Support for the Integration of Post-Quantum Cryptography into Application Platforms

EU-funded cascade grant to support Slovak-registered companies in integrating post-quantum cryptography into application platforms, including mandatory risk analysis, application selection, architecture and cryptography documentation, and a migration plan, with optional implementation, testing and architecture updates. The application deadline is 17 August 2026 23:59 UTC and eligible costs may be incurred from 15 June 2026 to 31 January 2027 for mandatory activities or to 30 October 2027 if optional activities are included. Grants range from €7,200 to €45,000 with an aid intensity of 90 percent of eligible costs and a national envelope indicated at €1,000,000, payable via pre-financing and reimbursement. Applications are submitted digitally via granty.kcckb.sk, the generated PDF must be signed with a qualified electronic signature and sent to the NCC-SK through the Slovak e-government mailbox on slovensko.sk within five working days of portal submission.

What it funds

Scope summary

Projects that help companies prepare for quantum-era cybersecurity risks by analysing existing cryptographic mechanisms, selecting applications for migration, documenting application architecture and data flows, designing replacements for cryptographic algorithms, and preparing a migration plan. Mandatory tasks: risk analysis of cryptographic mechanisms, selection of an application for migration, architecture and cryptography documentation, replacement proposal, and project plan. Optional tasks: implementation of post-quantum cryptography, testing and updating architecture; if chosen, all optional tasks must be completed and capacity demonstrated.

Who can apply:Companies registered in the Slovak Republic of any size (SMEs and large enterprises).

Financials:Total call budget €1,000,000. Aid intensity 90% of eligible costs. Minimum grant €7,200; maximum €45,000. Pre-financing up to 50% may be available subject to financial assessment.

1. 1Eligible costs period: projects with mandatory activities may incur costs 15 June 2026 to 31 January 2027; projects with optional activities may incur costs 15 June 2026 to 30 October 2027
2. 2Application route: register and submit via granty.kcckb.sk, sign generated PDF with qualified signature and send via Slovak e-government mailbox within 5 working days after submission
3. 3Selection: eligibility and scored criteria; projects must reach minimum score and may be ranked if budget limited

Evaluation notifications are issued within 40 working days after call closure; payment model includes prefinancing and reimbursement, with final payment on completion. For de minimis rules only the national 50% share counts towards the €300,000 de minimis ceiling. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documents, submission portal and detailed rules are available from the National Coordination Centre site and the call page: Call page and Grant portal.

Opportunity summary

This call funds projects that help organisations prepare for future quantum-related cybersecurity risks by analysing existing cryptographic mechanisms, selecting applications for migration to post-quantum cryptography, documenting application architecture and data flows, designing replacement cryptographic algorithms, and preparing a migration plan. Projects may optionally implement post-quantum cryptography and test and update the application architecture, but if optional activities are selected all optional activities listed must be implemented and the applicant must demonstrate sufficient capacity to carry out the implementation.

Publication and administrative identifiers:Call identifier: DIGITAL-ECCC. CCM2 Id: 46786367. Project Id: 101194984. Programme period: 2021 - 2027.

Deadlines and project duration:Application deadline: 17 August 2026 23:59 UTC. Submission model: single-stage. Eligible costs period depends on activities: for projects implementing only mandatory activities eligible costs may be incurred from 15 June 2026 to 31 January 2027. For projects implementing both mandatory and optional activities eligible costs may be incurred from 15 June 2026 to 30 October 2027. The applicant defines exact start and end dates within the applicable eligible period.

Activities required and optional

Mandatory activities to be delivered by all projects:

1. 1Risk analysis based on the assessment of existing cryptographic mechanisms.
2. 2Identification and selection of an application suitable for migration to post-quantum cryptographic mechanisms.
3. 3Description of the application architecture and documentation of data flows.
4. 4Documentation of implemented cryptographic mechanisms in the selected application.
5. 5Proposal for replacing cryptographic algorithms with post-quantum resistant alternatives.
6. 6Preparation of a migration project plan detailing steps, timeline and responsibilities.

Optional activities (applicants may choose to include these, but if any optional are selected all optional activities must be implemented):

1. 1Implementation of post-quantum cryptography in the application platform.
2. 2Testing of the implemented post-quantum cryptographic mechanisms.
3. 3Updating and validating the application architecture to support the new cryptographic algorithms.

Eligible applicants and target beneficiaries

Target beneficiaries are companies registered in the Slovak Republic. The call explicitly includes small, medium-sized and large enterprises. The project scope states support for all categories of companies that integrate post-quantum cryptography into application platforms. Applicants must be able to demonstrate sufficient internal or external capacity to implement optional activities if chosen.

Eligible applicant types:Companies registered in the Slovak Republic including startups, SMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and large enterprises. No explicit reference to universities, research institutes, NGOs, public bodies or individuals as eligible applicants is provided; the documented target beneficiaries are companies registered in Slovakia.

Beneficiary geographic scope:National: applicants must be registered in the Slovak Republic. While the call is listed on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, the funding is delivered via the national NCC-SK cascade mechanism and restricted to Slovak-registered companies.

