The “Innovation Competition – Growth” call for projects is a support mechanism funded by the Investments for the Future Program (PIA), which aims to select innovation projects with particularly strong potential for the French economy.
Expected projects
This new competition of excellence is dedicated to innovative single-partner projects run by start-ups and SMEs and leading to the accelerated emergence of leading companies in their field that can claim a particular global reach.
The call for projects “Innovation Competition – Growth” allows to co-finance research, development and innovation projects whose total costs are between € 600,000 and € 5 million, and whose duration is between 12 and 36 months.
The project must also be concerned by at least one of the 9 themes detailed in the specifications. The themes operated by Bpifrance * are:
- Digital Deep Tech
- Health – Bioproduction
- Security and Cybersecurity
- French Fab
* 4 other themes are operated by ADEME: transport and sustainable mobility; efficiency in energies and resources; renewable energy, storage and energy systems; water and biodiversity
* 1 theme operated by FranceAgriMer: innovative agriculture
Eligibility and selection criteria
- Complete file
- Domain covering one of the above themes
- Total cost of the RDI project between € 600k and € 5m for a period of 12 to 36 months
- Being carried by a single SME
- Innovative character and added value of the project
- Economic impact
- Carrier’s ability to carry out the project
- Eco-conditionality of the project
Financing terms
Funding for the Innovation Competition will be in the form of state aid consisting of two thirds of grants and one third of recoverable advances.
For the part of eligible expenditure, the maximum rates of intervention are as follows:
- 45% for small businesses
- 35% for medium-sized companies.
Application
Deadline for submission: May 14, 2019 at 12 noon
Applications are to be submitted exclusively online on the extranet of innovative collaborative projects.
