Apply for funding for the program "KMU-innovativ: Photonics and Quantum Technologies"

If you as a small or medium-sized enterprise want to carry out a new research and development (R&D) project in the field of photonics or quantum technology, either alone or with partners from science or industry, you can receive funding.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds research and development (R&D) projects in the fields of photonics and quantum technologies carried out by:

• small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the meaning of the European Commission's applicable definition or
• medium-sized enterprises, provided they do not exceed a size of 1,000 employees or a turnover of 100 million EUR and are not predominantly owned by large enterprises (shareholdings of up to 50 percent) or
• SMEs or medium-sized enterprises that carry out projects together with partners from science or business.

As an SME or medium-sized enterprise, you can receive funding for eligible project-related costs for projects in the field of photonics and quantum technology—either alone or together with joint partners—if these projects can be classified as industrial pre-competitive R&D and are characterized by a high scientific and technical risk. Examples of topics or issues that receive funding include:

• Photonics in manufacturing
• optical metrology and sensor technology
• optical components and systems
• Lighting and display technology
• organic electronics
• Photonics in medical technology and life sciences
• Photonics for communications
• Key components for quantum technologies
• Quantum technologies for sensing and imaging
• Quantum technologies for simulation and computing
• Quantum technologies for communication

As an SME, you can generally receive funding of up to 60 percent of the eligible project-related costs.

If you do not meet all the criteria to be considered an SME, you can receive funding of a maximum of 50 percent of the project-related costs under certain conditions.

Higher education institutions, research and scientific organizations, or comparable non-commercial institutions can receive individual funding of up to 100 percent of the project-related costs or expenditures as a collaborative partner of an SME or a medium-sized enterprise.

For non-economic research projects, higher education institutions and university hospitals can receive a project flat rate of 20 percent in addition to the eligible expenses funded by the BMBF.

At least half of the total applied-for funding must benefit the participating SMEs.

You may use the results of the funded project only in the Federal Republic of Germany or in the European Economic Area (EEA) and in Switzerland.

There is no legal entitlement to the grant. Rather, the granting authority decides based on its dutiful discretion within the scope of available budgetary funds.

The application procedure has 2 stages.

Phase 1: Project Outline

• All project partners shall jointly submit a project outline of a maximum of 10 DIN A4 pages via the "KMU-Innovativ" internet portal.
• In addition, the project sheet generated in the internet portal must be signed and submitted to the commissioned project management agency, VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH.
• The project outline should include a presentation with the following structure:
  • Theme and objectives of the project
  • State of the art, novelty of the approach, patent landscape
  • Need for funding: scientific-technical and economic risk with justification for the necessity of state funding
  • Market potential, market environment, and economic and scientific competitive situation
  • Brief description of the applying companies, detailed presentation of the business models and market perspectives with time horizon and planned figures, presentation of the equity contribution to be provided
  • Work plan, where applicable joint structure with work packages including presentation of the workload of all participating partners
  • Financing plan of all partners involved in the work
  • Exploitation plan (economic and scientific-technical prospects of success, potential applications and compatibility) with time horizon and planned figures
• The project outline will be evaluated, if applicable with the involvement of external reviewers, in a competitive procedure based on the following criteria:
  • Significance of the research goal, technological and economic potential, market perspective, contribution to market positioning, exploitation plan
  • Quality and presentation of the proposed solution, the work plan, and the project and milestone objectives
  • Level of innovation, risk assessment, necessity of the grant
  • Network structure, partner qualifications, coordination, project management
  • Alignment with the program line, presentation of financing, comprehensibility of cost estimates, fulfillment of the formal framework conditions of the funding guideline
• You will be informed of the review result in writing. If your project idea has been selected, you will receive a written request to submit an application (Stage 2).

Step 2: Application submission

For your grant application, proceed as follows:

• Contact the responsible project management agency VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH and get advice on the necessary steps before submitting an application. You will also receive further information on the documents to be submitted.
• The application is submitted electronically via the "easy-Online" portal.
• Access the "easy-Online" internet portal. There you will be guided step-by-step through the application process.
• Fill out all fields required for the application and submit the application online with a qualified electronic signature.
  • If you do not have a qualified electronic signature, in addition to submitting the application electronically, you must print it out, sign it, and in the next step send it together with the other application documents to the project management agency.
• Upon receipt of the application by the project management agency, you will receive an acknowledgment of receipt.
• The responsible case worker at the project management agency will contact you during the processing of your application to clarify any questions.
• Applications are evaluated and reviewed according to the following criteria:
  • Organization of collaborative cooperation (not applicable for individual projects),
  • level of innovation,
  • Adequacy of preliminary calculation/financing plan,
  • Definition of quantitative project objectives,
  • concrete exploitation plans of all joint venture partners,
  • Necessity of the grant.
• You will generally receive a decision on your application 2 months after submitting the complete, formally bound application.
• In the event of a positive decision, you will receive a grant notification by mail.

You can submit your outline at any time via the online outline tool for the funding initiative "SME-innovative: Photonics and Quantum Technologies". However, please note the evaluation deadlines for project outlines:

• 15.04.2023, 2024, 2025
• 15.10.2023, 2024, 2025

The submission deadline is not a strict closing date, but project outlines received after the time specified above may possibly no longer be considered in the current funding round.

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