Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 1

The Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument Strand 1 call, labeled I3-2025-INV1, aims to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of EU value chains through interregional cooperation focused on shared smart specialization areas. This initiative, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), particularly seeks to bridge the innovation gap across Europe by supporting consortia that include various innovation actors, primarily from less developed and more developed regions. Eligible applicants are required to form consortia that consist of SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutions, NGOs, public authorities, and investors, particularly from regions with varying innovation performance. The funding mechanism is a grant, providing financial support for direct funding to consortium members or through cascade funding to third parties. Grants may cover up to 70% of eligible costs, with exceptions allowing for 100% co-funding in specific cases. The grant focuses on projects that are at high technology readiness levels (TRL 6-9), promoting innovations ready for validation, demonstration, commercialization, or scale-up. It emphasizes three thematic priorities: digital transition, green transition, and smart manufacturing. The aim is to support projects that address challenges in these areas, including investments in digital technologies, renewable energy, and improving manufacturing processes. The total budget allocated for this initiative is €230 million for the 2025 funding period, with individual project funding caps at €10 million. The application process is an open call with a single-stage submission required, and the deadline for proposals is November 13, 2025. The collaborative projects funded by this initiative are expected to create significant impacts, including increased productivity, strengthened regional innovation capacities, improved public services, and enhanced digital and green technology adoption. By integrating less developed regions into the broader EU value chains, the initiative strives to foster sustainable economic growth and address environmental and societal challenges. Detailed application criteria cover admissibility, eligibility, financial and operational capacity, and processes related to submission and evaluation. The call is designed to facilitate the development of new or existing interregional and cross-border value chains, encouraging collaboration between diverse innovation actors.

The Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument Strand 1 call, I3-2025-INV1, aims to bolster the competitiveness and resilience of EU value chains through interregional cooperation and shared smart specialisation areas. This initiative falls under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) regulation and seeks to bridge the innovation divide across Europe. The call specifically targets consortia of innovation actors from quadruple helix ecosystems, providing financial and advisory support to mature innovations for commercialisation and scale-up, with a strong emphasis on integrating less developed regions into European value chains.

The call's objectives include facilitating the development of new or existing interregional and cross-border value chains, fostering collaboration between innovation actors from less and more developed regions, supporting innovation actors with investment-ready ideas, and identifying new regional technological domains and market opportunities aligned with EU priorities. The instrument supports business investment cases starting at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, with the goal of facilitating demonstration and accelerating market uptake.

Financial support will be provided through direct funding to consortium beneficiaries or cascade funding to third parties (FSTP). Non-financial support includes business and investment planning, intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, certification, commercialisation, standardisation, integration of Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) and deep tech, and support in testing and piloting new solutions.

The call focuses on three thematic priorities:

1. Digital Transition:This area targets investments in businesses and public administrations to unlock digital growth, improve service accessibility and efficiency, bridge the digital divide, and enhance cybersecurity. Investment areas include:

a. Digital Economy Innovation:Deployment of innovative solutions for business digitalisation, digital services, AI applications, ICT uptake in SMEs, B2B, B2C, customer-to-customer solutions, digital innovation hubs, living labs, user-driven innovation, traceability, big data, cybersecurity reinforcement, investments in communication, transport, and digital network security, digital-based open innovation, and digital skills for companies.

b. Digital Transformation of Public Administration and Public Services:New or upgraded e-government services, interoperable services, AI-driven improvements, cybersecurity investments, and user-friendly service enhancements.

