Manufacturing SME transformation grant

• Your registered SME must operate in an EU Member State. Horizon Europe associated countries outside the EU are excluded. Applications and communication with MANTRA must be in English.
• Your registered manufacturing activity must fall under NACE C10 (food), C11 (beverages), C13 (textiles), C14 (wearing apparel), C15 (leather and related products of other materials), C22 (rubber and plastics), C23 (other non-metallic mineral products), C24 (basic metals) or C25 (fabricated metal products, excluding machinery and equipment). Supply official proof of your registered NACE classification; other activities and missing valid proof are ineligible.
• You must meet the EU SME definition, or stricter local rules on employee count and turnover. The EU test requires fewer than 250 staff, together with either annual turnover no more than €50 million or a balance-sheet total no more than €43 million. For partner companies, add data in proportion to the higher of the capital or voting-rights holding; add 100% of linked-company data, avoiding double counting in consolidated accounts. Partner relationships generally start at 25% ownership or voting rights, while linked companies involve control, such as majority voting rights or a right to exercise dominant influence. Staff are counted as annual work units, with part-time and seasonal work counted proportionately. Owner-managers and regularly active partners count; apprentices and students on vocational training contracts, and maternity or parental leave, do not. Use the latest approved accounts; turnover excludes VAT. Newly established businesses use a good-faith estimate. Crossing a size ceiling generally changes status only after two consecutive accounting periods.
• The EU definition generally excludes companies where public bodies control 25% or more of capital or voting rights. Its exceptions include public investment corporations, venture-capital companies, universities or non-profit research centres, institutional investors including regional development funds, and autonomous local authorities with annual budgets below €10 million and fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. Business angels—individuals or groups who regularly invest for ownership stakes in businesses whose shares are not listed on a stock exchange—also qualify for the exception if their total investment in the same company is less than €1.25 million. These investor exceptions apply only if the investors are not linked to the company, individually or jointly, under the EU definition.
• Your project must integrate at least one of the 16 Advanced Technologies for Industry categories supported by MANTRA and explain its role in your transformation. Examples include artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, advanced manufacturing technology, advanced materials and robotics. Show measurable environmental, digital and socioeconomic impacts, such as energy savings or lower greenhouse-gas emissions alongside economic and social benefits.
• Complete and upload the MANTRA green-and-digital self-assessment report and a signed official Declaration of Honour. You must have stable, sufficient funding and the resources to carry out the action.
• The declaration excludes administrative sanctions, insolvency and unpaid tax or social-security obligations, serious professional misconduct or criminal wrongdoing, significant failures under EU contracts or grants, irregularities and arrangements intended to circumvent legal obligations. The insolvency, tax and social-security tests also cover people with unlimited liability for the company’s debts. The misconduct tests also cover its representatives, decision-makers, people with control, beneficial owners and anyone essential to receiving or implementing the grant. Declare actual or potential conflicts for possible mitigation, and notify MANTRA promptly of new conflicts.
• Projects must serve exclusively civilian purposes. Items usable for both civilian and military purposes (dual-use items), or other items requiring authorisation, must comply with the applicable rules, including required import or export licences before use. You must not have received another EU grant for the same action and must notify future EU grants related to it and EU operating grants. False declarations can lead to rejection, suspension, termination, grant reduction or sanctions. EU institutions retain check and audit rights.

Status

fristen er utløpt

Åpner

15. juni 2026

Søknadsfrist

15. okt. 2026

Vilkår for søknadsrunden

• Deadline: 15 October 2026, 17:00 CET (provider wording).
• Complete and upload the self-assessment report with your application.

Join the MANTRA Community, then complete the self-assessment and generate its PDF report before submitting your grant application. Community registration alone does not apply for funding.

Submit your English proposal through the MANTRA application platform, with the assessment PDF, signed Declaration of Honour, official NACE proof and supporting documents. The published deadline is 15 October 2026 at “17:00 CET”. Applications submitted late are not accepted, and you cannot change or resubmit an application after submission.

MANTRA checks eligibility and ranks proposals, with independent experts assessing the highest-ranked applications. Selected applicants sign a sub-grant agreement with the MANTRA consortium before starting their journey.