The Eureka EUROSTARS programme is an international funding programme whose main aim is to support innovative SMEs in the development of market-oriented transnational R&D projects.

What is Eureka Eurostars programme?

The Eurostars progamme is part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs (Eureka), and is co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe and 37 Eureka countries. Most Eureka member countries are EU members, but also some countries outside Europe have decided to join the Eureka network. It is the largest international funding programme focused on SMEs ( looking to collaborate on R&D initiatives that generate innovative products, services, or processes that enhance people’s daily lives worldwide and can be easily commercialised.

Requirements of the programme

The projects to be funded must be technically innovative compared to the state of the art and have a clear market orientation, with a maximum of 2 years of market entry from the completion of the development project. TRLs are not explicitly used by Eurostars, ibut t is estimated that projects will be funded if they are at a stage of technological development corresponding to a TRL4-6 at the start of the project.

A Eurostars project must have a civilian goal and be focused on the development of a new product, method, or service. It can target any technology field for any market.

There are also some points SMEs should take into consideration before applying to Eurostars to determine whether their project fits the grant:

• Technology should have reached TRL 4.
• SMEs should study if the budget is sufficient to fund their projects.
• They must be able to co-finance the amount of money required for the project.
• Eligible costs for the grant must the carefully checked.
• SMEs must make sure they can pay salaries, get equipment, and consumables from the grant.
• SMEs must carefully check if overheads are eligible for this specific funding opportunity.
• SMEs must be looking for an international collaboration.

Funding available

Applicants coming from a Eurostars country can discover what funding is available for their organization on the Eureka webpage looking at their country-specific pages and by contacting their national or regional funding body using the contact form available on Eureka’s site.

Each national funding body may have maximum funding amount per project or project partner. Organisations from non-Eurostars countries can participate by self-funding their project costs.

Budget

Most Eureka countries fund 50% of each project, for which they offer up to €0.5 million in grants. A typical project with three SME partners could receive funding worth €1.5 million. However, some countries fund a greater or a smaller portion of projects and the maximum funding amount may vary as well.

Eligible conditions

To apply, candidates must fulfill seven eligibility criteria:

• The project consortium must be led by an innovative SME from a Eurostars country,
• The project consortium must be composed of at least two entities that are independent of one another,
• The project consortium must be composed of entities from at least two Eurostars countries with at least one organisation coming from an EU or Horizon Europe Associated Country,
• The budget of the SMEs from the participating countries (excluding any subcontracting) must be 50% or more of the total project costs,
• No single participant or country can be responsible for more than 70% of the budget of the project,
• The project duration must be 36 months or less,
• The project must have an exclusive focus on civil applications.

To know more about Eureka Eurostars

The Eurostars guide provides an overview as a starting point for applicants – SMEs and startups – willing to apply for Eurostars, and for entrepreneurs seeking European or international funding.

If you want to know more about the application process for the Eurostars and access Strata’s unique advice and offering, download our guide: