Several EU funding calls for entrepreneurs are expected to be opened by the end of the year. Here, we highlight some of the most exciting opportunities to apply for non-repayable grants.
In the coming months, several EU funding calls are expected to open, targeting companies developing innovative projects, either independently or in collaboration with universities or research institutes. Additionally, there will soon be calls for grants aimed at promoting the internationalization of businesses, including incentives for participating in domestic and international trade fairs as well as B2B meetings.
Proof of Concept
A “Proof of Concept” grant call has recently been announced, with applications starting on October 1, 2024. This call is aimed at individuals, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, as well as research organizations, to co-finance pre-commercial activities in the early stages of developing new products, services, and technological processes. The goal is to determine the potential for commercialization, guide further development, and reduce investment risks.
The grant supports research activities at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3-4, which fall under the category of industrial research. Industrial research involves planned research or critical investigation aimed at acquiring new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes, or services, or significantly improving existing ones. This includes digital products, processes, or services in any field, technology, industry, or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies such as supercomputing, quantum technologies, blockchain, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, big data technologies, and cloud computing).
Innovations in Newly Established SMEs
For companies up to five years old, the “Innovations in Newly Established SMEs” grant is particularly attractive. It includes activities such as upgrades, design, feasibility testing (prototypes), market validation, testing, pilot line development, intellectual property protection, and external services focused on developing an innovative idea (product, process, service, etc.), as well as training to mitigate and assess financing risks.
It’s important to note that this grant is intended to support innovations that are at TRL levels 5 to 8, meaning projects that already have a developed prototype (intermediate or high levels) will be encouraged. The aim is to further develop and refine the prototype during the project period, including demonstrating the technology in a real-world environment to gather data on its performance and reliability. The goal is to collect useful data to show how the innovation works in practice, its practicality and effectiveness, its limitations, and to ensure its reliability while eliminating any engineering and production risks.
We’ve previously written about the importance of TRL levels for securing EU grants, but the key takeaway is this: EU funds want to ensure that the projects they finance have a realistic chance of success and commercialization. Therefore, demonstrating progress through TRL levels provides a clear insight into how far the innovation has developed and how close it is to real-world application. Additionally, TRL levels offer insight into the risks and challenges associated with the technology or project, meaning higher TRL levels typically indicate lower risks, as the technologies have already been tested and validated in relevant environments. This is crucial for project evaluation and decision-making regarding grant allocations.
In the previous call of this type (Grants for Newly Established Companies), grants were awarded up to a maximum amount of €132,000, with funding approved for a total of 149 innovative projects.
Compared to the previous call, the total allocation is now slightly lower (reduced from €18 million to €14 million), and the funding intensity has decreased by 15 percentage points (from 85% to 70%). Despite this, it remains an excellent opportunity for all companies developing innovative projects and who will have an intermediate or high-level prototype at the time of applying for the grant, expected to be announced in September 2024.
Targeted Scientific Research
At the end of the year, the announcement of the “Targeted Scientific Research” grant is expected. This grant supports collaborative industrial research projects conducted in partnership between companies and research organizations. It is mandatory to include at least one partner in the project, and only applications submitted within such a consortium (company/research organization) are eligible. Importantly, the research organization can be privately owned, meaning that not only public universities and institutes can apply as project applicants and/or partners.
The grant will fund research activities at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1-4, primarily categorized as industrial research. The aim is to strengthen the pathway toward higher TRL research, leading to experimental development and innovation activities. Additionally, this grant seeks to foster the creation of long-term relationships and collaborations between consortium members, which should continue even after the supported projects are completed—this is a particularly important aspect of the grant.
Based on experience from last year’s similar grant, the key factors for a successful project application include: (1) a strong consortium, ideally comprising a team of experienced professionals with innovation development experience in the private sector on one side, and a team of experienced scientists/researchers on the other; (2) “tangible” and clearly verifiable project results/goals; and (3) precisely defined parts of the research that will be protected as intellectual property through the project.
Given that the grant intensities for this call range from 50% to as much as 100% (for research organizations), with a maximum grant amount of €1.5 million and a total allocation of €35 million, this call is attractive for more complex innovative projects developed in close collaboration between companies and universities/institutes.
Support for SMEs Related to Internationalization and Market Expansion
If you don’t necessarily have an innovative project or have already developed one and wish to present it at relevant international tech fairs, a suitable grant is the “Support for SMEs Related to Internationalization and Market Expansion.” This grant includes participation in international fairs, including organizing business meetings (trade delegations, matchmaking, and/or B2B events domestically and internationally) and informational events on the topic of internationalization. A similar call was active four years ago (SME Internationalization – Phase 2), during which over 300 projects were approved for companies from various sectors, with grants up to €132,000 and an intensity of 85% of eligible costs for micro and small enterprises.
Since then, there have been no similar calls to encourage companies to participate in fairs, so a significant interest in this new call is expected. The funding intensity will be slightly lower than four years ago (reduced from 85% to 60%), but the total allocation will be significantly higher than in 2020. The initial allocation for the previous call was €7.7 million, which was later increased to €17.7 million due to high demand.
For this year’s call, the planned allocation is nearly €30 million, which should be sufficient for all interested parties who submit their projects on time to receive funding for participation in B2B meetings and fairs both domestically and internationally.
Overall, in the coming months, a significant number of different EU calls for grant applications are expected to be opened. Once the calls are published, all the details regarding applicant eligibility and the types of costs that can be funded will be known. However, now is the time to start thinking about conceptually developing ideas so that projects can be thoroughly prepared for submission in the final quarter of this year.
For more information and assistance with project preparation, feel free to contact us at: info@omniasolutions.hr.
You can also stay updated on new EU and national grant opportunities by following our LinkedIn page.
