By Kari Williamson

The funding competition, which opens on 3 October 2011, aims to help companies to access the market, mobilise their supply chains to provide innovations that are precisely targeted to their currently unmet needs.

The competition seeks to address the challenges of reducing the global environmental impact of materials and reducing the dependence on key raw materials.

The proposed products and services should, therefore, have a reduced environmental impact compared to current alternatives, and/or be less dependent on the use of strategic materials, the Board says.