2. Green Transition:This priority aims to transform climate and environmental challenges into opportunities for competitiveness, supporting innovative value chain investments in green technology, energy-intensive industries, and the clean-tech sector. It also supports investments in resilient and sustainable food systems, agriculture, clean energy, green industry, energy-efficient buildings, sustainable mobility, and pollution elimination. Investment areas include:

Innovative investments in decarbonisation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to improve air quality, health and well-being; Investments in circularity, including but not limited to the management of natural resources, including the use of recycled materials, especially construction materials, plastics and textiles, to stimulate demand for secondary markets raw materials; Innovative business investments related to smart, sustainable/efficient transport solutions and/or alternative fuels; Business investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency to make industry more sustainable; Business investments related to energy efficiency in buildings; Business investments related to a sustainable blue economy, contributing to the coastal protection; Business investments in circular economy to replicate and scale up successful circular economy solutions, which can generate EU added value; Investments in bioeconomy, efficient and sustainable agriculture and forestry, innovation in marine/ maritime and inland water sustainable solutions.Investments in sustainable business models and alternative modes of production and consumption (e.g. leasing, repair, modular design, industrial symbiosis…). Innovative investments in SMART cities;

3. Smart Manufacturing:This priority focuses on improving products, processes, and services in the manufacturing industry, fostering competitiveness, strategic autonomy, and a circular economy approach. It supports the uptake of new or improved manufacturing solutions, digitalisation, and environmentally sustainable production. Investment areas include:

Demonstration processes, i.e. helping new industrial products to reach the market faster or having more efficient and sustainable processes adopted by the industry.Valorisation of research results and practical applications for innovation diffusion. This might include the active involvement of ecosystems and the co-creation process with stakeholders and end-users. Connecting or making complementary use of testing and demonstration facilities at interregional level. In this framework, synergies with circularity hubs are encouraged. Improving the use of natural resources and the reuse of materials, promoting circularity models (de- and remanufacturing) and investments in carbon neutrality. Specific implementation (including funding) strategies, ensuring the participation of all stakeholders (industry, SMEs, local authorities, educational institutions and civil society). Implementation of interregional demonstration cases to test and replicate the results. Innovation diffusion and involvement of SMEs in EU value chains. Innovative investments in advanced materials.

Projects will be implemented through an investment portfolio approach, involving beneficiaries (including SMEs) and third parties (SMEs) in specific segments of EU value chains. Project portfolios may include investment-ready sub-projects addressing bottlenecks in the value chain, testing the validity of technologies, and accelerating innovation uptake.

Expected impacts include the testing and adoption of innovative technologies, deployment of solutions improving business confidence, contribution to digitisation and health systems transformation, uptake of viable solutions, deployment of green and digital technologies, SME adoption of innovative technologies, identification of funding sources, strengthened innovation diffusion, and reinforced regional co-investment capacity. Long-term impacts include increased productivity, improved public services, enhanced digital skills, improved EU innovation capacity, new market opportunities, a more efficient and sustainable EU industry, improved living and business conditions, increased social and territorial cohesion, improved education systems, reinforced EU value chains, unlocked regional innovation potential, contributions to the European Green Deal, and positive impacts on the environment, health, climate, society, and economy.

Conditions for participation cover admissibility, eligibility of countries, financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria, and legal and financial setup. The submission and evaluation processes are detailed in the call document and online manual, with award criteria, scoring, and thresholds also specified.

The call document and annexes provide essential information, including application form templates, budget tables, S3 compliance declarations, model grant agreements, and additional documents related to the I3 Instrument Work Programme, ERDF Regulation, EU Financial Regulation, and guidelines for legal entity validation and financial capacity assessment.

The total budget for the I3 Project Grants (I3-PJG) is €23,000,000. The call follows a single-stage submission process, with the opening date on 22 May 2025 and a deadline of 13 November 2025. Partner search announcements are available to facilitate collaboration.

In summary, this call is about fostering interregional cooperation and investment in innovation projects that align with the EU's digital, green, and smart manufacturing priorities. It aims to support projects that are already at a relatively mature stage of development (TRL 6 or higher) and that have the potential to be scaled up and commercialised. The call is particularly interested in projects that involve less developed regions and that contribute to strengthening EU value chains. By providing financial and advisory support, the I3 Instrument seeks to bridge the innovation divide in Europe and promote sustainable economic growth.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types are innovation actors from the quadruple helix ecosystems, including but not limited to SMEs, businesses, public administrations, local authorities, educational institutions, civil society, and research and innovation organizations. The call emphasizes the collaboration between innovation actors, especially SMEs, from less developed regions and innovation actors, especially SMEs, from more developed regions.

