KMU-innovativ: bioeconomy

Leading-edge research into the bio-based economy, with up to 70% funding for SMEs.

KMU-innovativ: bioeconomy is the BMFTR's bioeconomy funding line. It supports small and medium-sized companies carrying out high-risk research into biotechnological processes, biorefineries, bio-based products and sustainable agriculture and forestry. The project management agency is PtJ Jülich (bioeconomy division, BIO2). The procedure has two stages: a project outline by the deadline, then a full application on invitation.

Eligibility

• SME status under GBER Annex I: fewer than 250 employees and annual turnover of no more than €50m or a balance sheet total of no more than €43m. Mid-sized companies (250–1,000 employees, up to €100m turnover) can apply but don't receive the SME uplifts.
• The operating site and registered office are in Germany.
• The research core has to belong clearly to the bioeconomy: bio-based products, biotechnological processes, biorefineries, biopolymers, renewable raw materials and residue valorisation, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine bioeconomy, or food and nutrition research.
• Leading-edge character: the project has to carry high scientific and technical risk and go beyond the international state of the art. Merely applying established bioprocesses isn't enough.
• The project qualifies as industrial research or experimental development under Art. 25 GBER.
• A plausibly quantified sustainability contribution (CO2 savings, resource efficiency, substitution of fossil raw materials or a contribution to the circular economy); purely qualitative statements aren't enough.
• Evidenced R&D capability in the bioeconomy (at least one qualified R&D specialist or cooperation with a relevant research institution).
• Not an undertaking in difficulty under Art. 2 no. 18 GBER.
• No outstanding EU recovery order for unlawful aid.
• The project start may not fall before the funding decision is received (the ban on an early start).

Eligible costs

• Staff costs: gross pay plus the employer's social security contribution for staff working on the R&D project (biotechnologists, process engineers, bioinformaticians, plant biologists, laboratory and pilot plant staff), apportioned by R&D share.
• Material costs: substrates (biomass, lignocellulose, biogenic residues), reagents, enzymes, culture media, microorganism strains, seed, consumables for analysis (columns, standards, kits), fertiliser for field trials.
• Equipment costs (depreciation share): pro rata depreciation on bioreactors and fermenters (laboratory to pilot scale), analytics (HPLC, GC-MS, NMR, sequencers), high-throughput screening platforms, downstream processing plant, climate chambers, greenhouse space.
• Travel: project-related business travel under the BRKG (conference attendance, consortium meetings, pilot customer and supplier visits, field trials).
• External services and subcontracts: external analysis (NGS sequencing, metabolomics, LCA studies), contract synthesis, pilot plant rental time (Fraunhofer CBP, for instance), external fermentation providers, genetic engineering approval and safety opinions, strain deposit fees (DSMZ, IPK), IP advice, specialist regulatory advice (novel food, REACH, the German Genetic Engineering Act).
• Universities: staff expenditure, material expenditure, travel and external services (AZA) plus a 20% project flat rate on the total grant.
• Not eligible: patent filing costs (there is a separate programme, WIPANO); overheads are not applied as a flat rate for companies.

Common pitfalls

Missing the deadline

The deadlines of 15 April and 15 October are fixed. Miss one and you wait 6 months. Don't submit on the deadline day itself; the easy-Online portal can be overloaded. Aim to submit at least 2 weeks before the deadline.

The sustainability contribution not quantified

Statements such as 'environmentally friendly' or 'sustainable' without LCA indicators, a CO2 balance or a substitution balance against fossil reference processes cost points or lead to rejection. Concrete figures are mandatory: tonnes CO2e a year, resource efficiency in per cent, substitution potential.

Leading-edge character not convincingly evidenced

Merely applying established fermentation or extraction processes with no methodological contribution isn't enough. What matters is a comparison with the current international state of research (relevant journals such as Nature Biotechnology, Trends in Biotechnology, Bioresource Technology) and clear quantification of the degree of innovation.

The wrong project management agency

KMU-innovativ: bioeconomy runs exclusively through PtJ Jülich, bioeconomy division (BIO2). Submitting to BLE or FNR (agriculture ministry funding) or to other KMU-innovativ agencies (VDI/VDE-IT, DLR-PT) leads to delay or rejection.

Starting the work early

No project start before the funding decision. That also covers orders, contracts, hiring, procurement of strains and seed, and pilot plant bookings for the project. Submitting the outline and preparatory work don't count as starting the project.

Regulation not addressed

Genetic engineering work (GenTG/GenTSV), novel foods (Novel Food Regulation EU 2015/2283), chemical substances above 1 tonne a year (REACH), field trials (plant protection and seed law) and bio-based fertilisers (the German fertiliser ordinance) have to be recognisable in the exploitation plan. Unaddressed regulation makes the exploitation plan implausible.

Ignoring the Nagoya Protocol

Where genetic resources (microorganisms, plants) from third countries that have ratified the Nagoya Protocol are used, EU Regulation 511/2014 applies (access and benefit-sharing compliance): prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms (MAT) have to be evidenced. Commercial strain cultures from DSMZ or ATCC are often less problematic than wild collections.

