Funding Opportunities
As a service for our CLIB members, we are scanning funding portals on different levels regularly and summarise the most relevant funding opportunities for you on this page. You can find open calls on regional, federal, and European level below.
Just click on any of the open calls to find a summary in English. For national funding opportunities the full call may only be available in German.
If you miss any call on the site, please let us know and contact Katrin Kriebs (kriebs@clib-cluster.de) directly.
Regional Funding Opportunities
GreenEconomy.IN.NRW
In „GreenEconomy.IN.NRW – Innovationen in Umweltwirtschaft, Circular Economy und Klimaanpassung“ the state of North Rhine-Westphalia supports you in research, innovation and development projects on climate and environmental protection, resource conservation, circular value creation and adaptation to climate change on the basis of the ERDF/JTF Framework Directive NRW.
Deadline: 12 December 2024
Measures for the implementation of the Investment Act Coal Regions in the Rhenish Mining Area
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports your research and development project on a field of innovation in the Rhenish mining area.
Funding is provided to bindingly cooperating regional networks of scientific partners, companies and other institutions that develop and implement concepts for sustainable, innovation-based structural change.
Deadline: continuous
Mittelstand innovativ und digital
With the programme, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIDE) strengthens small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in digitising the innovative power of their businesses, digitally developing their products, services and production processes and thus continuing to be one of the economic engines of the state in the future.
Deadline: continuous
Regio.NRW – Transformation
„Regio.NRW“ is an instrument to support regions in their transformation and the further development of their strengths. Here, projects are to be funded that make a decisive contribution to successfully shaping regional transformation processes with a view to the specific profiles of the regions.
In order to ensure regional effectiveness, the projects should relate to a region of at least three districts or independent cities or, alternatively, at least one million inhabitants in North Rhine-Westphalia. Flexible spatial settings and overlapping regions are possible for different projects.
Deadline: 31 January 2025
Ressource.NRW
The „Ressource.NRW“ funding programme is intended to support companies in investing in innovative plants with a demonstration character, which make a significant contribution to resource efficiency or to a transition to a circular economy and which are not yet applied in Germany.
Deadline: 16 September 2024, 05 May 2025
Start-up Transfer.NRW
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia supports you as a university or research institution on the basis of the ERDF/JTF Framework Directive NRW if you support founders in the further development of innovative products and services to entrepreneurial maturity – from basic research to market-oriented research and development to the founding of a company.
The focus of funding is on knowledge-intensive start-ups that are not limited to cutting-edge technology. This includes both innovative services and technology-oriented start-up projects as well as projects that address social innovations.
Deadline: 31 January and 31 July until July 2026
Unternehmen Revier
With the federal model project, Unternehmen Revier, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK), together with regional partners, has been making an active contribution to structural change in the four German lignite regions since 2017.
The available funding is intended to support application-oriented and innovative projects to shape structural change. The Rhenish mining area alone has 2 million euros available annually for funding.
Deadline: next cut-off date in October 2024
ZukunftBIO.NRW
In order to accelerate local innovations for a sustainable bioeconomy on their way to market maturity, the NRW state government has launched the third call for the ZukunftBIO.NRW funding programme. Project ideas can be submitted on an ongoing basis until 30 June 2024. Around 11.6 million euros are available for the third funding call.
Deadline: continuous until 30 June 2024
Zukunftsgutscheine für KMU im Rheinischen Revier
The NRW state government is launching the „Zukunftsgutscheine Rheinisches Revier“ funding programme to support SMEs in the green and digital transformation of their business model. The new funding programme provides small and medium-sized enterprises with up to 249 employees with funds from the European Union, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the federal government and the Federal Employment Agency: for the partial financing of consulting services, personnel costs, qualification and further training measures as well as necessary investments.
Deadline: 30 June 2024
Federal Funding Opportunities
CooperationVET - Projekte der internationalen Berufsbildungszusammenarbeit
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports individual and joint projects within the framework of international vocational training cooperation (iBBZ).
Funding is provided for exemplary, innovative concepts for action in vocational training and continuing education in 2 modules. You align your project with the interests and reform concerns of the BMBF partner countries and, as far as possible, take into account the needs of the German companies operating there in terms of recruiting and securing skilled workers.