Consortium requirement:The call documentation does not mandate multi-partner consortia. Projects appear to be single-beneficiary grants to companies. If external capacity is required (for implementation or specialised services) the applicant must demonstrate access to such capacity, but that does not change the single-beneficiary model described in the submission and payment instructions.

Funding type and model:Grant funding delivered through a national cascade mechanism handled by the National Coordination Centre for Slovakia (NCC-SK). The basic payment model is pre-financing and reimbursement. Pre-financing up to 50% of the approved grant may be available if the beneficiary is assessed as having a good financial and economic situation.

Funding amount and aid intensity:Total national budget indicated: €1,000,000 for the overall activity referenced. Individual grants: minimum €7,200 and maximum €45,000 per project. Aid intensity: 90% of the total eligible project costs.

Co-funding requirement:Because aid intensity is 90% of eligible costs, beneficiaries must co-finance at least 10% of eligible project costs from other sources or own funds. Pre-financing availability is conditional on financial assessment.

Financial control, state aid and de minimis

De minimis rules apply:for de minimis ceiling purposes, only the national 50% share of the grant is counted toward the €300,000 de minimis ceiling. Applicants must ensure compliance with de minimis thresholds and other state aid rules referenced in the call documentation.

Eligibility, selection and evaluation

Submission route and required steps:

1. 1Register on the grant portal at granty.kcckb.sk.
2. 2Fill in the online application form and upload required annexes.
3. 3After submission the system generates a PDF of the application (excluding annexes).
4. 4The generated PDF must be signed by the statutory representative or authorised person using a qualified electronic signature, qualified electronic signature with mandate certificate, or qualified electronic seal.
5. 5Send the signed PDF via the official Slovak e-government mailbox on slovensko.sk to the NCC-SK no later than 5 working days after submission through the portal. Failure to complete this step results in exclusion.

Evaluation process and selection criteria:

1. 1NCC verifies grant conditions and exclusion criteria first. Failure to meet any exclusion criterion results in non-approval.
2. 2Scored selection criteria are applied if funding is insufficient: project relevance, project maturity, project impact, enterprise size category, and the applicant’s financial situation.
3. 3Minimum scoring threshold: a project must reach at least 11 points and must not receive 0 points in any scored criterion (except enterprise size).
4. 4Tie-break criteria: membership in the cybersecurity competence community first, then the time of submission of the complete application.

Notification timeline:The provider (NCC-SK) sends a notification on fulfilment of grant conditions within 40 working days from the closure of the call. This notification does not create a legal entitlement to the grant.

Application format and required documents

Submission is fully digital via the national portal. Required steps include completing the online form, uploading annexes, obtaining a qualified electronic signature on the generated PDF application, and uploading the signed PDF to the Slovak e-government mailbox within five working days. Applicants should consult the call documentation and manuals available on the cascade funding information page for full lists of annexes and templates Cascade funding information. ¹

Application templates and form structure:The application is an online form that generates a PDF upon submission. The call documentation on the national portal provides detailed templates and annex lists. Typical sections and fields applicants should expect to complete include: project title and abstract, detailed description of mandatory and optional activities selected, technical description of the application architecture and current cryptographic mechanisms, risk analysis and gap assessment, proposed post-quantum algorithms and migration approach, work plan and milestones, budget breakdown of eligible costs, declaration of co-financing, applicant legal and financial data, and annexes such as proof of company registration, CVs or evidence of external implementer capacity if relevant, and financial statements. The generated PDF must be signed with a qualified electronic signature and submitted via the official e-government mailbox as described.

Project maturity and expected stage

Target project maturity:from analysis and planning up to pilot implementation. Projects that only perform mandatory activities correspond to assessment, design and planning phases (analysis, architecture documentation, migration planning). Projects that select optional activities also cover implementation, testing and validation phases (implementation and demonstration in an application).

Target sectors and technologies:Primary thematic sector: cybersecurity and ICT. Technology focus: post-quantum cryptography integration into application platforms, including analysis of existing cryptographic primitives, selection and specification of post-quantum algorithms for specific use cases, secure integration into application architecture, and testing and validation of cryptographic operations and data flows.

Scoring and success chance

No explicit overall success rate is published. Selection is competitive and depends on the available allocation (€1,000,000 total indicated for the national cascade). Given the minimum and maximum grant sizes, the number of projects funded will depend on project sizes; for example, at €45,000 maximum about 22 projects could be funded from a €1,000,000 envelope, noting administrative costs and exact allocations may vary. Applicants that meet eligibility, score well on relevance, maturity and impact, and demonstrate sound financial health will be prioritized. Projects must reach the minimum scoring threshold and avoid zero scores on scored criteria (except enterprise size).

Nature of support:Monetary support in the form of grants (prefinancing and reimbursement). Non-monetary support may be available indirectly via NCC-SK guidance, documentation and community membership advantages used as tie-break criteria.