The application process

• 1 — Clarify the thematic field and consortium strategy. Check whether the research core belongs clearly to the bioeconomy (not a pure software or medical device project). Decide early whether you apply alone or in a consortium with a university or research institution; a consortium partner raises the funding rate by up to 15 percentage points. For borderline cases, contact PtJ-BIO2 at ptj-bio2@fz-juelich.de or +49 2461 61-3622.
• 2 — Check SME status and eligibility. Check SME status under GBER Annex I. Linked and partner companies are counted pro rata, so check carefully where there are VC holdings above 25% or industrial group holdings. Make sure you are not an undertaking in difficulty under Art. 2 no. 18 GBER.
• 3 — Quantify the sustainability contribution. Before writing the outline, calculate concrete sustainability indicators: CO2 savings in tonnes CO2e a year or per product unit, substitution potential against the fossil reference in per cent, LCA hotspots. An external LCA study can be claimed as an external service in the project and strengthens both the outline and the exploitation plan considerably.
• 4 — Submit the project outline (stage 1). Submit the project outline (typically 10–15 A4 pages in line with the notice, 11pt, 1.5 line spacing) through the easy-Online portal (foerderportal.bund.de/easyonline/). Next deadline: 15 October 2026. Mandatory elements: the outline as a PDF, a short-form SME self-declaration and a company profile; for a consortium, a list of the partners.
• 5 — Assessment (around 2 months). An external review panel organised by PtJ Jülich (BIO2) assesses the outline against five criteria: scientific and technical excellence (around 25%), contribution to the bioeconomy and sustainability (around 25%), work plan (around 20%), team qualifications (around 15%) and exploitation plan (around 15%). Positively assessed outlines receive an invitation to apply in full.
• 6 — Submit the full application (stage 2). After a positive outline assessment, submit the full application through easy-Online (typically within 2–3 months of the invitation). Required documents: the form AZK (companies) or AZA (universities), a detailed project description, a formal SME declaration (GBER Annex I), an exploitation plan with LCA indicators, a cooperation agreement (for consortia), the last 2 sets of annual accounts, a commercial register extract and short CVs of the project leadership.
• 7 — Approval and project start. The funding decision arrives around 2–3 months after the full application. The project may not begin before the decision is served: no orders, contracts, or procurement of strains or seed beforehand.

How upsmart helps

We match your project against more than 2,000 programmes, with a cumulation check against the Forschungszulage and a delimitation from ZIM and the FNR programmes for the same cost blocks. We calculate SME status under GBER Annex I including the ownership structure where there are VC or group holdings, and name the right funding rate for each R&D category and consortium arrangement. We keep an eye on the 15 April and 15 October deadlines; you decide whether and when to submit.

Combining it with other programmes

Cumulation with the Forschungszulage (FZulG) is possible, but only for different cost blocks. Costs funded by KMU-innovativ may not feed into the FZulG assessment base; the uncovered own contribution and additional staff costs can be claimed for the FZulG. No double funding with ZIM, the agriculture ministry's FNR programmes (the FNR renewable raw materials programme, for instance) or Horizon Europe for the same costs.

Frequently asked questions

Small and medium-sized companies as defined by the EU (fewer than 250 employees, no more than €50m turnover or a €43m balance sheet total) and mid-sized companies with up to 1,000 employees and no more than €100m annual turnover, in each case with an operating site in Germany. Mid-sized companies beyond the true SME threshold don't receive the SME uplifts on the funding rate.

The funding rate depends on company size and R&D category: industrial research — small SMEs up to 70%, medium-sized SMEs up to 60%; experimental development — small SMEs up to 45%, medium-sized SMEs up to 35%. With an effective cooperation with a research institution the rate rises by 15 percentage points. Universities receive up to 100% of expenditure plus a 20% project flat rate. The guide figure for eligible costs is a maximum of €500,000 per applicant.

The procedure has two stages. First you submit a project outline (typically 10–15 pages) through the easy-Online portal (foerderportal.bund.de/easyonline/) to the agency PtJ Jülich (BIO2), by the deadline of 15 April or 15 October. After a positive assessment (around 2 months) you are invited to apply in full. The full application also runs through easy-Online, typically within 2–3 months of the invitation.

The next deadline for project outlines is 15 October 2026. Outlines can be submitted at any time but are assessed at the next deadline. Submit at least 2 weeks before the deadline; the portal can be overloaded on the day.

KMU-innovativ demands a leading-edge research standard and high-risk R&D; ZIM also accepts applied development. In return the funding rates under KMU-innovativ are higher (up to 70%). Another difference: KMU-innovativ has two stages (outline then full application), ZIM one. The bioeconomy line additionally has a mandatory quantified sustainability contribution as an assessment criterion.

Read on in the blog

Funding strategy across the innovation process

Primary sources

• Programme information in the Förderdatenbank des Bundes— Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action / Förderdatenbank
• PtJ Jülich — KMU-innovativ: bioeconomy (project management agency)— Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Projektträger Jülich (PtJ)
• Bioökonomie.de — KMU-innovativ bioeconomy— Bioeconomy Council / BMEL / BMFTR
• easy-Online — the federal funding application portal— Federal ministries / Förderportal Bund
• BMFTR information page, KMU-innovativ— Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)

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