EUREKA Eurostars

EUREKA Eurostars is a European funding initiative for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs. This partnership is co-funded by the EU through Horizon Europe. The funding supports the development of an innovative product, process or service, with the aim of commercialising the results after completion of the project.

The EUREKA Eurostars 3 funding programme

EUREKA is a European initiative for market-oriented research and development. The initiative supports and accompanies companies and scientific institutions in the implementation of cross-border and market-oriented research cooperations on innovative topics. EUREKA Eurostars, a funding programme for innovative SMEs, is a joint funding programme of EUREKA and the European Commission (through Horizon Europe). The contact for the European research initiative EUREKA in Germany is the EUREKA Office at the DLR Project Management Agency on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The central objective of Eurostars is to support international cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in research and development projects. Eurostars projects are open to technology and serve civilian purposes. According to the so-called "bottom-up principle", the project contents can be freely determined by the participating partners. In general, research and development-related costs up to the creation of a prototype (Technology Readiness Level - TRL 6) are eligible for funding. The application for EUREKA Eurostars takes place via a central application procedure, is reviewed by international experts and follows a standardised schedule.

Target groups

The EUREKA Eurostars 3 programme is aimed at innovative SMEs. These are SMEs, as defined by the EU, that develop a product, process or service in international project collaborations. Research institutes or large enterprises can also participate as partners. However, research institutes in Germany only receive funding if a German SME is involved.

Conditions of participation

The conditions for participation in a Eurostars 3 project are as follows:

The lead partner of the consortium is an innovative SME from a Eurostars member country;
The consortium consists of at least two independent project partners;
Maximum project duration: 3 years;
Market introduction: up to 2 years after project completion;
Economic exploitation interests and ethical aspects play an important role in the assessment of the application.

For detailed information on the conditions of participation, visit the Eurostars website.
The funding conditions of Eurostars 3 in Germany (so-called national criteria) are as follows:

Clinical trials are not funded;
Only research and development activities up to technology maturity level 6 can be funded;
Please use the DLR online tool to calculate the costs. Submit the calculation together with the Eurostars application;
National applications must be submitted within two weeks of DLR's request. This call will be sent when your application has been positively evaluated and the funding of your project has been secured.

Budget

At least 50% of the total project costs (excluding subcontracting) must be shared by the SMEs from the participating Eurostars countries;
No participating country or participant may account for more than 70 % of the project costs.
German project partners together receive a maximum of 500,000 euros in funding.

Application procedure for Eurostars 3

The submission of the international Eurostars 3 application is exclusively electronic and straightforward via the EUREKA Network website and through the National Funding Authority.

Timetable

EUREKA Eurostars 3 is a fast-track procedure and international peer review. Ideally, it will take only about seven months from the deadline to the start of the project.