First Innovation Small Call for Start-ups/SMEs

Deadline: 25-Mar-2023

Applications are now open for the First Innovation Small Call for Start-ups/SMEs from EU Member States or Third countries associated to Horizon Europe.

The primary focus of the Innovation Small Call will be on EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Objectives SO3/TSO3 Deploy and scale green, safe and inclusive and mobility solutions for people and goods and SO4/TSO4 Accelerate market opportunities with an agile innovation approach.

Aims

The aim of this call is to support SMEs (Applicants) to either:

• Develop a new product/services/solutions for existing clients OR,
• Significantly improve an existing product/services/solutions for expansion into a new industry sector or a new geographic area.

Project Scope

• The following scope is the basis upon which a decision is made on whether the proposal is best suited to the Small Calls Mechanism of whether the annual open public call is more appropriate.
• To meet the general fit of this Small Calls Mechanism, the applicants should comply with all the following points:

1. Offer solutions to key providers within the Urban Mobility Ecosystem such as city authorities, passenger transport operators, logistics and mobility providers, energy companies, police, and security services, etc.
2. Propose a product/service/solution starting from a minimum of TRL7.
3. Have an existing track record of product development, innovation and sales that increase revenue and turnover or be a spin-out of an entity that has this track record and commit to ongoing support and mentoring. If the backer is a university, then there must be multi-year commitment from the Research Translation/Commercial department.
4. Deliver the product/service/solution by no later than 31 December 2023 including the evidence for KPI EITHE02.4.
5. Provide full usage and testing of the product/service/solution with a live client within the project implementation period.

Funding Information

• The total maximum EIT funding allocated to this call is up to 595,000 €. The amounts will be allocated to up to 10 projects (up to 59,500 € per project).
• Each entity awardee will receive a total EIT contribution of the 70% of the total project budget, with a maximum amount of 59,500 € per project. Accordingly, all proposals must have a minimum co-funding rate of 30%. Co-funding above 30% will be positively assessed during the selection process.
• Therefore, for example, for a proposal with a total budget of 70,000 EUR, the maximum EIT contribution to be received will be 49,000 EUR (70%), with a total co-funding of 21,000€ (30%).
• Duration: This call is open to proposals with a project duration of up to 8 months.

Topics

The three challenge areas, Future Digital, Sustainable City Logistics and Mobility and Energy are outlined below. Additionally, a table below provides with examples of themes that may be addressed in the innovation Small Call pilot. This list is in no way exhaustive. Applicants are free to discuss any proposal with our local innovation team located in our five European Hubs.

• Future Mobility: New services and disruptive technologies reshape the ways in which we live, work, and move. Public transport solutions that improve the reliability, accessibility, regularity and operations to enable mass transit adoption.
• Sustainable City Logistics: Freight transport includes the transport of goods, from parcel delivery, delivery of building materials to construction sites, to domestic and commercial waste disposal. Cooperation between a wide range of partners and new vehicles, business models and technologies are needed.
• Mobility & Energy: Replacing internal combustion engines with cleaner fuel-propulsion solutions requires new vehicle technologies, charging/refueling supply as well as generating demand for the fuels. This challenge requires new partnerships, new business models and new infrastructure.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Innovation Small Call aims particularly to contribute to the EIT Urban Mobility’s society impact goal of job creation and strengthening the European urban mobility sector. Therefore, the Innovation focus is on offering pathways for SMEs to expand and grow. This call specifically aims to support SMEs enter into business and commercial relations with transport providers, cities, and city authorities that normally have heavy procurement and compliance requirements which de facto excludes SMEs from supplying solutions to our urban mobility challenges.
• As such, the Innovation Small Call pilot is an open call targeted at SMEs. Additionally:

1. They should be registered as legal entities not more than 10 years ago from the official closing date of the call
2. SMEs applying may be registered as legal entities in either an EU Member State or a third country associated to Horizon Europe, including the UK and Switzerland.
3. Have a minimum of 3 employees (not a single founder)
4. The call is addressed to single legal entities -mono-beneficiary scheme- and, consequently, while possible, there is no need to develop a consortium with additional entities.
5. Applicants must plan to develop and test the product/service/solution with an end-client within an EU Member States and/or Third countries associated to Horizon Europe, including the UK and Switzerland.
6. SMEs that were incorporated as an outcome/result of a previous EIT Urban Mobility funded project in 2020, 2021, or 2022 will be strongly encouraged to apply. In the application, you will be required to provide details of the EIT Urban Mobility Project acronym and reference number as well as outline any legal connections/ownership structure related to existing EIT Urban Mobility partners.
7. Any SME awarded in the Innovation Small Call agrees to participate in an academic evaluation on the impact and value of small, agile awards in the urban mobility arena. Further details will be shared during the implementation kick off with funded SMEs.

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