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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to support interregional innovation investments by providing financial and advisory support to consortia of innovation actors. It aims to bring innovations to a more mature level, ready for scale-up and commercialisation, with a strong focus on reducing the innovation divide in Europe by integrating less developed and transition regions into European value chains.

This grant targets consortia of innovation actors from the quadruple helix ecosystems (including academia, industry, public sector, and civil society).
Companies are expected to be in the lead for business investment cases.
This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, with projects required to address one of three thematic priorities: Digital transition, Green transition, or Smart manufacturing.
The geographic scope is interregional within the European Union, specifically promoting cooperation between less developed, transition, and more developed regions.
Key filtering criteria include the requirement for interregional cooperation, focus on specified thematic areas, and a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6.
This funding opportunity is part of the recurring I3 Instrument programme, which falls under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) regulation (2021-2027 work programme).

Financial Structure

The total available budget for the I3-2025-INV2a call is EUR 24,000,000 for the year 2025.
Minimum and maximum grant amounts per project are not specified, indicating flexibility based on the proposed investment portfolio.
Funding is provided through financial support, which can include direct funding to consortium beneficiaries or cascade funding (Financial Support to Third Parties - FSTP).
Non-financial support, such as coaching, mentoring, or matchmaking activities, is also provided.
Eligible costs relate to activities that directly aim at producing plans, arrangements, or designs for new, altered, or improved products, processes, or services. This includes demonstrating, testing, piloting, large-scale product validation, and market replication.
Adaptation of existing prototypes (e.g., by combining key enabling technologies) for demonstration in a real environment is an eligible activity, but ex-novo prototyping is explicitly ineligible.
Other eligible activities include the development of project portfolios for close-to-market investments, connecting/utilizing testing and demonstration facilities, innovation services for business investment, test beds to improve regulations/standards, and advisory support for investment.
While no specific matching fund percentages are stated, the objective mentions strengthening regions' capacity to 'co-invest together' and identifying 'possible sources of funding/funding mix' to cover residual investment needs, implying co-financing is expected.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type & Structure

Applications must come from consortia of innovation actors from the quadruple helix ecosystems.
Projects involving business investment cases must have companies in the lead.
SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) are eligible to participate as beneficiaries or as third parties receiving financial support.
Proposals must ensure a balanced participation of regions with varying levels of development and innovation performance.
Participation of innovation actors must be based on shared or complementary innovation priorities, as defined in their regional and/or national Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3).

Geographic Location

Eligible participants must be from less developed regions, transition regions, and more developed regions within the European Union.
The project requires interregional cooperation among partners from different regions.

Project Maturity

Projects must demonstrate a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6.
The focus is on facilitating demonstration, accelerating market uptake, and achieving commercialisation of innovations.

Exclusion Criteria

Ex-novo prototyping (creating entirely new prototypes from scratch) is not eligible. Only the adaptation of existing prototypes is supported.

Application Process

Application Timeline

The submission session opened on May 22, 2025.
The application deadline is November 13, 2025, at 00:00 UTC.
An indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in section 4 of the call document, but this document is not provided here.

Submission Process & Materials

Applications must be submitted through the Electronic Submission Service via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Required documentation includes:
- A proposal respecting specified page limits and layout, detailed in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form.
- The Standard application form (I3).
- The Detailed budget table (I3 FSTP 100%).
- The S3 Compliance Declaration (I3).
Applicants will need to confirm their choice of action type and model grant agreement, as this cannot be changed in the submission system.

Support and Resources

A Q&A document is available and regularly updated; applicants are encouraged to consult it for common questions.
For call-related questions, contact [email protected].
Technical support (e.g., forgotten passwords, access rights, submission technicalities) is available via the IT Helpdesk.
The Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual provides a step-by-step guide for participation in EU funding programmes.
A Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ is also available for general queries.

Project Implementation & Reporting

Projects are expected to define a clear exploitation plan for their results, including how new products, processes, or services will be broadly introduced.
Activities must be carried out cooperatively, ensuring alignment across regions.
General reporting on ongoing projects is mentioned as part of the Portal processes.

Evaluation Criteria

The detailed award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in section 9 of the official call document, which is not provided here. However, based on the grant's objectives and expected impacts, applications are likely to be evaluated on the following: Strategic Alignment & Impact

Potential for creating new value chains in less developed and transition regions.
Effectiveness in applying and deploying innovative technologies and solutions (new to the region) in less developed and transition regions, thereby contributing to innovation diffusion.
Capacity for exploiting research results and achieving market uptake of viable solutions.
Contribution to digitisation and health systems transformation (if applicable to the Digital transition theme).
Role in deploying new green and digital technologies to foster Europe's manufacturing sector.
Ability to strengthen innovation diffusion channels and enhance regions' capacity for interregional co-investment.
Expected impact on reducing the innovation divide and regional disparities.
Potential for increasing companies' productivity and efficiency.
Contribution to the twin transition (green and digital) and the efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness of EU manufacturing.
Alignment with European Green Deal objectives (for Green transition theme).
Contribution to social and territorial cohesion and overall well-being.

Innovation & Technology

Evidence that the project has a minimum TRL of 6 and a clear path to demonstration, scale-up, and commercialisation.
Focus on adapting existing prototypes (e.g., by combining key enabling technologies) and tailoring them for demonstration in a real environment.
Capacity to develop portfolios of projects for close-to-market investments.
Potential for interconnecting value chains and providing innovative services for business investment.

Project Quality & Feasibility

Clear articulation of the progress from innovation towards commercialisation and upscaling expected from the project.
Presence of a well-defined exploitation plan outlining how project results (new products/processes/services) will be broadly introduced post-completion.
Demonstration of effective cooperation among partners, with activities across regions being well-connected and aligned.
Clear links between work packages in content and purpose to achieve overall project goals and enable replication.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory & Legal Compliance

Projects must comply with the ERDF Regulation 2021/1058 and the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.
Applicants must adhere to the Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment, and Financial Capacity Assessment.
A Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) Compliance Declaration is a required submission document, indicating alignment with regional/national S3 priorities.

Innovation & Strategic Focus

The grant encourages addressing challenges identified in the New European Innovation Agenda and critical technologies outlined in the Strategic Technology for Europe Platform (Regulation (EU) 2024/795).
There is a strong emphasis on the twin transition (digital and green) as overarching themes.
Projects must involve interregional investments, which mobilize resources across regions to generate long-term value.
The principle of technological neutrality for Member States applies where appropriate, especially within the green transition theme.

Project Scope & Activities

While adaptation of existing prototypes is eligible, ex-novo prototyping (creating entirely new prototypes) is explicitly not eligible.
Within the Smart manufacturing theme, projects are encouraged to seek synergies with circularity hubs.
The grant allows for financial support to be provided through cascade funding (Financial Support to Third Parties - FSTP), enabling direct funding to smaller entities or specific activities within the larger consortium.
Projects should have industry in the lead for business investment cases, emphasizing practical, market-driven innovation.

Grant Details