Practical considerations for applicants

Applicants should ensure they:are registered and legally established in Slovakia; can document current cryptographic implementations and application architecture; can perform or procure cryptographic risk analysis and algorithm selection expertise (particularly knowledge of NIST post-quantum algorithm candidates and practical implementation trade-offs); can produce a clear migration plan with timeline and costs; comply with de minimis state aid rules or provide information to justify aid compatibility; prepare required annexes and qualified electronic signature in advance; and, if opting for implementation, demonstrate access to sufficient internal personnel or external contractors with post-quantum implementation and testing skills.

Mentioned countries:Slovak Republic

Templates and application structure guidance

The national portal provides call-specific templates and manuals. Expected sections to prepare and attach include:

1. 1Completed online application form (generates PDF upon submission).
2. 2Technical annex: detailed description of the application, current cryptographic mechanisms, proposed post-quantum algorithms and migration approach.
3. 3Risk analysis annex: assessment of cryptographic risks and impact.
4. 4Work plan and Gantt chart or milestones.
5. 5Budget template with eligible costs, co-financing and requested grant amount.
6. 6Evidence of capacity: CVs, contracts or letters of intent from external implementers if used.
7. 7Company registration and statutory representative identification.
8. 8Financial statements or documents for financial assessment.
9. 9Any declarations required for de minimis or state aid compliance.

After the online form is submitted and the PDF generated, the signed PDF (without annexes) must be sent via the official Slovak e-government mailbox within five working days. Applicants should consult the detailed call documentation at the cascade funding page for precise templates and annex naming conventions Cascade funding information ¹.

Summary and interpretation

This call is a national cascade funding opportunity managed by NCC-SK intended to assist Slovak-registered companies to transition application platforms to post-quantum resistant cryptographic mechanisms. Grants are relatively small scale (€7,200 to €45,000) and cover up to 90% of eligible costs, enabling companies to perform risk analysis, architecture mapping and migration planning as mandatory outputs and optionally to implement and test post-quantum algorithms. The application process is digital but requires a qualified electronic signature and submission through the Slovak e-government mailbox within five working days of online submission. Selection is competitive with scoring on relevance, maturity and impact. Applicants should be prepared with technical documentation on current cryptography and application architecture, a clear migration plan, and evidence of capacity for any implementation activities.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation, templates and submission manuals are available on the national cascade funding page: kyberkomunita.sk

Opportunity Overview

This EU-funded call supports all categories of companies registered in the Slovak Republic to integrate post-quantum cryptography (PQC) into application platforms, preparing organizations for future quantum-related cybersecurity risks ¹.

The project deadline is 17 August 2026 at 23:59 UTC, with eligible costs running from 15 June 2026 to either 31 January 2027 (mandatory activities only) or 30 October 2027 (mandatory and optional activities) ².

Who Should Apply

Target beneficiaries are companies registered in the Slovak Republic, including small, medium-sized, and large enterprises ³.

Applicants must demonstrate sufficient internal or external capacity to carry out implementation if optional activities are selected ⁴.

Project Scope and Mandatory Activities

Mandatory Activities Include:Risk analysis based on cryptographic mechanism assessment, identification and selection of an application suitable for migration, description of application architecture, documentation of implemented cryptographic mechanisms, proposal for replacing algorithms, and preparation of a project plan ⁵.

1. 1Risk analysis based on cryptographic mechanism assessment
2. 2Identification and selection of an application suitable for migration to PQC
3. 3Description of the application architecture
4. 4Documentation of implemented cryptographic mechanisms
5. 5Proposal for replacing cryptographic algorithms
6. 6Preparation of a project plan

Optional Activities

Optional activities may include implementation of post-quantum cryptography, testing, and updating the application architecture ⁶.

If optional activities are selected, all must be implemented, and the applicant must demonstrate sufficient capacity to carry out the implementation ⁷.

Funding Details

Submission Process

The submission process is fully digital:register on granty.kcckb.sk, fill in the online application form, upload annexes, and generate a PDF application ⁸.

The signed PDF (without annexes) must be sent to the NCC-SK via the official Slovak e-government mailbox on slovensko.sk within 5 working days after portal submission ⁹.

Failure to complete this second step excludes the application from evaluation ¹⁰.

Evaluation Criteria

Projects must score at least 11 points and receive no 0 points in any scored criterion (except enterprise size) ¹¹.

Scored criteria assess project relevance, maturity, impact, enterprise size, and financial situation ¹².

Tie-break criteria prioritize membership in the cybersecurity competence community and submission time ¹³.

Footnotes

1. 1Official call documentation: Kyberkomunita.sk Call Page
2. 2EU roadmap for PQC migration by 2030: LinkedIn Post
3. 3Slovak Business Agency contact: SBA Agency
4. 4NIST PQC standards and hybrid deployment: F5 Labs Report
5. 5Mandatory activities defined in call scope: Call Description
6. 6Optional activities and capacity requirement: Call Description
7. 7Hybrid cryptography best practices: Encryption Consulting
8. 8Digital submission portal: granty.kcckb.sk
9. 9Slovak e-government mailbox: slovensko.sk
10. 10Submission requirement and exclusion clause: Call Documentation
11. 11Evaluation scoring threshold: Call Documentation
12. 12Scored criteria details: Call Documentation
13. 13Tie-break criteria: Call Documentation