A mid-size sensor manufacturer has developed a measurement method that it believes should become part of an emerging industry standard. If the standard is written without the company's input, it may favour competitors' approaches; if the company helps shape it, its technology becomes part of the reference the whole market follows. The obstacle is the cost in time and travel of sitting on national and international standards committees.
WIPANO (Wissens- und Technologietransfer durch Patente und Normen) funds standardisation as well as patenting. Its standardisation strand supports companies that actively join national, European or international standards bodies such as DIN and DKE, CEN and CENELEC, or ISO and IEC, provided they have not worked in the committee they apply for in the last three years. It reimburses travel, standardisation management and research, and the drafting of application rules and specification documents, and adds a personnel cost flat rate for committee work.
The grant is up to 70 percent of eligible expenditure, at most €45,000, over up to 36 months; it is granted as de minimis aid. Companies with up to 1,000 staff and up to €100 million annual turnover are eligible. The programme is run through the Juelich project management agency, with applications via the easy-Online portal.
This is exactly what the standardisation strand is for. The manufacturer had not been active in the committee applied for in the previous three years and was therefore eligible. The funding covered the practical cost of the engineers' committee participation, travel, the standardisation work and the preparation of the technical contributions, plus a personnel cost flat rate. The grant covered 70 percent of eligible costs of around €43,000, so around €30,000, to be drawn within 36 months (maximum €45,000). The three-year rule refers to the committee applied for, not to standardisation in general, and the personnel flat rate covered part of the engineers' time in the committees.
A €30k WIPANO grant.
The return is strategic rather than financial. Helping to write the test and interface standards for a new technology can accelerate the whole market and position the company's method as the reference. The company gains influence on the rules its market will follow, at a fraction of the cost it would otherwise have carried alone.
Standardisation · up to 70% of eligible costsA company with a technology that could shape a future standard should not leave the committee work to others. WIPANO makes active participation affordable, and the influence gained, being in the room where the standards are written, is often worth far more than the grant itself.
More on WIPANO: The guide WIPANO: patents, standards and application explains the programme step by step. How we support your project is covered under WIPANO consulting.
The questions we hear most about the programme. Short answer first, detail after.
Active participation in national, European and international standards committees (DIN, DKE, CEN, CENELEC, ISO, IEC), including travel, standardisation work and drafting.
Up to 70% of eligible expenditure, at most €45,000, over up to 36 months.
Companies with up to 1,000 staff and up to €100 million annual turnover that have not worked in the committee applied for in the last three years. A company already active at DIN can therefore be funded for work at CEN or ISO.
Helping write the standards positions a company's own method as the reference the market follows.
How a hardware company secured WIPANO funding for its first patent family - what WIPANO covers, the…
Read the storyHow a materials company secured WIPANO funding to turn a research result into a recognised standard…
Read the storyHow a manufacturing SME secured a BAFA EEW grant to replace compressed-air and motor systems with…
Read the storyHow a deep-tech company secured EIC Accelerator blended finance to scale breakthrough hardware.
Read the storyHow a company secured an EU Innovation Fund grant for a grid-scale energy-storage demonstration -…
Read the storyHow a biotech SME secured Eurostars 3 funding for a transnational assay-development project - how…
Read the storyHow a university founder team secured the EXIST founder stipend to turn a research-based software…
Read the storyHow a medical-device manufacturer secured a GRW grant for a cleanroom capacity expansion in a…
Read the storyHow a deep-tech company secured its funded share of a multi-partner Horizon Europe consortium…
Read the storyHow a manufacturer financed a new product line with a low-interest KfW innovation loan - what a…
Read the storyTell us about your project. A funding advisor reviews your case by hand, then either comes back with feedback or a few follow-up questions. No obligation.
