71 small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) from 22 countries have been selected for funding in the latest round of the Horizon2020 SME Instrument Phase 2.
The total amount to be distributed between the SMEs working on 66 projects is €103.82 million. In this phase of the instrument, each project will receive up to €2.5 million (€5 million for health projects) to finance innovation activities.
Spanish SMEs were the most successful with 19 companies selected for funding. They were followed by five companies from both Germany and Ireland. Most projects are in the field of ICT and transport (10 projects each) followed by 9 projects in the field of low-carbon and energy efficient systems.
The European Commission received 1534 project proposals by 18 January 2017, the first cut-off date for Phase 2 in 2017. Since the launch of the programme on 1st January 2014, 641 SMEs have been selected for funding under Phase 2.
Funding under Phase 2 of the instrument allows companies to invest in innovation activities such as demonstration, testing, piloting, scaling up and miniaturisation, in addition to developing a mature business plan for their product. The companies will also benefit from 12 days of business coaching. Most projects are proposed by a single SME but some companies team-up to elaborate a project.
The next cut-off for SME Instrument Phase 2 is on 6 April 2017.