Robotics and hardware funding consultant for companies across the EU

Yes, we work with robotics and hardware companies across the EU. Without a German entity, the main routes are the EIC Accelerator and Horizon Europe, open to companies established in an EU member state or an associated country, and Eurostars, in which every EU member state takes part. German programmes need a German company, permanent establishment, branch or site, depending on the programme, and we check which of them a German subsidiary would open.

Mainly the EIC Accelerator, Eurostars and Horizon Europe, often one after another. The EIC Accelerator funds a single startup or SME with a grant below €2.5M, covering 70% of the costs of development from TRL 6 to 8, plus optional equity of €1M to €10M. Eurostars funds an SME-led R&D project with partners from at least two countries. Horizon Europe Cluster 4 funds consortia on set topics, robotics among them. Combining them works best across different stages or cost items.

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.

Not for the Research Allowance, which looks at the technical problem rather than the discipline. The law treats a defined, indivisible task as one R&D project, even when it has several work packages, and BSFZ guidance describes projects that combine new sensors, control hardware and software. Grant programmes such as KMU-innovativ and the EIC Accelerator assess the whole project against their own topic and criteria, so the question there is fit, not discipline.

Only where the integration itself is the technical problem. Under the Research Allowance, combining components counts when it needs experiments with an open outcome, for example because the interplay of actuation, sensing and control is not yet understood. Getting a known or bought-in system to run smoothly, routine assembly and standard tests do not count. Grant programmes apply a similar test: they fund the R&D, not the engineering around it.

Not as a cost item of their own under the Research Allowance, and grant programmes each treat them differently. The allowance counts R&D wages, contract research and depreciation of R&D equipment; projects started from 2026 add a 20% flat rate for overheads and other operating costs. KMU-innovativ counts materials as project costs, Horizon Europe counts consumables, and ZIM covers all other project costs with an amount capped at the personnel costs. Equipment is usually funded through depreciation, not its full purchase price.

Under the Research Allowance, yes, if they meet three conditions. Depreciation on movable assets such as test rigs, test cells 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. Low-value assets written off immediately do not count, nor do software and licences. Grant programmes such as KMU-innovativ count the depreciation for the period the equipment is used in the project.

Partly, and the rules changed in 2026. Horizon Europe collaborative projects and Eurostars fund civil applications only. Following an amendment to the Horizon Europe Regulation, the EIC Accelerator may now also support innovations with potential dual-use applications, as long as they advance civilian use: the company needs a credible business case in both civilian and defence markets. Dual-use proposals get no preferential treatment, and projects aimed only at military use stay outside the Accelerator.

Yes, and the Zukunft der Wertschöpfung guideline explicitly invites robotics companies to apply. It funds risky R&D for production and services and names the use of robotics in new application fields. SMEs and mid-sized companies with up to 1,000 employees and €100M turnover apply alone or with research partners, starting with a project outline, and need a permanent establishment or branch in Germany when the grant is paid. Companies receive up to 50%, SMEs up to 60%.

Yes. The Research Allowance is credited against the company's tax, and whatever exceeds the tax bill is paid out, so a loss-making startup receives the full allowance once the tax office has set it after the financial year. That suits hardware development, where costs come long before revenue. The EIC Accelerator also accepts startups, and even founders who will set up the company before the grant agreement is signed.

Yes, and for some programmes it helps. Under the Research Allowance, contract research counts at 70% of the fee for contracts placed after 27 March 2024 (60% before), if 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. Under the German Eurostars rules, universities and institutes are funded only when a German SME carries a substantial share of the R&D work.

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.