Funding Type:The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically an I3 Project Grant (I3-PJG) under the Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument (I3). The support includes both financial support through direct funding to consortium beneficiaries or through cascade funding/financial support to third parties (FSTP), and non-financial support, such as business and investment planning, protection of IPR, certification, commercialisation, standardisation, tailored support for the integration of KETs/deep tech in production processes, support in testing, demonstration and piloting new solutions.

Consortium Requirement:A consortium of multiple applicants is required. The call emphasizes interregional cooperation and the development of interregional and cross-border value chains. Partners are expected to collaborate in an integrated way in developing ideas, priorities, and actions.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The geographic eligibility includes less developed regions (LDRs), transition regions (TRs), and more developed regions within the European Union. The I3 Instrument fosters cooperation among these regions, with a particular emphasis on strengthening European value chains, especially through value chain development in less developed regions.

Target Sector:The program targets the following thematic or industry sectors: Digital transition, Green transition, and Smart manufacturing.

Mentioned Countries:No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on regions within the European Union, including less developed regions (LDRs), transition regions (TRs), and more developed regions.

Project Stage:The expected maturity of the project is demonstration, commercialization, and scale-up. I3 Instrument business investment cases start with a minimum TRL 6 and have the ambition to facilitate demonstration and to accelerate market uptake and commercialisation.

Funding Amount:The budget for the topic I3-2025-INV1 - I3-PJG I3 Project Grants is €23,000,000.

Application Type:The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries will receive both financial support through direct funding or cascade funding to third parties and non-financial support, such as business and investment planning, protection of IPR, certification, commercialisation, standardisation, tailored support for the integration of KETs/deep tech in production processes, support in testing, demonstration and piloting new solutions.

Application Stages:Applicants have to pass through a single stage to obtain this opportunity.

Success Rates:The indicative number of grants is not specified.

Co-funding Requirement:The document does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

The Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument Strand 1 call for proposals I3-2025-INV1 aims to support interregional innovation investments by offering consortia of innovation actors from the quadruple helix ecosystems the necessary financial and advisory support to bring their innovations to a mature level, ready for commercialisation and scale-up, while bridging and reducing the innovation divide in Europe with a strong cohesion policy focus of integrating all regions and in particular the less developed regions into European value chains. This initiative, funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), targets projects that address challenges in digital transition, green transition, or smart manufacturing.

The call encourages the development of new or existing interregional and cross-border value chains, fostering collaboration between innovation actors, especially SMEs, from less developed and more developed regions. Projects should have investment ideas ready to be developed into mature business cases, identifying new regional technological domains and market opportunities aligned with EU priorities.

The support provided includes financial support through direct funding or cascade funding to third parties, as well as non-financial support such as business and investment planning, IPR protection, certification, commercialisation, standardisation, and support for integrating KETs/deep tech in production processes.

Applications must address one of the three thematic priorities:digital transition, green transition, or smart manufacturing. The digital transition priority focuses on investments in businesses and public administrations related to digital technologies, aiming to improve accessibility and efficiency of services while bridging the digital divide and contributing to cybersecurity. The green transition priority supports innovative value chain investments to boost competitiveness through green technology, focusing on energy-intensive industries and the clean-tech sector. The smart manufacturing priority focuses on improving the delivery of new or improved products, processes, or services in the manufacturing industry, fostering competitiveness, strategic autonomy, and a circular economy approach.

Projects selected under this call will be implemented through an investment portfolio approach, where beneficiaries (including SMEs) and third parties can play a role in specific segments of EU value chains. The proposal must clearly describe the progress from innovation towards commercialisation and upscaling, as well as an exploitation plan for the completion of the project. The total budget for this call is €23,000,000, and the submission deadline is November 13, 2025.