Are you a West Midlands-based innovator with a digital solution that could support the planning and optimisation of the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter (BKQ) or Wolverhampton’s Green Innovation Corridor (GIC)? Join the DIATOMIC Digital Accelerator and help shape a smarter, more sustainable future for the region.

Funded by Innovate UK and the West Midlands Combined Authority, the accelerator programme is delivered by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with Birmingham City Council, University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, Aston University and in collaboration with Wolverhampton City Council and University of Wolverhampton. It supports SMEs developing digital solutions that can help improve how cities and places work.

Running from October 2025 to March 2026, the accelerator programme has been designed to drive regional innovation, boost economic growth, and create jobs and opportunities across the West Midlands. Supporting up to 10 SMEs, the programme will provide tailored commercial and technical support to each SME. This support will be scoped through a thorough business needs assessment and could include market analysis, value proposition refinement, strategic pricing, financial forecasting, and developing compelling communication strategies.

At least 5 SMEs will be selected to trial their solutions at a demo day, and a total pot of £100k will be made available to develop and demonstrate their digital twin use case with the support of the programme partners. We expect projects to cost between £10k and £20k.

Required criteria:
- you must be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
- you must be UK-registered.
- you must have a registered office or main operational base within the West Midlands region
- you must have a solution which is technical readiness level (TRL) 4+. This means that the solution has, at least, been tested or demonstrated in its intended environment and, at most, has been deployed as a first-of-a-kind commercial system.
- your solution must address one or more of the identified challenges.
- you must be willing to travel on occasion for face-to-face meetings (but most of the programme will be conducted virtually).
The accelerator is part of the wider DIATOMIC Digital Twin project, which provides a real-time digital model of the city to support better decision-making in infrastructure planning, environmental management, and sustainable development. The platform’s open design means it can connect with a wide range of APIs, digital tools and systems. It uses shared data to produce outputs such as 3D visualisations. This gives SMEs the chance to bring in their own expertise and help shape the platform’s features and uses. We are looking for solutions that can be added to the DIATOMIC digital twin platform to help reimagine a smarter, more sustainable West Midlands.

During phase 1 (2023-25), three use cases were developed on the digital twin platform (air quality and traffic management, hydrogen fuel cells for electric vehicles and energy systems). These use cases operate on real-time data collected from existing sensors and datasets in the West Midlands.

Phase 2 (2025-26) introduces new challenge areas developed in collaboration with local partners in Birmingham and Wolverhampton. These exploratory initiatives will require innovative solutions that leverage datasets provided, curated, or aggregated by SMEs.

As part of this opportunity, SMEs can either select a challenge area which connects to one of the existing use cases , therefore working with already compiled data, or choose a challenge which would require you to gather and integrate new data to help develop and test your solution on the digital twin platform.

Developed As Part Of The 2023–2025 UKRI West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, The DIATOMIC Digital Twin Platform Uses Azure Digital Twin Technology To Help Cities Make Data-driven Decisions. It Has Already Supported Pilot Projects Focused On:

Traffic and air quality: Birmingham City University
Hydrogen fuel cell lifespan extension: Aston University
Energy systems optimisation: University of Birmingham
An overview by Siemens of the Digital Twin Platform and three existing use cases

BKQ aims to offer connected green walkways and intuitive wayfinding for all. However, delivering this in an urban environment shared with multiple transport routes presents challenges. Digital twin technology can support this ambition by optimising current mobility and modelling future needs.

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DIATOMIC Digital Accelerator for West Midlands-based innovators