This grant is no longer active and cannot be applied for.

Instrument for Interregional Innovation Investments (I3)

The I3 instrument, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), supports interregional innovation projects in their scaling and market deployment phases. The goal is to strengthen economic cohesion within the EU by helping businesses collaborate with innovation actors from other regions, focusing on shared smart specialization (S3) areas.

Grant official page

Agency	Horizon Europe
Region	EU
Country	N/A
Legal form	Company, NGO, Government organization, Other
Start date	6 Jun 2024
End date	5 Dec 2024
Max funding	Up to 10 million euros per project
Budget	31 million euros – Strand 1: Interregional Innovation Investments 36 million euros – Strand 2a: Integration of Value Chains in Less Developed Regions Total budget: 176 million euros (2025–2027)
Coverage	70% of eligible costs for all beneficiaries and cost categories 100% EU co-financing for financial support provided to third parties

Grant application conditions

Applicant type	Consortia including SMEs, research institutions, clusters, and public sector organizations from EU regions
Geographical restriction	EU Member States, with an emphasis on less developed, transition, and peripheral regions
Consortium composition	At least 3–5 partners from different EU Member States and regional ecosystems
Technology readiness level	Projects must be at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6–9
Compliance with smart specialization strategy	Projects must align with shared or complementary smart specialization (S3) areas

Eligible expenses

Evaluation criteria

Business exclusions

Reporting

Application process

Application requirements