Manufacturing and engineering funding consultant for companies across the EU

Yes, we work with manufacturing and engineering companies across the EU. Without a German entity, the main routes are Horizon Europe and the EIC Accelerator, open to companies established in an EU member state or an associated country, Eurostars, in which every EU member state takes part, and the EU Innovation Fund for projects located in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. German programmes need a German company, permanent establishment, branch or site, depending on the programme.

Horizon Europe Cluster 4, Eurostars, the EIC Accelerator and, for plants, the EU Innovation Fund. Cluster 4 funds consortia on set manufacturing and materials topics. Eurostars funds an SME-led R&D project with partners from at least two countries. The EIC Accelerator funds a single startup or SME with a breakthrough technology. The EU Innovation Fund funds decarbonisation and cleantech manufacturing projects. Combining them works for different stages, projects or cost items, never for the same costs twice.

Yes, if it is taxable in Germany, typically through a German subsidiary or a permanent establishment. Eligibility follows German tax liability, and the tax authorities treat a foreign company with a German permanent establishment as eligible where Germany has the right to tax. The allowance is 25% of eligible R&D costs, 35% for SMEs, credited against German tax. Contract research counts only if the contractor is managed in the EU, or in an EEA state that provides administrative assistance in tax matters.

Both can, depending on the programme. The Research Allowance funds the development of a new or substantially improved process under technical uncertainty, not only product development. KMU-innovativ: Zukunft der Wertschöpfung funds industrial research for production, such as new manufacturing technologies and production-related services. BAFA EEW pays for efficiency measures in your production, but as an investment in proven technology, not as R&D.

No. That a machine has never been built in this exact form is not enough for the BSFZ, the body that certifies R&D projects: the work has to meet the R&D criteria, above all an outcome that is technically uncertain. R&D ends after test operation and final evaluation of the prototype. A zero series to prepare series production, production start-up, installation exactly to the manufacturer's instructions and certification of existing machines do not count.

Under the Research Allowance, yes, if they meet three conditions. Depreciation on movable assets such as test benches, test rigs and measurement equipment counts if they were acquired or produced after 27 March 2024, are used exclusively in the R&D project and are necessary for it; the BSFZ also expects the project to have started after that date. Low-value assets written off immediately do not count. Grant programmes such as KMU-innovativ count the depreciation for the period the equipment is used in the project.

Under the Research Allowance, 35% instead of 25% of eligible R&D costs incurred after 27 March 2024, if you are an SME under the EU definition. That means fewer than 250 employees and either up to €50M turnover or up to €43M balance sheet total, with linked and partner companies counted in, so a small subsidiary of a large group is not an SME. Grant programmes also pay SMEs more: KMU-innovativ: Zukunft der Wertschöpfung pays SMEs up to 60% and other companies up to 50%, and BAFA EEW rates rise for smaller companies. More on funding for SMEs.

Yes, for their own R&D projects. As a sole trader, your own R&D hours count at €100 per hour for work from 2026 (€70 for work after 27 March 2024, €40 before), for at most 40 hours a week. If you do R&D on contract for a client, the client claims the allowance on 70% of your fee, not you. More on funding for the self-employed.

Yes, but it comes from investment programmes, not R&D programmes. GRW pays investment grants for a new or expanded site in an eligible German region. BAFA EEW funds energy efficiency, process heat from renewables and energy management at German sites. KfW innovation loans finance innovation projects in Germany. The EU Innovation Fund backs decarbonisation and cleantech manufacturing projects from €2.5M of capex. GRW, BAFA EEW and KfW all need the application in before you commit to the investment.

Yes, in several ways. Under the Research Allowance, in a cooperation project each partner claims its own costs, and if you commission research, 70% of the fee counts for contracts placed after 27 March 2024 (60% before), as long as the contractor is managed in the EU, or in an EEA state that provides administrative assistance in tax matters. KMU-innovativ funds joint projects in which universities and research institutes can receive up to 100% of their costs. Horizon Europe expects consortia from the start.

Every financial year in which you incur eligible R&D costs. You apply to the tax office after the end of the year, once the BSFZ has certified the project, so the allowance follows your R&D rather than a call deadline. Past years can still be claimed as long as the four-year assessment period is open, which currently reaches back to 2022. Grant programmes work the other way round: you apply before the project starts.

For the Research Allowance our fee is purely success-based: 10% of the funding up to €500k per year and 5% above that, due only after payout. For all other programmes the fee is a fixed share plus a success component, both agreed in advance. The first eligibility check is free and comes with no obligation. Every fee is agreed before we start work on an application, so you can compare the cost of each route before deciding which programmes to pursue.