EIT Manufacturing Call for Innovation proposals (2024/1) - Apply by 19 JUN 2023

• Call opening: 18 APR 2023 at 10:00 CEST
• Call Infoday (online): 18 APR 2023 at 13:00 CEST
• Matchmaking (physical): 28 - 28 APR 2023
• Call closing: 19 JUN 2023 at 17:00 CEST
• Evaluation of proposals: during JUL 2023
• Communication of results: by 01 AUG 2023
• Project start date: 1 JAN 2024

Topic 1: Optimising production processes and increasing resources efficiency through digital solutions:

• the development and commercialisation of real-time digital twins and solutions based on artificial intelligence that allow the monitoring of manufacturing processes and help configure changes in production lines in real-time. The result is a more efficient production process at the factory level, allowing for a shift to flexible manufacturing, given the ability of digital twins and related digital technologies to predict, anticipate and adapt not only at machine level.
• the development and commercialisation of solutions with the objective of improving energy and resource efficiency. Digital systems can forecast energy demand, control energy usage and reduce it during peak hours but also drive more efficient use of natural resources, raw materials and semi-finished products.

Topic 2: Socially sustainable and human-centric manufacturing

• the development and commercialisation of solutions that prioritise human and operator needs. The proposals should support workers by improving productivity, safety, decision-making, and control through human-machine collaboration and advanced technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality and more.

Topic 3: Environmentally sustainable manufacturing through circular business models and new technologies

• the development and commercialisation of new and scalable technologies to improve the efficiency of production processes by reducing resources consumption and increasing the use of recycled materials, both for new production and remanufacturing, including also advanced materials and clean production technologies. The proposals should not only address technologies at factory level but also their integration into the value chain and a strategy to overcome scalability barriers, including data sharing aspects
• the development and commercialisation of new and scalable circular business models, taking into consideration the entire life cycle of the products. The proposals could address the development of new products designed with a circular approach and complemented with service innovation, but also new circular models applicable to existing products.

This call is open to proposals with different durations and TRL starting levels:

• 12 months. The consortium must propose an innovation with a TRL of at least 7 at the start of the project and the solutions are expected to achieve TRL 8 or higher by the end of the activity.
• 24 months. The consortium must propose an innovation with a TRL of at least 6 at the start of the project and the solutions are expected to achieve TRL 8 or higher by the end of the activity.

The total maximum EIT funding allocated to this call is up to 5.5 EUR million (70% of the budget for 12-month activities):

• 12 months: max Total EIT funding per proposal 0.6 EUR million
• 24 months: max Total EIT funding per proposal 0.8 EUR million

Co-funding:

• 30% for 12 months projects
• 40% for 24 months projects

Consortia composition:

The consortium shall be composed by at least 3 legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:

- at least 1 independent legal entity established in a Member State; and

- at least 2 other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.

The consortium should include:

• 1 Lead Partner: The organisation in charge of coordinating the consortium through the Activity Leader. The role of Activity Leader is open to any entity participating to the call for proposals.
• 2 different End-Users: The end-users must be consumers of the solution(s) and each of them must provide at least 1 use case, testing and implementing the result(s) in their real industrial environment. The role of End-user is open to any entity participating to the call for proposals.
• 1 Business Owner: The organisation in charge of the commercialisation of the result(s). The role of Business Owner is limited only to organization with a legal entity established in a Member State or Country associated to Horizon Europe at the time of submission of the application

Mandatory deliverables

Mandatory KPI

Every proposal has to contribute at least to the EITHE02.4 KPI (EITHE02.4 = Number of innovations introduced on the market during the KAVA duration or within 6 months after completion with a sales revenue of at least 10 000 EUR documented)

The revenue share is the only Financial Sustainability Mechanism (FSM) accepted for this call. Proposals are requested to indicate the % of revenue share, in a range of 5 to 10%, for each marketable innovation and the submission system will calculate automatically the FS projection over 6 years.

The FSA will therefore be based on the agreed total FS projection and include the following clauses:

• 1st year after the end of the activity: at least 10% of the total FS projection will have to be returned, whether the solution is commercialised or not.
• 2nd year after the end of the activity: at least 15% of the total FS projection will have to be returned, whether the solution is commercialised or not.
• From 3rd to 6th after the end of the activity: the agreed % of revenue share will applied annually to the revenue generated, only if the solution is commercialised.

Zoltan Javor
+358 45 3472373
zoltan.javor@aalto.fi