Energy · Case study

Research allowance amount: millions across two energy projects.

Practical example based on real projects · anonymised, figures rounded · Last updated: 24 September 2026

A company building infrastructure for decentralised energy markets ran two personnel-intensive projects over years. Together they reached an eligible base near €8 million.

€1.9M

research allowance granted

€7.6M

eligible base

25%

funding rate

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At a glance

The mandate in figures

IndustryEnergy / blockchainDecentralised energy markets

Research allowance granted€1.9MAcross the term, both projects

Eligible base€7.6M

ScenarioTwo projects, both certified

Projects2 (both certified)

Funding rate25%

About the company

The company, and the R&D underneath

The company develops infrastructure for decentralised energy markets: systems that integrate distributed energy resources into power markets and grid operation, and a verifiable, decentralised registry for the environmental attributes of sustainable raw materials. This is long-term, deeply technical work with a large, highly qualified development team.

Over several years this adds up to substantial personnel expenditure. That is the core of the research allowance: it primarily funds a company's own development work, calculated on eligible personnel costs.

The challenge

Where the funding really sat

Large, long-running development programmes create two tasks. First, clean structuring: a broad development field must be split into clearly delineated projects, each with its own technical objective, its own risk and its own solution path. Packing everything into a single, diffuse project weakens certifiability.

Second, the correct handling of the cut-off and capping logic. The time of the project start determines the applicable funding period and thus the caps and rates. An early project start triggers different annual caps on the eligible base than later projects. Across several years and two projects this must be brought together cleanly.

Novelty Technical risk / uncertainty Systematic approach

Our approach

How we built the case

We structured the programme into two independent projects, each with a clearly defined technical objective, its own scientific-technical uncertainty and a comprehensible solution path. This way each project carries the three criteria on its own.

We prepared the expenditure along the fiscal years, with in-house work as the core of the eligible base and recognised contract research as a supplement. In doing so we accounted for the period-dependent caps and rates per year, so every euro takes effect in the right year and at the right rate. Both projects were certified.

How the case moved

↻

Scoped

Split into 2 clean projects

↻

Documented

Year by year, period-aware

✓

Certified

Both projects granted

What made up the eligible base

In-house ~80%Contract research ~20%

In-house personnel workContract research

Eligible base around €8 million, predominantly in-house work across roughly six years and two projects. Split shown is illustrative.

The result

A €1.9M research allowance.

In total, across fiscal years 2020 to 2025, this yields an eligible base of around €7.6 million. At the 25% rate that applies to a company of this size, this comes to around €1.9 million of research allowance across both projects. For a programme of this size, that is no longer a side effect but a tangible building block for ongoing development financing.

Eligible base €7.6M · Funding rate 25%

Two projects, both certifiedThe outcome of the mandate.

Eligible base €7.6MRecognised cost the allowance is calculated on.

Funding rate 25% (not an SME)Applied to the eligible base.

Key takeaways

What other companies can learn

Large development budgets deserve their own funding strategy. Three points are decisive:

01

Split cleanly into projects

Several clearly delineated projects are stronger than a single broad one. Each must carry novelty, risk and a systematic approach on its own.

02

Master the cut-off logic

Funding period, caps and rate depend on the project start and the fiscal year. Over long terms this must be calculated year by year.

03

Keep the annual cap in view

The eligible base is capped per year. With very large expenditure, forward planning pays off so nothing runs unused over the cap. For affiliated companies the cap moreover applies jointly.

More on Research Allowance: The guide Research Allowance: requirements, rates and application explains the programme step by step. How we support your project is covered under Research Allowance consulting.

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The research allowance is often underrated as a nice extra for small teams.

BeFunded On the research allowance

FAQ

Research Allowance: your questions

The most common questions on this kind of case. Short answer first, detail after.

It results from the eligible base and the funding rate. The eligible base is capped per fiscal year; the caps have risen across the funding periods. SMEs get an increased rate of 35% for costs incurred after 27 March 2024; this company is funded at the standard rate of 25%. Over several years this adds up.

Primarily the eligible personnel costs of in-house development, supplemented by a share of recognised contract research and, depending on the period, certain other expenditure. In-house work usually has the largest lever.

Often yes. Several clearly delineated projects are easier to certify and allow a more precise presentation of risk and solution path. What matters is that each project stands on its own.

The project start determines the period and thus caps, in-house rates and the contract-research share. Early projects are subject to different caps than later ones.

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