The project built an edge platform that runs predictive-maintenance models on the machine itself, rather than streaming everything to the cloud.
Running models reliably within the tight compute and memory budgets of edge hardware was the open question. Whether the approach would hold up under real conditions was genuinely uncertain at the outset, which is what gave the project its research character.
ZIM is a competitive programme. A project sponsor assesses every application against three things: the degree of innovation, the technical risk, and the market potential of the result. A clean idea is not enough; the application has to show that the outcome is genuinely uncertain and that, if it works, there is a market for it.
That is where most applications are won or lost. Describing the work as an upgrade or an integration reads as low risk and low innovation. Showing the specific technical question that could fail, and the market that opens if it does not, is what moves a project into fundable territory.
We confirm the company qualifies as an SME under the programme and frame the work as a single-company or cooperation project, scoped around the part that carries real innovation and risk.
We write the application the sponsor needs to see: the technical objective, the state of the art, the specific uncertainty, the work plan and the market case, with the costs built up cleanly.
The project sponsor assesses the application. On approval the grant covers a share of the eligible costs, between 25 and 60 percent depending on company size, cooperation and region.
A €275k ZIM grant.
An SME R&D project, funded with a non-repayable ZIM grant of €275k. No loan, no equity, no repayment.
Non-repayable grant · 25–60% of eligible costsA ZIM grant covers roughly 25 to 60 percent of eligible project costs. The exact rate depends on company size, whether it is a cooperation, and the region.
Up to about €690,000 per project, non-repayable. For cooperation projects the combined volume can be considerably higher.
ZIM is technology and sector open, with rolling submission and no fixed deadlines, so a fundable project can start whenever it is ready.
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 uncertainty. The application must show the open technical problem, not a product roadmap; routine feature work and operations are not eligible.
A project carried out by one company in house. Eligible costs are mostly the company's own developers, with project-related equipment and a defined share usable for external specialists. Eligible costs are capped at up to €690,000.
Yes. Under the current directive a defined share of personnel costs can be used for external specialists such as freelancers or specialist labs, which helps a company bridge a skills gap within an in-house project.
Eligible costs are capped at up to €690,000, with a grant of roughly 25 to 60 percent depending on size, location and form; small companies typically around 40 percent for a single project.
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