Funding
\nThe call for concept papers now closed. The window for full proposals will open on 2 April 2026.
\nWe intend to fund a new interdisciplinary community to develop scalable processes that use proteins to template the assembly of inorganic and composite materials with structures that currently cannot be mass manufactured. This programme is designed to expand the Overton window in this domain – to move from biology into first-principles manufacturing approaches – and as such, we’re looking to fund Creators who are highly iterative and adaptable.
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Technical Areas open for funding
In Phase One of this programme, we’ll fund teams to develop protein-enabled materials manufacturing platforms (TA1). We’ve chosen three functions for teams to choose from to prioritise:
\nTA1.1 | Fibre biomineralisation: Aiming to develop a general templated biomineralisation platform to manufacture high-performance, inorganic 1D materials (fibres), with programmable control of radial geometry and with extreme precision and uniformity over kilometre-scale lengths. This will have diverse applications across photonics, electronics, and fluidic systems.
Example application: hollow-core optical fibres, reducing latency and boosting the speed of data transmission.
TA1.2 | Isoporous, defect-free metal-protein frameworks: Aiming to programme the assembly of isoporous, crystalline protein lattices into mechanically resilient 2D membranes that function as perfectly ordered scaffolds for engineered transport channels. This platform will naturally have applications in separations, but will also sculpt optical, electronic, or magnetic band structures, yielding a new class of deterministic devices like functional lenses, selective molecular sieves, and advanced energy materials.
Example application: ultra-high purity lithium hydroxide extraction membranes, making lithium extraction for batteries more efficient and sustainable.
TA1.3 | Monodisperse nanocrystal templating in anisotropic composites: Aiming to utilise programmed assemblies of engineered proteins as molecularly precise reactors to dictate the nucleation and growth of monodisperse nanocrystals, with exact control over crystalline phase, size, and shape. By organising these building blocks into anisotropic 3D composites, the platform can produce functional bulk solids with unprecedented electromagnetic, energy-transport, and structural properties that bypass traditional thermodynamic processing limits.
Example application: rare-earth free magnets, reducing reliance on volatile supply chains for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and a broad range of electronics.
Full details of what is in and out of scope for each area can be found in the call for proposals.
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Who should apply?
We invite applications from interdisciplinary teams bridging fields such as – but not limited to – protein engineering, self assembly, complex matter physics, inorganic materials engineering, process engineering, and reactor design. We welcome applications from those at universities, research institutes, startups, and established companies, as well as from individuals.
\nWe encourage collaborative teams, but solo applicants are also invited to apply and we can assist in forming teams. Applicants can be based in the UK or abroad.
Join a team
\nWe have a live teaming tool that allows applicants to find complementary expertise. After a quick registration, you can browse other researchers and request an introduction from the ARIA team to explore potential collaborations.
How to apply
\nThe first stage of the application process was the submission of a concept paper, which allowed applicants to receive feedback from the programme team. You did not have to submit a concept paper in order to submit a full proposal.
\nWe previously hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the programme’s objectives, scope, and application process, and to give potential applicants an opportunity to direct questions to the ARIA team – you can find a replay and FAQs from the session in the resources below.
Key dates
\nConcept paper deadline: 9 March 2026 (14:00 GMT)
Full proposal window opens: 2 April 2026
Full proposal submission deadline: 5 May 2026 (14:00 BST)
Read the call for proposals for full details and apply below.
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\nIf you missed our webinar or you have any questions, please use the chat function on this page for the quickest response – you'll find the icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. It can guide you to the right information or connect you with the ARIA team if needed. We’ll update this page regularly with questions and answers.
\nNb: clarification questions that need to be reviewed by the ARIA team should be submitted via the chat function no later than 4 days prior to the relevant deadline date. Clarification questions received after this date will not be reviewed.
","mediumLayout":false,"fullWidth":false},{"type":"accordion","title":"Questions + answers","intro":"","items":[{"title":"Is there a minimum time commitment required for the Principal Investigator (when different to the Technical Project Lead)? How can we know the name in advance (new recruit needed)?","text":"There is no minimum time commitment required for the Principal Investigator (when different to the Technical Project Lead). In the ideal case, the Technical Project Lead, which could be a postdoc, employee, a PI, an exceptional student, CO-I or a co-lead, should be >80% time committed to the project, and should be individually named in proposals. This so that we can feel confident that there is strong technical ownership and clear responsibility as the primary point of contact for the active management of the project with ARIA. We are keen to explore structures not typical in academic research, such as supporting early career researchers as project leads or funding large (>80%) proportions of senior academics’ time so that they can focus fully on their ARIA project.
\nIf a new recruit is needed and a Technical Project Lead cannot be named in advance, we expect teams to propose a “ramp-up” period, during which named alternate project team member(s), who may or may not be the PI, will temporarily serve as the Technical Project Lead (>80% time) until an ideal full-time project lead is hired.
","links":[]},{"title":"Would oligopeptides (composed of 20 or fewer amino acids) be suitable instead of full proteins?","text":"We are agnostic to the length of the polypeptide chain, and define what is considered in scope as a protein as long as they can be programmed to precisely assemble into structures with repeatable 3D geometries/interfaces to template the assembly of defect-free inorganic materials. Engineered polypeptides that are “mini-proteins” or designed as ensembles, are in scope if they can achieve this. Short peptides that are used primarily as a motif, additive, or sub-module (binding, nucleation, linking) are out of scope as the main programmable substrate, if they cannot achieve multivalent, hierarchical, defect-suppressed macroscopic assembly (PO1: programmable assembly instruction set). Likewise when solid-phase synthesis methods are proposed, please consider that there must be a credible path to scalable manufacturing (PO3). Proposals where peptides are used as a supportive component, subordinate to a protein-programmed assembly platform, are in scope.
","links":[]},{"title":"Must the final materials produced by the processes developed in this programme be inorganic and/or contain proteins, or can enzymes produce other materials? As an example, for the 1D challenge, does the fibre need to be made of protein or can we use a protein as a catalyst to generate a polymer which can then in turn be used to produce fibres?","text":"The final materials produced must either be fully inorganic (proteins removed entirely) or be composites with an inorganic component, as this is Programme Objective 2.
\nApproaches that use enzymes (or other catalysts) are in scope if used as a complimentary mechanism to meet all 3 of our Programme Objectives (1. Hierarchical assembly, 2. Inorganics with state-of-art interfacial precision & programmable tunability, and 3. Process scalability).
In the context of the 1D Challenge: The final hollow fibre material is made of silica and should not contain any protein. Fibre geometry (inner and outer diameters) should be controllable by programming proteins and external reactor design. All manufacturing approaches are in scope that use proteins to template the assembly of the silica fibre, regardless if a protein fibre is formed or not. Approaches that use enzymes in a bespoke process that lack the required programmability, precision, or generalisability (\"universality\"), are not in scope.