EIT Manufacturing announces Empowering SMEs Call for Proposals

Aims

The overall aim is to attract SMEs, including startups, willing to scaling up their business, solving industrial needs and creating a vibrant and competitive European manufacturing sector that paves the way to sustainable innovation.

• Proposals should:
  • Adapt existing solutions to new sectors or industrial contexts:
    • Existing solutions must already be on the market with demonstrated success;
    • Applicants should provide references from current clients and show evidence of generated revenues;
  • Include innovation and experimentation, with solutions applied in real industrial environments (test areas or simulations are not eligible):
    • New solutions require a balance between proven success and innovation to deliver commercially viable and impactful results;
    • New solutions should achieve Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 8 or higher by the end of the project;
    • The SME should proof the sales of the new solution generating at least EUR 10 000 of revenue no later than 6 months after the project’s end.
• Be implemented in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.

Funding Information

• The total maximum EIT funding allocated to this call is EUR 1 000 000. The funding is in the form of a lump sum with a fixed amount as indicated below:
  • Sole applicant (SME, including startups): EUR 60 000
  • Small consortium:
    • SME: EUR 60 000
    • End-user: EUR 40 000
• Applications submitted to this call are expected to have a minimum 30% co-funding rate. The minimum co-funding rate refers to the total project budget.
• The lump sum offered will cover the applicants’ eligible (direct and indirect) costs for the activities. The costs incurred in the implementation of the project will be paid out upon successful receipt of the mandatory deliverables as explained in the dedicated paragraph.
• All applicants must provide a detailed cost estimation, which must approximate the actual costs. The estimation provided must be:
  • subject to the same eligibility rules as in actual costs grants, i.e. cost estimations can be included only if the same cost item/type of cost would be eligible in an actual cost grant. detailed in terms of tasks: applicants must identify the budget assigned to each task and the expected ending date of the task.
  • must be in line with normal practices.
  • must be reasonable/not excessive.
  • must be in line with and necessary for the activities proposed.

Expected Outcomes

• Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
  • Increase competitiveness of manufacturing companies in the global economy.
  • Create new value streams through circular economy practices.
  • Reduce waste and environmental burden with optimized production processes.
  • Develop a safer, more accessible, and inclusive work environment that boosts employees’ well-being.
  • Enhance the attractiveness, cleanliness, safety, and status of manufacturing jobs.
  • Decarbonize manufacturing industries in line with the Green Deal strategy.
  • Enhance overall factory efficiency and shift to flexible manufacturing with rapid response capabilities.
  • Improve decision-making, prediction, and anticipation of energy and resource needs.
  • Develop effective human-machine interaction and increase workplace safety and performance
  • Facilitate the recycling, reuse, and transformation of resources to enable and scale a circular business model.

Eligibility Criteria

• Empowering SMEs 2024 Call is open to:
  • Any SME and startup established in one of the Member States (including overseas countries and territories, (OCTs) or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe and the low- and middle-income countries;
  • Applicants may choose one of the following configurations:
    • Sole applicant (SME, including startups);
    • Small consortium (SME + 1 Industrial end-user). The industrial end-user could be either a SME or a Large Company;
    • A Letter of Commitment from the end-user, stating the commitment to support the SME in identifying the requirements and test the developed solution is mandatory.

For more information, visit EIT Manufacturing.