Eurostars is a European financing programme to stimulate innovation, with a focus on collaboration across national borders.
The new programme period (2021-2027) is called EUROSTARS-3. The annual budget for the Netherlands is € 19 million, divided into two different calls each year.
A Eurostars application is appealing for three reasons:
- Financing for the commercialization of projects;
- New markets can be approached by international collaboration;
- The budget allows for large requests, up to a maximum of € 500.000 (for NL partners together); The budget differs per country.
Henk van Rossum
Eurostars ExpertAre you wondering if your project is eligible for this or another grant? I'm happy to help you.
What is Eurostars?
Eurostars is a European funding programme aiming to stimulate research within SMEs and is an initiative of EUREKA and the European Commission. SMEs are supported to implement innovative and market-oriented technological development. The projects should focus on the development of a new product, process or service.
Eurostars is funded by the 36 participating countries and the European Union (Horizon Europe) together. Based on a ranking, projects are approved after which financial support can be requested through the national government of each participating country. In the Netherlands, this is done through the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
What do our customers think?
Read Leapfrog‘s story in our portfolio!
What are the criteria for a Eurostars project?
- The project coordinator has to be a research performing SME, originating from a Eurostars country. The organization must comply with the European Commission’s SME definition and work a minimum number of hours on R&D activities, depending on the size of the business;
- At least two independent organizations from at least two Eurostars countries must be involved in the project;
- The consortium must be balanced: no organization or country may bear more than 75% of the total cost;
- The maximum project duration is 36 months; the market introduction should be foreseen within 24 months after finishing the project;
- The project should have a civil application;
- In the case of several SME project partners: SMEs should at least bear 50% of the total project costs, excluding subcontracting.
Eurostars:
LeapFrog’s story
When to apply for Eurostars?
There are two calls for Eurostars in 2022:
- 21 January to 24 March 2022
- 13 July to 15 September 2022
What does Eurostars mean financially?
The total grant amount is determined by the type of organizations participating in the project and the country in which they are located; See the table below for the subsidy rates used in the Netherlands. The maximum contribution per project is € 500,000 for all Dutch project partners combined.
| SME | 50% | |
| Large company | 40% | |
| Knowledge institution | 50% |
Why involve Innovencio in your Eurostars application?
Innovencio sheds light on a number of relevant points:
Additional subsidy next to the WBSO
With each WBSO application, we check whether a plan is also eligible for a different grant. Because we already know the plans, that knowledge can be used to assess whether a grant application also has a chance within the Eurostars scheme. This can serve as an additional subsidy in addition to the WBSO. That’s how we hit two birds with one stone.
Active customer approach
Usually there are two openings within the Eurostars programme every year. Because we maintain close contact with our customers and are well aware of their developments, we can approach a customer in a targeted manner if we see that their innovative idea fits the criteria of Eurostars.
Guidance on the various steps of the application
Applying for a grant for a Eurostars project takes place in several steps; it is important to carry out all steps in a timely and complete manner. We monitor this entire process by making an annual planning and will request the necessary data from you on time. This way you will not miss a deadline and the documents are submitted correctly and in a timely manner.