European Startup and Scaleup Hubs pilot
Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2027.2) · HORIZON-COFUND · Needs partners
What this call funds
This pilot funds two networks of ten to eighteen top deep tech startup and scaleup hubs across Europe that connect research institutions, corporates, investors and entrepreneurs. The goal is to help deep tech startups scale across borders by sharing infrastructure, mentoring, acceleration programmes and investment access. It also aims to bring less connected innovation hubs into a Europe wide network and boost investment in deep tech ventures.
deep tech · sme scaleup · research excellence · regional development · advanced materials
Who wins this
This call suits a consortium of at least ten well established, internationally connected startup and scaleup hubs anchored in leading research and higher education institutions across at least ten different countries, aiming to build a cross border acceleration network for deep tech startups.
Could you win this call?
Only the website is required.
The call in detail
- Indicative grant size
- €20M
- Funding model
- Budget-based. Reimbursement of actual eligible costs
- Submission
- Single-stage submission (full proposal at once)
- Type of action
- HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions
- Partners
- Required. The call asks for a consortium: at least 10 partners, from 10 countries.
- Eligible applicants
- research organisation, higher education institution, public body, innovation cluster or accelerator, corporate
- Funding rate
- 50% (COFUND)
- Support to third parties
- Financial support to third parties in the form of grants, maximum EUR 60000 per third party.
- Also required
- Each hub must be represented by a single legal entity or a group of entities representing the local ecosystem, at least two hubs must be from widening countries, and the consortium must submit a letter of intent indicating the source of the remaining 50% complementary funding.
- Eligible countries (45)
- Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Israel, Türkiye, Ukraine, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Tunisia, New Zealand
Read the full conditions from the official call ›
General conditions 1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. 65 pages as in standard HE ‘Programme co-fund’ actions. 2. Eligible countries described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. 3. Other Eligibility Conditions A hub participating as a beneficiary must be represented by a single legal entity (for instance an umbrella organisation representing a science and technology park or an innovation cluster or district, an accelerator or a venture builder embedded in an innovation ecosystem) or several legal entities representing the relevant actors of the innovation ecosystem supporting startups (e.g. research and higher education institutions, corporates, public authorities, capital providers). The consortium should consist of a network of at least ten (10) hubs from at least ten (10) different Member States or Associated Countries. For Member States and Associated Countries with an overall population not exceeding 35 million[[ The most recent available data from Eurostat at the time of opening of the call will be used as reference (Population on 1 January by age and sex)]], participation is limited to a single hub in the given consortium. For Member States and Associated Countries with an overall population exceeding 35 million, the participation is limited to two hubs in the given consortium. In addition, at least two (2) participating hub shall be established in a “widening country”.[[“Widening countries” are listed under Article 2 of the Horizon Europe regulation (Regulation (EU) 2021/695).]] The consortium must provide a single letter of intent at the moment of submission of the proposal indicating the source of the required 50% of complementary funding (e.g. national and/or regional funding, EU funding, or private investments). Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks. described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. 5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. 6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000. The funding rate is 50% of the eligible costs as co-fund actions require the remainder of the cost to be secured from other sources. described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the topic conditions
Who has won calls like this
Organisations that most often win this call family · 96 past winners