Brave1 launches new grant program for component development with nearly UAH 8 mln funding
The state defense tech cluster Brave1 announced the launch of a new grant program Brave1 Components for component development with the possibility of funding up to UAH 8 million, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov has said.
"Our next step, our goal together with the Ministry of Defense is to open the components market as much as possible," Fedorov said at the program presentation, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reports.
"Components today are becoming the blood, oil of modern technological warfare. Microcircuits, engines, batteries, optics, communication, navigation equipment – all of this is a strategic resource today," Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
He said the President of Ukraine set the task of ensuring that at least 50% of Ukrainian products were on the battlefield.
"Localization of production is part of our defense strategy. We currently employ over 200 manufacturers of components for unmanned systems," Shmyhal said.
According to Fedorov, the amount of funding for the announced program depends on the level of readiness of the technology and the complexity of its development. In particular, a grant of up to UAH 500,000 is provided with the current ability of the company to test ideas and conduct preliminary research, and up to UAH 2 million with the ability to create a laboratory sample.
Companies that are already at the stage of creating a prototype and field tests can count on funding of up to UAH 4 million, while those that are already conducting further combat testing and transferring equipment to a military unit can apply for up to UAH 8 million.
Head of the Brave1 cluster Andriy Hrytseniuk, in turn, explained that the program will focus on about 20 areas. In particular, we are talking about internal combustion engines, propulsive elements, which include propellers for aircraft-type UAVs, propellers with reduced sound moderation for multirotor-type UAVs. Among other types of developments, the focus is on computing systems and sensors, namely the main control controllers, combat computers and other elements.
A separate direction is also communications, which includes aggregators of communication channels, as well as cameras and suspensions.
The First Deputy Prime Minister also said the component department has been created at Brave1, which will deal with the development of legislative changes, establishing cooperation between manufacturers and grants for component manufacturers.
"Their task is to make legislative changes. It is also to establish cooperation between manufacturers. To create such sites, platforms where we can communicate and find each other, to create such synergy," Fedorov said.
Brave1 is a state defense tech cluster, created in 2023 at the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Affairs. In two years, Brave1 has become the largest angel investor for defense tech in Ukraine, issuing grants worth over $50 million.