Objective: The measure has a dual objective: to support (i) the development and/or advancement of significant scientific and technological results that bring innovative, emerging, and cutting-edge elements to the internal market with considerable economic potential, or that contribute to reducing or preventing the Union's strategic dependencies in critical technologies within the three STEP sectors envisaged by the PR FESR 2021–2027 of the Piedmont Region (digital and deep tech technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies, biotechnologies); and (ii) the related validation and incorporation into production processes/company offerings, corresponding to a demonstrable competitive advantage and concrete business opportunities at the individual or supply-chain level.
The measure therefore also focuses on supporting the competitiveness, resilience, and reorganization of regional industrial supply chains.
Line 1 – Support for industrial research and experimental development activities ("R&D challenges")
Line 2 – Support for industrial research, experimental development, and advanced-stage innovation CONSTITUTING a defined plan for the industrial/commercial exploitation of results ("Production & Market challenges" – "P&M challenges").
Recipients:
Eligible initiatives:
Line 1 – Support for industrial research and experimental development activities ("R&D challenges") supports industrial research and experimental development activities across a structured and appropriate TRL range (entry TRL no lower than 3, exit TRL no lower than 6), with varying investment sizes and participation formats.
Two categories of project proposals are eligible, as described below:
Project Category 1.a – ("Small-mid challenges"), i.e., projects:
• with a medium-low investment size, corresponding to circumscribed challenges/objectives or complexity;
• submitted by single companies or in partnership form, including possibly Research Organizations and/or end users within numerically limited groupings (between 2 and 5 partners. The maximum number of partners is calculated with reference to companies only);
• with lower or greater proximity to the market, within an appropriate TRL range (entry no lower than 3, exit no lower than 6), depending on the specific project and in any case consistent with STEP objectives;
• with a duration of up to 24 months (subject to extension in case of an increase for result dissemination or other extensions to be assessed, in any case consistent with the closing terms of the 2021–2027 Programming period).
Project Category 1.b – ("Strategic Big-challenges"), i.e., projects:
• with a medium-high investment size, corresponding to challenges/objectives of high complexity/strategic scope and with potentially significant impacts for the territory;
• submitted by at least 2 companies and possibly Research Organizations and/or end users, exclusively in partnership form, within groupings that may be larger (with a maximum of 10 partners. The maximum number of partners is calculated with reference to companies only);
• with lower or greater proximity to the market, within an appropriate TRL range (entry no lower than 3, exit no lower than 6), depending on the specific project and in any case consistent with STEP objectives;
• with a duration of up to 30 months (subject to extension in case of an increase for result dissemination or other extensions to be assessed, in any case consistent with the closing terms of the 2021–2027 Programming period).
The evaluation of projects submitted under Line 1 focuses primarily, in addition to the ability to contribute to the objectives and purposes of the STEP priority, on the technical-scientific quality and the actual level of innovativeness of the proposed solutions.
Line 2 – Support for industrial research, experimental development, and advanced-stage innovation CONSTITUTING a defined plan for the industrial/commercial exploitation of results ("Production & Market challenges" – "P&M challenges")
Category 2.a (Support for advanced industrial research and experimental development activities, engineering/industrialization, validation, and economic exploitation of innovation in partnership form, aimed at building and/or strengthening SUPPLY CHAINS), i.e., projects:
• characterized by technological and innovation challenges that are both specific/circumscribed and of greater complexity/strategic scope;
• submitted by at least 2 companies and possibly Research Organizations and/or end users, exclusively in partnership form, within groupings that may be more or less extensive (in any case not exceeding 10 partners. The maximum number of partners is calculated with reference to companies only);
• concerning technologies/solutions/products/processes/services that, at entry, have already achieved a TRL of at least 5 and provide documented evidence of possessing a solid R&D foundation capable of demonstrating the already-acquired validation of the solution's fundamentals (e.g., a technology demonstrator, prototype, software, etc.);
• with a defined downstream exploitation plan that provides evidence of the intended methods for exploiting and valorizing the results by the RSI project partners;
• with a duration of up to 30 months (subject to extension in case of an increase for result dissemination or other extensions to be assessed consistently with the closing terms of the 2021–2027 Programming period).
Through Category 2.a, the measure therefore pays particular attention to the ability to contribute to the objectives and purposes of the STEP priority, through the creation of new supply chains/value chains/supply chains or the strengthening/reorganization of existing ones, within proposals that constitute a defined downstream project for the exploitation of research results.
Category 2.b (Support for advanced industrial research and experimental development activities, engineering/industrialization, validation, and economic exploitation of innovation aimed at a plan for the exploitation of results in SINGLE form), i.e., projects:
• submitted by a single SME (with the possible collaboration of one or more Research Organizations);
• concerning technologies/solutions/products/processes/services that, at entry, have already achieved a TRL of at least 5 and provide documented evidence of possessing a solid R&D foundation capable of demonstrating the already-acquired validation of the solution's fundamentals (e.g., a technology demonstrator, prototype, software, etc. – see Category 2.a);
• with a defined individual downstream exploitation plan that provides for the industrial/commercial exploitation and valorization of the RSI project results (e.g., development of a new product by a company);
• with a duration of up to 24 months (subject to extension in case of an increase for result dissemination or other extensions to be assessed, in any case consistently with the closing terms of the 2021–2027 Programming period).
The evaluation of RSI projects submitted under Line 2 will focus on the ability to contribute to the objectives and purposes of the STEP priority, the actual implementability of the R&D results, the existence/defensibility of a competitive advantage, and the effective ability to reach the market by configuring a concrete and sustainable business opportunity.
Incentive: Grant (non-repayable contribution) The aid is granted in the form of a non-repayable contribution, with the amount varying according to the type of beneficiary and the nature of the activities carried out (corresponding to the different intervention lines/eligible project categories and the articles of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 adopted as the aid scheme). For further details and the relevant summary table, please refer to the Call for Proposals.