Deadline: depending on individual programme published on www.berufsbildung-international.de
Entwicklung regenerativer Kraftstoffe
The Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) supports you in the development of renewable fuels.
Funding is provided in particular for application-oriented projects on Development and demonstration projects, feasibility studies, Innovation clusters on topics that are central to the objectives of the funding program, innovation consulting services and innovation support services such as testing and certification for the purpose of developing more efficient products, processes or services, and obtaining, validating and defending patents.
Deadline: semi-annual cut-off date on 31 March and 30 September
EXIST-Forschungstransfer (research transfer)
EXIST Transfer of Research has two phases of funding:
In the first phase, results of research that have the potential of becoming the basis of a start-up business are developed further. The objective is to carry out further resource development to clarify fundamental problems involved in converting academic findings into technical products and processes. The business concept based on these findings should be made into a business plan and the planned business start-up should be prepared systematically.
In the second phase of funding further resource development, measures to start business operations and meeting the prerequisites for external business financing are at the centre of interest.
Deadline: semi-annual cut-off date on 31 January and 31 July
EXIST-Gründungsstipendium (start-up grant)
The exist business Start-up grant supports students, graduates, and scientists from universities and research institutes who want to turn their business idea into a business plan. The start-up projects should be innovative technology or knowledge-based projects with significant unique features and good commercial prospects of success.
The start-up teams receive an EXIST start-up grant at attractive conditions for a period of 12 months to develop a business plan and prepare for their business start-up with the support of their university or research institution.
Deadline: continuous
Förderprogramm „Nachhaltige Erneuerbare Ressourcen“ (FPNR)
The funding programme „Sustainable Renewable Resources“ (FPNR) provides the framework conditions for renewable resources through the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The FPNR is primarily intended to support applied research and development, including applied basic research, in the field of sustainable production and utilisation of renewable resources. In particular, it aims to promote the sustainable extraction and utilisation of biomass from agriculture, forestry and waste management.
Current open calls:
- Zukunft.Forschung.Biogas (until 15 July 2024)
- Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) zur Automatisierung der Biogaserzeugung (until 30 September 2024)
Deadline: depending on individual calls
GO-Bio initial
Through its “GO-Bio initial” funding programme, the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) aims to identify and develop early research ideas in life sciences that have a clear potential for innovation.
Its purpose is to support project work in order to advance research outcomes to a level where they become eligible for other more established programmes.
Deadline: annual cut-off date on 15 February
go-digital
The object of the funding in the programme is to provide expert advice as well as support to the beneficiary company by authorised consulting firms in the implementation of necessary measures in the modules „Digitisation Strategy“, „IT Security“, „Digitised Business Processes“, „Data Competence“ or „Digital Market Development“ in accordance with the state of the art. Economic, social and ecological sustainability must be taken into account.
Deadline: 30 June 2024
Internationale Zusammenarbeit in Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports the networking of research and education with partners around the world in different calls. Funding is provided for the expansion of international contacts and networks.
Depending on the project, German universities, non-university institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises are eligible to apply.
Deadline: Individual deadlines for the country-specific calls
INVEST - Subsidy for venture capital
If you are a young innovative company looking for capital and you would like to acquire business shares in young innovative companies as a private investor, you can receive an acquisition grant or an exit grant under certain conditions.
The amount of funding for the acquisition grant is 20 percent (or 10 percent in the case of convertible loans) of the issue price of the shares.
In the case of an exit grant, you receive 25 percent of the profit from the sale of an INVEST share.
Deadline: continuous
KMU-innovativ: Biomedizin
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports high-risk industrial research and pre-competitive development projects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field of biomedicine. Your project can be funded as an application-related industrial research project and also as a pre-competitive development project. Your project must be important for the future market positioning of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved.
Deadline: semi-annual cut-off date on 15 April and 15 October
KMU-innovativ: Bioökonomie
The funding focuses on forward-looking, climate-neutral products from biogenic resources that minimise environmentally harmful emissions and waste or integrate processes into natural cycles or value chains.
Funding is provided for individual and collaborative projects in industrial research and experimental development.
Deadline: semi-annual cut-off date on 15 April and 15 October
KMU-innovativ: Ressourceneffizienz und Klimaschutz
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports high-risk industrial research and pre-competitive development projects of SMEs. The funding focuses on cross-technology and application-related individual and joint projects on the thematic priorities of raw material efficiency, energy efficiency and climate protection, sustainable water management and sustainable land management.
