Horizon 2020 to provide over €12 million in support for SMEs to bring their innovations faster to the market

Horizon 2020, the EU research and innovation programme, will support 257 small and medium-sized companies (SMES) from 31 countries with €12.65 million of funding under the SME instrument.

Each SME will receive €50,000 to prepare feasibility assessment plans, known as phase 1 of the SME instrument. The companies will also receive coaching and business acceleration services. Examples of selected projects among the 257 chosen are solar street lights, a diagnosis tool for sleep apnoea, an innovative mobile payment technology and a wrapping machine for sustainable packaging. Most of the SMEs work in the field of health, engineering and information and communication technology. Under the SME instrument, which is part of the European Innovation Council pilot, companies can apply for two distinct non-related phases, depending on the maturity of their innovation. In phase 1 each project receives €50,000 to carry out a feasibility study and, if selected, in phase 2 each project can receive up to €2.5 million to finance innovation activities. The next application deadline for phase 1 is in May 2018. More information including the list of beneficiaries can be found in this news item.