Critical Minerals Programme

The £50m was announced on 22 June 2026 as a programme to be delivered through three pillars — Magnet Hub (£20m), Critical Minerals Accelerator (£25m), Demand Aggregation Platform (up to £5m). The release describes pillars and amounts only — no application dates, no competition links, and no named recipients.\n\nWho decides: It'll be run by DBT with Innovate UK / UKRI (the same bodies behind the Critical Minerals Strategy and the CMA prospectus). Companies will most likely find out by applying to competitive calls and being assessed\n\nWhen: The official line at launch was that programme details would follow \"later in 2026.\" No firmer date has been published. Based on how Innovate UK normally runs (the package was only announced on 22 June), expect the individual pillar competitions to open over the coming months, each with its own apply-by deadline and a decision window typically a few months after close.\n\nThe Usual, Apply, wait and see,\n\nThe Magnet Hub may be procured as a single national facility (so one host site/consortium), while the £25m Accelerator will likely be a collaborative-grant competition with multiple winners — which is exactly the route that fits Ionic, HyProMag, LCM, etc.\n\nhttps://t.co/KYc1MVvG1B