Deadline: semi-annual cut-off dates on 15 April and 15 October
KMU-innovativ: Zukunft der Wertschöpfung
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports SMEs or medium-sized companies in high-risk pre-competitive and company-driven research, development and transformation projects.
Funding is granted, for example, for the following topis:
- new and improved products, machines and systems for industrial production,
- new manufacturing technologies and process chains,
- making production more flexible,
- digitalisation and virtualisation of production and production systems (Industry 4.0),
- new business models, for example monetisation of data, blockchain technologies, B2B platforms,
- adaptation of companies and employees to change,
- increasing the competences and qualifications of the workforce, lifelong learning.
Deadline: semi-annual cut-off dates on 15 April and 15 October
Kreativer Nachwuchs forscht für die Bioökonomie
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports research, development and innovation projects by junior research groups in the natural sciences, information technology and engineering that are driving the transition to a bioeconomy.
You will receive funding if you offer junior research groups a reliable and attractive environment in which to work intensively on bioeconomy topics. Projects on new achievements in expertise, processes, technology or software that support the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy are funded.
Deadline: annual cut-off dates on 15 April until 2026
neue Produkte für die Bioökonomie
The object of the funding is the exploration of new product ideas for a bio-based economy as well as feasibility studies on their technical implementation. The call is open to all topics and covers all areas of the bioeconomy as defined in the „National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030“.
Projects can be funded in these 2 phases: Exploratory phase and Feasibility phase.
Deadline: annual cut-off dates on 01 February
Nutzung und Bau von Demonstrationsanlagen für die industrielle Bioökonomie
If you have developed bioeconomic products or processes on a laboratory scale and you want to demonstrate the transfer to industrial practice, you can receive a grant of up to EUR 2 million under certain conditions.
The Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) supports necessary development steps in the field of the industrial bioeconomy, which require in particular the use and construction of demonstration plants.
The BMWK provides for 3 different funding modules:
Module A: Use of multi-purpose plants in Germany as well as in Europe to test and further develop processes in the industrial bioeconomy.
Module B: Preparatory activities and feasibility studies for the construction of single-use demonstration plants.
Module C: Integration of processes into industrial value-added networks, for example in a so-called model region of the industrial bioeconomy.
Deadline: last cut-off date on 30 June 2024
Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen SPRIND
SPRIND’s goal is to create new leap innovations from Germany. That means products, services and systems that make all of our lives noticeably and sustainably better.
The support is comprehensive. SPRIND finances, helps assemble teams and connects with the right networks in science, business and politics.
Deadline: continuous
Validierung des technologischen und gesellschaftlichen Innovationspotenzials wissenschaftlicher Forschung – VIP+
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports you as a research institution, university or public institution in financing projects in all research areas. Funding is provided for projects that systematically demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of research results as well as their innovation potential. The research results concerned must be in the validation phase at the time of the project, i.e. between discovery and application.
Deadline: continuous
Förderung des Technologie- und Wissenstransfers durch Patente, Normung und Standardisierung zur wirtschaftlichen Verwertung innovativer Ideen von Hochschulen und Unternehmen (WIPANO)
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) supports you as a company, university or research institution in the efficient use of intellectual property and the transfer of the latest research results into standardisation.
You receive funding in 2 areas:
- Funding is provided in the area of patenting in the funding priority „Patenting – Companies“ the entire patent application process, including the necessary consultancy services, and a cost-benefit analysis relating to the invention with regard to commercialisation and initial commercialisation activities.
- Funding is provided in the area of standardisation the active participation of companies in national, European and international standardisation committees in the funding priority „Standardisation – companies“ and in the funding priority „Knowledge transfer through standardisation“, cooperation projects between universities, research institutions and companies that transfer the latest research findings into norms and standards.
Deadline: continuous with deadlines depending on funding priority between 31 May 2026 and 31 October 2027
Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand (ZIM)
The Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) is a nationwide funding programme that is open to all technologies and sectors. The ZIM aims to sustainably strengthen the innovative power and thus the competitiveness of SMEs. Companies can carry out research and development as individual projects or as cooperation projects with research institutions or other companies.
