R&D tax credits for logistics & mobility.
From autonomous transport to port automation and supply-chain intelligence, the UAE is engineering how goods and people move. Much of that work resolves real technical uncertainty — the discipline is proving precisely which part qualifies.
How qualifying R&D shows up in logistics & mobility.
The UAE regime tests every project against the five OECD Frascati criteria. Here is what each looks like on a line, in a cell, or in a new process.
Novel
Capability that existing transport or logistics technology cannot deliver.
Creative
Original algorithms, control or systems, not routine configuration.
Uncertain
Whether the system performs safely and at scale is genuinely unknown.
Systematic
Planned trials, simulation and instrumented real-world testing.
Transferable
Results reproducible across routes, fleets or facilities
The kind of work that qualifies.
Illustrative projects across upstream, downstream and the energy transition. Eligibility is always confirmed project by project.
Autonomous transport
Perception, planning or control for self-driving vehicles in real UAE conditions no off-the-shelf stack handles.
Routing & fleet systems
Real-time routing or fleet-optimisation where scale and constraints defeat available solvers.
Port & terminal automation
Automating handling, scheduling or yard operations at throughput with no proven pattern.
Warehouse robotics
Picking, sorting or storage robotics for tasks that resist standard automation.
Supply-chain intelligence
Forecasting or visibility systems requiring new modelling, not rule tuning.
Cold-chain & tracking
Sensing and control that maintains integrity under Gulf conditions beyond current practice.
Genuine R&D, not routine engineering.
The value we add is drawing this line correctly — claiming what qualifies, and defending it, while leaving out what does not.
- Developing autonomy, control or optimisation with uncertain outcomes.
- Systematic simulation and real-world testing to prove safety and performance.
- Robotics or automation for tasks with no established solution.
- Engineering throughput, accuracy or resilience beyond current capability.
- Deploying vehicles, robots or software to a proven specification.
- Routine integration of existing logistics platforms.
- Standard route planning within known tooling.
- Operational or commercial analysis with no technical uncertainty.
£50M+
claimed across 450+ UK companies with a 100% audit success record — including complex, engineering-heavy claims in energy and industrials. The same chartered method now applies to the UAE.
“RDvault is a user-friendly solution that saved us countless hours on documentation and compliance.”
Voltaware — RDvault client
A UAE Logistics, Supply Chain and Mobility case study will feature here as claims complete under the new regime.
We integrate existing logistics software. Does that qualify?
Standard integration usually does not. But where you extend a system beyond its known limits — scale, latency, a routing or autonomy problem with no established answer — the experimental work can qualify.
Autonomous-vehicle work is heavily regulated. Does that affect eligibility?
Regulatory compliance itself is not R&D, but engineering a system to meet a safety or performance bar that demanded genuine technical development frequently is. We separate the two.
Our trials happen partly on public roads. Is testing eligible?
Systematic testing designed to resolve a technical uncertainty — not routine quality checks — can form part of a qualifying project, including instrumented real-world trials.
What evidence will we need?
Contemporaneous records: the technical uncertainty, the simulation and testing done to resolve it, and project-level cost and staff-time allocation. We build this as the work happens — and pre-approval is mandatory before claiming.
Moving goods or people? Let’s find what qualifies.
We assess your projects against the five criteria, handle pre-approval, and build the evidence — before a single figure is claimed.
