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ZIM: grants for SME innovation projects.

ZIM is Germany's largest technology-open grant programme for R&D in small and medium-sized enterprises. It pays a non-repayable grant of up to 60 percent of eligible costs for developing new products, processes, or technical services, in any sector.

Applications paused since 7 July 2026: ZIM is currently not accepting new applications or project outlines (exception: international cooperation in open calls). Approved projects and payments continue. Reopening is targeted for early 2027, subject to the 2027 federal budget.

Last updated: 24 October 2026 · Prepare your project for the reopening: ZIM consulting

At a glance

Non-repayable grant, awarded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
Technology- and sector-open, available nationwide.
Current directive (V5) in force since 1 January 2025, valid until 30 June 2027.
Funding rate 25 to 60 percent depending on company size, region, and project type.
Maximum eligible costs: €690,000 for a single-company project; €560,000 per company in a cooperation project. The grant for the whole cooperation is capped at €3 million.
The application must be filed before the project starts. This is the key difference from the Forschungszulage.
Annual programme budget around €630 million.

1. What is ZIM?

A short orientation on the programme, its owner, and where it sits in the German funding landscape.

ZIM has run as a permanent federal programme since 2008 and is one of the most widely used innovation instruments in Germany, with more than 40,000 projects funded to date. It is deliberately open to all technologies and sectors: the typical recipient is not a corporate lab but a mid-sized machine builder, a software company with a dozen staff, or a craft business developing a new production process. Around three quarters of funded companies have fewer than 50 employees.

Unlike the Forschungszulage, which is a tax incentive with a legal entitlement, ZIM is a discretionary grant. Applications are assessed on quality, and the project must not have started when you apply.

2. What it funds

The project types ZIM supports and the activities that are eligible.

ZIM funds R&D projects for innovative products, processes, or technical services, plus supporting services to bring results to market. It comes in several project types:

Single projects (Einzelprojekt): one company carries out the R&D on its own.
Cooperation projects (Kooperationsprojekt): two or more partners (companies, and research institutions) work together on a shared goal.
Innovation networks (Innovationsnetzwerke): managed networks of at least six companies (four for international networks).
Feasibility studies: now run on a de-minimis basis and can last up to 12 months.
Market-introduction services: support to commercialise results, available up to 18 months after the project ends.

Eligible costs are mainly personnel costs for R&D staff. Subcontracts to third parties are eligible up to 35 percent of the personnel costs, which is useful for bringing in external specialists such as IT freelancers.

3. Who can apply

The size classes that qualify, including the mid-cap rules.

ZIM is aimed at the Mittelstand:

Small enterprises (under 50 employees, under €10 million turnover) and medium enterprises (under 250 employees, under €50 million turnover).
Larger mid-caps with up to 499 and up to 999 employees under defined conditions.
Companies with 500 to 999 employees only within cooperation projects that include at least one SME.

Research institutions can participate in cooperation projects and networks. Foreign partners can join but do not receive ZIM funding themselves.

4. How much you get

The funding rates and the cost ceilings that determine the grant.

The grant rate ranges from 25 to 60 percent, set by company size, location, and project type. Small and young companies and first-time innovators receive the most favourable rates. The grant is calculated on the eligible costs, capped as follows:

Single project: up to €690,000 eligible costs per company.
Cooperation project: up to €560,000 eligible costs per company; the grant for the whole cooperation is capped at €3 million.

The V5 directive, published in the federal Förderdatenbank, raised these ceilings compared with the previous version, so figures from older approvals are out of date.

5. How to apply and deadlines

The timing rule that matters most and the route to apply.

An application pause currently applies: since 7 July 2026, 12:00, ZIM has not been accepting new applications or project outlines. Applications with international partners in open bilateral and multilateral calls are exempt. Approved projects continue, and payments are not affected. Reopening is targeted for early 2027 and depends on the 2027 federal budget. The decisive rule is that the application must be submitted before the project begins. Applications go to the specialised project executing agencies listed on the official ZIM programme portal, on the official form or via the electronic submission route. A clear technical project description and a credible work and cost plan are central to approval.

6. Notes and combination

How ZIM interacts with the Forschungszulage and other aid.

ZIM can be combined with the Forschungszulage, but not within the same project: the ZIM directive excludes projects that are supported by other R&D funding from the federal government, the federal states or the European Commission, and the same costs may never be funded twice. In practice many companies use ZIM for one project and the Forschungszulage for other R&D projects. As a discretionary grant under EU state-aid rules, ZIM also requires that the company is not a "company in difficulty".

7. Project types in depth

ZIM is a family of five routes; the one you choose sets your rate, your ceiling and your partners.

What is a ZIM single R&D project? In a ZIM single project, one company runs the R&D alone, with research institutions engaged only as subcontractors. Funding is 25 to 45 percent; eligible costs up to €690,000.

How does a ZIM cooperation project work? A ZIM cooperation project unites two or more partners behind one goal at a higher rate. Partnerships must be balanced; costs up to €560,000 per company, with the grant for the whole project capped at €3,000,000.

How does ZIM fund innovation networks? ZIM funds an innovation network's management in two phases: up to €490,000 for national networks (six or more companies), €600,000 for international ones (at least four).

