Advancing lead markets and proof-of-concept for deep tech solutions contributing to EU Missions

Expected Outcome

Expected outcomes:

• Stakeholders in Missions on European, national and regional level embrace their roles as actors in ‘lead markets for innovative products and services with a purpose’ that are provided by public investments in mission objectives.
• Some cutting-edge technologies at lower technology levels (i.e. not yet at product development stage) potentially relevant to EU Missions are advanced towards market entry by appropriate tools (for example ‘proof concept’, ‘procurement of innovation’ or others)
• A better alignment between public procurement, private investment, and missions’ requirement fosters favourable conditions for creation of lead markets.

Scope:

This call aims to accelerate the scaling and deployment of innovative technologies by leveraging EU Missions as catalysts for lead markets. It will support both public and private stakeholders in fostering demand-driven innovation while developing proof-of-concept for deep tech solutions relevant to the Missions. By integrating Social Sciences and Humanities insights, the call will also address barriers to market uptake, risk perception, and stakeholder engagement to create enabling conditions for investment in high-impact technologies.

Proposals should aim at:

• Scaling up innovations: develop proof-of-concept for deep tech solutions that have the potential to address EU Mission challenges (up to TRL 7).
• Enabling lead markets for mission-driven technologies: identify and test models that mobilise public and private stakeholders to create demand for emerging solutions, ensuring alignment with public interests (e.g., workplace safety, risk management, procurement strategies).
• Mobilising resources to experiment innovative procurement and financing models - like procurement of innovation, competitive dialogue or other innovation friendly procurement methods - to develop and test innovative regulatory, policy, and financial mechanisms to accelerate the uptake of high-risk, high-reward technologies in public services markets.

Maximum 50% of the grant awarded can be used to support actual procurement of solutions by public service companies preferentially in small projects and supporting maximum of 25% of the procurement. Prior agreement with EU commission services is required in due time.

Projects should take into account relevant insights from the projects working on the topic “Understanding and overcoming barriers to the scale-up of technologies supporting EU Missions.”

Projects should cover ideally all missions, and preference will be given to proposals covering several missions.