Deadline: continuous
European Funding Opportunities
CBE JU Call 2024
Since 24 April this year’s call for project proposals by the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) is open. Call topics focus on the use of bio-based feedstocks and the production of bio-based chemicals, materials, and ingredients. Complete topic text, conditions and requirements, as well as an FAQ for applicants can be found at the CBE website.
Deadline: 18 September 2024
COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology
COST funds interdisciplinary research networks called COST Actions. These Actions bring together researchers, innovators and other professionals including industry specialists, who are based in Europe and beyond, to collaborate on research topics for a period of 4 years.
The funding a COST Action receives covers the expenses of networking activities rather than research and as such is used to organise and fund events, Short-term Scientific Missions, Training Schools, communication activities, and virtual networking tools.
Deadline: continuous, next collection date 23 October 2024
EIC Accelerator Pilot
The EIC Accelerator supports individual Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), in particular Startups and spinout companies to develop and scaleup game-changing innovations. In some cases small mid-caps (up to 500 employees) are supported.
The EIC Accelerator provides substantial financial support. In addition, EIC selected companies receive coaching, mentoring, access to investors and corporates, and many other opportunities as part of the EIC community.
Deadline: continuous
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a cross-border exchange programme which gives new or aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to learn from experienced entrepreneurs running small businesses in other Participating Countries.
The exchange of experience takes place during a stay with the experienced entrepreneur, which helps the new entrepreneur acquire the skills needed to run a small firm. The host benefits from fresh perspectives on his/her business and gets the opportunities to cooperate with foreign partners or learn about new markets.
Deadline: continuous
ERC Proof of Concept Grants
The ERC Proof of Concept funding is made available only to those who already have an ERC award to establish proof of concept of an idea that was generated in the course of their ERC-funded projects.
Frontier research often generates radically new ideas that drive innovation and business inventiveness and tackle societal challenges. The ERC PoC Grants aim at facilitating exploration of the commercial and social innovation potential of ERC funded research and are therefore available only to PIs whose proposals draw substantially on their ERC funded research.
Proof of Concept Grants aim at maximising the value of the excellent research that the ERC funds, by funding further work (i.e. activities which were not scheduled to be funded by the original ERC frontier research grant) to verify the innovation potential of ideas arising from ERC funded projects.
The objective is to enable ERC-funded ideas to progress on the path from ground-breaking research towards innovation.
Deadline: 17 September 2024
eureka Network projects
The Network projects programme eases collaboration between organisations in Eureka countries offering you the freedom to design your project proposal and build your ideal consortium. With limited eligibility criteria and minimal paperwork, taking part accelerates your access to public funding.
Deadline: programme ending 31 December 2025
Horizon Europe Annual Work Programme 2023-24
The Commission has now adopted the main Horizon Europe work programme 2023-24, with a budget of ca. 13.5 billion EUR, over 40 % of which is aimed towards projects connected to climate action, biodiversity and reducing GHG. Calls will open in different clusters and programmes, including the Cluster 6, of special interest to CLIB members active in biotech and bioeconomy.
Deadline: various deadlines for the different clusters and programmes
Contact us if you want to know more or are interested in submitting a proposal.
IraSME - Grenzüberschreitende Kooperationen
IraSME is a network of ministries and funding agencies for the joint support of transnational projects of companies in national/regional funding programmes. In Germany the network is funded by the BMWK.
Network partners are Alberta (Canada), Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia regions), Brazil, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Turkey.
Deadline: annually at the end of March and the end of September
Interreg NWE Programme 2021-2027
Since the industrial revolution, North West Europe has been at the vanguard of industrialisation and economic development in Europe. However, this century of growth came at a cost on the environment, on people, and on territorial inequalities.
The Interreg NWE Programme is looking for ways to restore this. The NWE territorial analysis highlights specific territorial needs where action is required to reverse the trends of the past and to prepare regions for the sustainable transition towards better environmental conditions and new socio-economic opportunities.
Deadline: several calls twice per year
Interreg VI-Programm Deutschland-Nederland
Interreg is funding cross-border projects between Germany and the Netherlands in the programme Deutschland-Nederlands. In different priorities and focus topics, and project sizes consortia can apply for funding. Please get in contact with the regional programme management if you are interested in submitting a proposal
Deadline: continuous, cut-off dates every 4 month