This is a call for proposals in the field of sustainability of the agri-food industrial ecosystem under the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs strand of the Single Market Programme (SMP COSME). The call will fund projects in the agri-food sector, focusing on advanced fermentation for food and feed applications.
It aims at boosting collaboration between biotech clusters, creating a critical mass able to compete with global hubs. Projects will have to contribute to EU priorities such as strategic autonomy, sustainability, resilience and food security.
The projects will provide scale-up support tailored to SMEs’ needs – from applied R&D and co-innovation to piloting and demonstration – to strengthen their pathway towards first commercial production. They will also offer regulatory support to help SMEs navigate the relevant regulatory pathways for bringing their products to market.
Proposals must cover all the following key priorities:
- establish a coherent strategic direction;
- facilitate knowledge exchange and networking;
- provide relevant scale-up support, including the use of appropriately equipped facilities;
- offer targeted advice in preparing regulatory dossiers.
Eligible applicants
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
- non-EU countries: listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Single Market Programme (list of participating countries)
- be submitted by a consortium of at least three applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from at least two different eligible countries, which complies with the following conditions:
- at least two cluster organisations or cluster networks from two different EU Member States that are registered or have a pending registration request to the ECCP by the submission deadline of this call for proposals; and have a proven track record of at least three years in supporting biotech SMEs in the food and/or feed sector.
- any other relevant organisation(s) suitable for the implementation of the project.
Call budget
The estimated available call budget is EUR 3 000 000.
Number of projects to be funded: 2