Who can apply for a ZIM feasibility study? ZIM feasibility studies are open to young companies (up to 10 years), micro-enterprises and first-time applicants, de-risking the main project: up to 12 months, €125,000 (€250,000 in cooperation), on a de-minimis basis.

What are ZIM market-introduction services? ZIM market-introduction services support companies with an approved ZIM R&D project: up to €100,000 in eligible costs at 50 percent, during and up to 18 months after the project.

8. Eligible and ineligible costs

A streamlined cost model built so small teams need not itemise every receipt.

Eligible costs come from three blocks. Personnel is the core: gross salary counts up to €150,000 per person per year, and a full-time employee is typically planned at about 10.5 person-months a year (up to 12 may be settled if genuinely worked); overtime never counts. Subcontracts to third parties are eligible up to 35 percent of personnel costs. An other-costs flat rate of up to 100 percent of personnel costs (85 percent for research institutions) covers materials, equipment depreciation, travel and overheads without itemisation. Only net costs are eligible where input tax is deductible.

What is not eligible: anything spent or committed before the application is received; routine development with no genuine technical risk; gross VAT where deductible; costs above the stated ceilings; and overtime or non-project time. Because the flat rate can double personnel costs, a single project reaches its €690,000 ceiling at roughly €290,000 to 300,000 of personnel. Larger projects can be split as a cooperation: there the lower ceiling of €560,000 applies per participating company, but at a higher funding rate.

9. Funding rates in detail

Rates run from 25 to 60 percent, set by size, age, region and project type. Smaller is better; cooperation beats going alone; international cooperation adds up to ten points, capped at 60 percent.

Applicant	Single	Cooperation	Intl. coop.
Small enterprise, structurally weak region	45%	55%	60%
Small young enterprise (≤ 10 yrs)	45%	50%	60%
Small enterprise (standard)	40%	45%	55%
Medium enterprise	35%	40%	50%
Company under 500 employees	25%	30%	40%
Research institution (cooperation partner)	—	up to 100%	up to 100%

Eligible-cost ceilings: €690,000 per company in a single project; €560,000 per company in a cooperation, with the grant for the whole cooperation project capped at €3,000,000; a research institution up to €280,000. A company may hold at most two ZIM R&D approvals in any rolling 12 months.

10. Applying, step by step

The process is fully digital; the most common pitfall is starting the project before the confirmed receipt of the application.

Optional project outline. Submit an informal outline (up to four pages) for free, non-binding feedback on fundability. During the application pause, outlines are not accepted either.
Apply before you start. File via the Förderzentrale Deutschland portal, to VDI/VDE (single projects, networks, feasibility) or AiF Projekt GmbH (cooperation), before any work begins.
Receipt confirmation. From the confirmed receipt of the application, you may start the project at your own risk.
Assessment (~3 months). The agency judges innovation level, technical risk, market prospects, team and completeness; clarification requests are deadline-bound.
Decision. The grant is confirmed with the Zuwendungsbescheid; if you started after the receipt confirmation, you carry the risk of rejection until then.
Execution and reporting. Keep daily, contemporaneous time records signed monthly; request payment roughly quarterly; a 10 percent retention is released after the final report (Verwendungsnachweis). Plan three to six months from kick-off to a decision.

11. Common mistakes

The errors that most often reduce or forfeit a grant.

Starting the project, or signing binding contracts, before the application is received, which can forfeit the entire grant.
Choosing a single project when a cooperation would pay a higher rate and add a research partner funded at up to 100 percent.
Reconstructed rather than daily, contemporaneous time sheets, a classic audit failure.
Calling routine development R&D when there is no genuine technical risk beyond the state of the art.
Forgetting the €150,000 salary ceiling, or budgeting above ~10.5 person-months per person per year.
Subcontracting above 35 percent of personnel costs, which is simply lost from the calculation.
Expecting ZIM money for a foreign partner, who must fund themselves nationally.
A weak exploitation strategy, or applying as a pre-revenue start-up with no means to finance the own share.

12. More questions

Quick answers to the questions we hear most often.

Is the ZIM grant taxable? ZIM is not subject to VAT but is taxable income for corporate or income-tax purposes; your project expenses remain deductible. This is general information, not tax advice.

How long can a ZIM project run? A ZIM project typically runs for 6 to 36 months; feasibility studies are limited to 12 months.

When is ZIM funding paid out? ZIM funding is paid in arrears, on request, at roughly quarterly intervals against proof of progress. A 10 percent retention is released only after the final report.

Does software qualify for ZIM? Yes, software qualifies for ZIM on the same terms as any field, provided it is genuine R&D with real technical risk; routine work like setting up a database does not.

Can we combine ZIM with the Forschungszulage? Yes, but not within the same project: ZIM excludes projects that receive other R&D funding from the federal government, a federal state or the European Commission, and the same costs may never be funded twice. The usual set-up is ZIM for one project and the Forschungszulage for other R&D projects.

What can I do until ZIM reopens? Prepare the project now: work packages, cost and time plan and, if you want to cooperate, the partner. We keep the application ready so it can be filed as soon as ZIM accepts applications again. Do not start the project before then, because a project that has already started can no longer be funded by ZIM. If the development cannot wait, the Forschungszulage (research allowance) has no application pause: it covers the same R&D personnel costs, including in projects already under way. For high-risk research, often with a university partner, KMU-innovativ may fit. A project funded this way cannot later also be funded through ZIM.