Demonstration Project for the Industrial Sector 2022

This call for proposals has an open-ednded deadline. Grant applications that will included in the second application processing of 2022, must be submitted by 14 September.

We estimate that up to NOK 82 million will be available for the next allocation, but this limit may change following a decision by the Research Council's Executive Board. The specified sums in the thematic area texts will not aligned according to the new frame. If you have any questions about available funding per topic, please contact the contact persons listed in the thematic area texts.

A Demonstration Project for the Industrial Sector should strengthen companies’ own efforts to demonstrate new technology for applications with major socio-economic benefits. Projects are to ensure expertise, job creation, value creation and a competitive industrial sector.

Demonstration Project for the Industrial Sector 2022 covers topics relating to the Maritime industry (green shipping), Petroleum, and Land-based food, the environment and bioresources.

Funding will be awarded to projects that promote collaboration to ensure that new innovations are developed and taken into use – whether they are products, services or processes – and that have a need for pilot testing and demonstration of new technology for use nationally or to sell in international markets.

We expect you to carry out a significant part of the work on developing the technology in Norway, thereby ensuring Norwegian value creation and jobs. However, the pilot testing activities themselves may be conducted abroad.

Industrial projects that require more extensive research activity may be more relevant to the call Innovation Project for the Industrial Sector 2022.

You may submit your grant application at any time, up to and including 14 September 2022, 23:59 CEST. We process applications twice a year. Read more under the section ‘Expected funding decision’ (under ‘Administrative procedures’ towards the end of the call).

This call for proposals constitutes a funding scheme that is notified to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), and must be practised in compliance with the EEA state aid rules. Read more about state aid under the section ‘Conditions for funding’.

The Norwegian-language call for proposals is the legally binding version.

We will provide three months’ notification of any significant revisions to the call.

Requirements relating to the Project Owner

The Project Owner must secure funding for the project (over and above the Research Council’s funding) and make provisions for utilisation of the project results in the company.

Requirements relating to partners

• The Project Owner must carry out the project in collaboration with at least one other company/actor in the value chain. Requirements and expectations of the collaboration are described in more detail under the topic you select for your grant application. The partners must normally contribute financial and scientific commitments to the project. Read more about project partners and R&D providers here. All partners and R&D providers must be registered in the grant application form.
• Partners must also fulfil the criteria listed under the section ‘Who is eligible to apply?’ to be able to participate in the project and receive funding. Partners must be involved in what is known as an effective collaboration with the Project Owner, which entails sharing both the risk associated with the project and the results it generates. Partners whose project costs are covered in part by Research Council funding are recipients of state aid.
• Norwegian and foreign expert environments and research organisations may participate in the project as R&D providers with responsibility for performing R&D work on assignment for the partner companies. R&D providers may not contribute to project funding and in general have no rights to the project results. They deliver on assignment and should receive the market price for their work. If they are nonetheless to maintain the rights to results, this should be reflected in the assignment’s pricing.
• Other international and public sector bodies may participate in the project, but they must not be entered as partners in the application form. This type of collaboration can be described under ‘Other collaboration’ under section 3.3. of the project description.
• The Project Owner or one of the partners may not be in an interdependent relationship with any of the R&D providers in the project, e.g., where both entities are part of the same corporation. The ‘arm’s length principle’ must be observed when engaging R&D providers.
• The Project Owner and partners participating in the project that are interdependent will be considered as one entity and as a single recipient of funding in accordance with the state aid rules.
• The application with relevant partners and R&D providers at the time the application is submitted forms the basis and is a stringent condition for funding. Changes made to the composition of a project before a contract has been entered into may result in the Research Council withdrawing its offer of funding.

Typical characteristics of a funded project

• Demonstration Projects build on a specific innovation produced by the companies participating in the project. The innovation can be in the form of a new product, service or production process, or a new means of delivering products and services. The innovation may also entail significant improvements in or new characteristics of existing products, processes or services.
• The companies depend on R&D activities to demonstrate and verify the innovation in order to successfully introduce their product on the market and move forward with commercialisation. R&D activities primarily concern experimental development, as defined in the state aid rules.
• You can demonstrate that the project will have a likely and significant positive impact for one or more sustainable development goals. We expect the project to have a positive impact without causing harm to other areas. Examples include emission reductions, climate adaptation, resource efficiency, well-functioning ecosystems or social/societal improvements.
• The project partners have defined tasks and a clear role in the project’s implementation.
• Demonstration and qualification activities are to be carried out under realistic conditions. The project description must include a clear plan for these activities.
• The scope and risk profile of the project is such that the companies would not be able to carry out the project without public funding. This means that support from the Research Council will be essential to reducing risk sufficiently for the participants to implement the necessary R&D activities. Project funding should also be crucial to obtaining private investment in the company for the development and realisation of the innovation.
• The project must incorporate clear targets and a concrete plan for carrying out the project and for utilising the results.