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ZIM · Robotics

ZIM funding for an autonomous-handling robotics system.

When a project belongs in research as much as in engineering, ZIM rewards bringing a research partner in. A robotics company built an autonomous-handling system this way, as a ZIM cooperation project with a research institute.

€300k
grant secured
~45%
cooperation rate
Non-repayable
grant, not a loan
Free assessment Read the story
At a glance

The case in figures

ProgrammeZIMZentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand
Grant secured€300kNon-repayable, paid as cash
Project formCooperation, with a research institute
Eligible base~€660k (company side)
SectorRobotics
Funding rate~45% (cooperation)
The project

What ZIM funded here

A robotics company builds handling and automation systems for industrial customers. Its next step was an autonomous-handling system combining perception, motion control and integration with the hardware: a robot that reliably picks, moves and places varied objects in a changing environment, without fixed programming for every case.

Reliable perception of varied objects under industrial conditions, and motion control that stays safe and precise as the environment changes, were not problems the company could implement from standard parts. There was genuine technical risk, with concrete ways the approach could fail, from perception that breaks down on edge cases to control that cannot keep up in real time.

What ZIM funds

Why a cooperation project carries more

ZIM is Germany's largest national grant for market-oriented research and development in SMEs. Run by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, it is open to all sectors and pays a non-repayable grant of roughly 25 to 60 percent of eligible costs, depending on company size, location and project form. Applications can be filed at any time.

One of its most useful features is the cooperation project. When a company develops jointly with a research institution or another company, the grant rate is higher than for a single project, and the research partner is funded on its own side. Eligible costs are capped at up to €560,000 per company, with a research partner funded up to €280,000.

Beyond the state of the art Genuine technical risk Cooperation project
How ZIM funded the work

A cooperation with a research institute

Because the perception and control work was genuinely open research, the company set the project up as a ZIM cooperation project with a research institute. The institute developed and validated the perception and control methods; the company built the integration with its hardware and the overall system. The eligible costs on the company side were dominated by its own developers over roughly two years, plus project-related material for the test setup.

On eligible costs of around €660,000 on the company side and a cooperation rate of about 45 percent, the grant came to roughly €300,000 as a non-repayable contribution. The institute received its own funding for its share, so the cooperation brought real research capacity into the project without the company having to carry the institute's cost.

The outcome

A €300,000 ZIM grant.

A development that combined hard research questions with serious engineering became affordable to start, rather than being postponed. The company gained perception and control expertise it did not have in house.

Cooperation project · ~45% of eligible costs
Cooperation with a research instituteThe partner funded on its own side, adding R&D capacity.
~€660k eligible baseOn the company side, mostly its own developers.
Non-repayable grantKept in full, never paid back.
Key takeaways

What this means for robotics and automation companies

01

Do not default to a single project

When part of the work is genuinely open research a partner could carry better, a cooperation is often the stronger route.

02

Cooperation carries more

A higher grant rate, and it adds research capacity the company lacks, both the stronger and the more economical choice.

03

Scope around the risk

ZIM funds work that goes beyond the state of the art and carries genuine technical risk, not routine integration.

FAQ

ZIM, in short

The questions we hear most about the programme. Short answer first, detail after.

Yes, where it goes beyond the state of the art and carries genuine technical risk, such as reliable autonomous perception and motion control. Routine integration of standard components is not eligible.

A project carried out jointly by a company and a research institution, or by two companies. It carries a higher grant rate than a single project, and the research partner is funded on its own side, which brings additional R&D capacity into the project.

Roughly 25 to 60 percent of eligible costs depending on size, location and form; small companies typically around 45 percent in a cooperation. Eligible costs are capped at up to €560,000 per company, with a research partner funded up to €280,000.

At any time, via the Foerderzentrale Deutschland on zim.de. An optional one to two page project sketch can be sent first for a quick assessment before the full application.

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