin solution. The organisation is the end-user or implementer of the digital twin solution.   
3. End Users: The individuals or organisations who ultimately benefit from the digital twin solution, such as customers, operators, or internal teams.  
4. Consortium: A collaboration between an industry adopter and a technology vendor or supplier, formed to jointly deliver a digital twin solution within the demonstrate accelerator  
5. Proof of Concept (PoC): An early-stage model or prototype that demonstrates the technical and commercial feasibility and potential of the proposed digital twin solution.  
6. MAD: This is an acronym for Maritime, Aerospace and Defence sectors