progres.nrw – Innovation

Develop or test new energy technologies. Industrial research creates new knowledge and skills for new or substantially improved products, processes or services. Experimental development tests and improves products or processes that are not yet final, for example through prototypes, pilots and demonstrations in realistic operating conditions. Examples include renewable-energy integration, storage, hydrogen, energy efficiency, low-carbon mobility and industrial processes. Routine changes to existing products or processes do not count as experimental development. The programme also supports feasibility studies, research and testing infrastructure, networks, clusters and innovative short projects. Process innovation must produce a substantial, lasting improvement in production or service capacity through testing and research and be directed towards climate neutrality.

Grants contribute to eligible project spending. Base maximum rates for small/medium/large companies are 70%/60%/50% for industrial research and studies preparing research or experimental development; 45%/35%/25% for experimental development; and 80%/70%/60% for studies preparing investments. Research and experimental-development rates can rise by 15 percentage points for qualifying collaboration, wide dissemination of results or prompt, non-exclusive licensing of protected results to third parties in the European Economic Area at market prices without discrimination. Small-company aid under sections 5.4.1–5.4.6 cannot exceed 80%.

In genuine collaboration, independent partners jointly define the project, contribute to its delivery and share its risks and results. For the rate bonus, qualifying collaboration means either independent companies, with no company bearing over 70% of eligible spending and at least one small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) or research and development in at least two EU countries or an EU country and another EEA state; or a company and a research institution bearing at least 10% of eligible consortium spending and entitled to publish its own results. Contract research does not qualify. Wide dissemination means conferences, scientific or technical publications, public raw-data databases, or free/open-source software.

Research infrastructure can receive up to 50%, plus 10 percentage points for cross-border collaboration publicly funded by at least two EU states. Testing infrastructure rates for small/medium/large companies are 45%/35%/25%, with possible bonuses of 10 points for cross-border infrastructure publicly funded by at least two EU states and 5 points where at least 80% of annual capacity is allocated to SMEs. Cluster investment and operating aid is up to 50%; operating aid covers at most ten years. Process-innovation rates are 50% for SMEs and 15% for large companies.

Non-economic activities include independent research to gain knowledge and understanding and making research results widely available; supplying research services or contract research to companies is economic activity under EU state-aid rules.

Universities and research institutions can receive up to 100% for non-economic research and development if they have little or no own economic interest compared with the state's funding-policy interest, or the necessary work requires full state funding. They must separate economic and non-economic accounts and must not selectively advantage a company through the results. Non-economic studies can receive up to 100% where there is a special state interest. Aid under the de minimis route can also reach 100%, subject to its rules. Short projects must be stand-alone projects, last at most twelve months and have a €300,000 award ceiling. Every award must exceed €25,000; activity-specific EU aid notification thresholds also apply.

Eligible spending includes necessary project staff, equipment, contract research, consultancy, project services, travel and overheads. Equipment used for only part of its life normally qualifies through depreciation during the project; non-economic university and research-institution projects may instead include planned purchase expenditure, with disposal restricted for the period in the award. For mainly publicly funded institutions, staff pay cannot exceed comparable state employees' pay; recognised productive hours are capped at 1,720 per year across public projects and reduced for part-time work. Recoverable VAT is excluded. For eligible Article 25 R&D funded solely by the state, the applicant may choose actual overheads or a flat rate up to 20% of eligible personnel, equipment and contract-research/service costs; publicly funded institutions cannot charge costs already covered by core funding.