A 60% grant for production R&D. Two deadlines a year, a two-stage procedure, fixed terms.
KMU-innovativ: the future of value creation is the BMFTR's funding programme for high-risk R&D by small and medium-sized companies in Industry 4.0, smart production, robotics, value chains and work research. SMEs receive 60% of their eligible costs as a non-repayable grant. The application has two stages: an outline by the deadline of 15 April or 15 October, then the full application through easy-Online. The project management agency is PTKA at KIT in Karlsruhe.
Eligibility
- SME status under GBER Annex I: fewer than 250 employees and annual turnover ≤ €50m or a balance sheet total ≤ €43m. Linked and partner companies are counted pro rata.
- The project has to fall within the 'future of value creation' specialist programme: Industry 4.0, smart production, robotics in new value creation fields, resilience and sustainability of value chains, new production processes, service innovation, or work and skills research.
- A pre-competitive and high-risk R&D character: in its complexity the project has to go clearly beyond typical company activity and build on the latest research findings. Plain standard automation or market-close product development is not eligible.
- Classification as industrial research or experimental development under Art. 25 GBER.
- The registered office and operating site are in Germany.
- Not an undertaking in difficulty under Art. 2 no. 18 GBER; no outstanding EU recovery order.
- Evidenced R&D capability in production or manufacturing (at least one qualified R&D specialist or cooperation with a relevant research institution).
- No early start: the project may only begin after the funding decision is received (no orders, contracts, hiring or machine purchases for the project before approval).
- A clear operational and commercial exploitation perspective with value creation effects that go beyond your own company.
Eligible costs
- Staff costs: gross pay including the employer's social security contribution, apportioned to the project. Typically production engineers, mechanical engineers, mechatronics engineers, robotics developers and work scientists.
- Materials and consumables: materials, semi-finished goods, sensor components, consumable parts for pilot rigs and test material.
- Equipment and plant (depreciation share): pro rata depreciation on machine tools, robots, sensors, measurement and test equipment, industrial PCs, edge devices or additive manufacturing systems used on the project.
- Travel: project-related business travel under the BRKG (consortium meetings, pilot user visits, trade fairs such as Hannover Messe, EMO or AUTOMATICA).
- External services and subcontracts: external trials and materials testing, pilot and demonstrator builds, engineering services (robot programming, PLC development, simulation studies), specialist consultancy (occupational safety, ergonomics), certifications and safety approvals.
- A 20% project flat rate on the grant (exclusively for universities as consortium partners).
- NOT eligible: investment in standard production plant with no direct R&D link; costs already funded through other programmes (ZIM, Horizon Europe, the FZulG) for the same cost blocks.
Common pitfalls
Missing the deadline
Anyone who misses 15 October waits six months until 15 April. Finalise the outline at least 2–3 weeks before the deadline; the PTKA system can be overloaded shortly before it.
The wrong project management agency
AI- and software-focused projects belong to the KMU-innovativ ICT/SWS line at PT KI Berlin / VDI/VDE-IT, not to PTKA. Anyone submitting a pure software project to PTKA risks rejection or being redirected. If in doubt, contact the PTKA hotline first (0721 608-26567).
No quantified KPIs
Reviewers expect at least two concrete production KPIs (OEE, throughput time, unit costs, energy or CO2) with a baseline and a target. Purely qualitative statements such as 'raising productivity' lose points on the 'production efficiency' criterion.
No demonstrator, no scalability
Without a planned pilot or demonstrator build in a real manufacturing environment, and without a perspective for scaling to other companies or sectors, the assessment is regularly weak. A letter of intent from a pilot user strengthens the outline considerably.
Starting the work early
Not a single order, purchase contract, employment contract or purchase requisition for the project may be triggered before the funding decision. Breaches can lead to full clawback. Submitting the outline and preparatory work do NOT count as starting the project.
A robotics project that's too hardware-heavy
The BMFTR's focus is on application design, human-robot interaction and integration into value creation, not on the robot hardware itself. Outlines that essentially describe buying a robot are rejected.
SME status calculated wrongly
VC holdings above 25% and group membership increase the consolidated headcount and turnover. Getting SME status wrong risks too low a funding rate or clawback.
The application process
- 1 — Contact PTKA in advance and check the thematic fit. Get in touch with PTKA by email (info@ptka.kit.edu) or on the hotline (0721 608-26567) before submitting the outline. PTKA expressly recommends this step to confirm the fit with the 'future of value creation' line and avoid submission errors.
- 2 — Check SME status and eligibility. Carry out the SME calculation under GBER Annex I: headcount (FTE), annual turnover and balance sheet total including linked and partner companies. The result determines the funding rate (60% for SMEs / 50% for larger mid-sized companies).
- 3 — Write the project outline (stage 1). Produce a project outline of typically 10 A4 pages (11pt, 1.5 line spacing) in the PTKA outline tool. Mandatory content: objective, state of research with a KPI baseline, the R&D approach and its pre-competitive character, a work plan with measurable milestones, a pilot or demonstrator concept, and an exploitation plan with a scaling perspective.
- 4 — Submit the outline by the deadline. Submit through PTKA's outline tool (linked from zukunft-der-wertschoepfung.de) by the deadline of 15 April or 15 October at the latest. Next deadline: 15 October 2026.
- 5 — Wait for the assessment (around 2 months). PTKA's review panel assesses all submitted outlines competitively. Positively assessed outlines receive an invitation to submit a full application; negatively assessed ones receive a reasoned rejection.
- 6 — Full application through easy-Online (stage 2). After a positive outline assessment: submit the full application through easy-Online (foerderportal.bund.de/easyonline). Deadline: typically 3 months after the invitation. Required are the form AZK/AZA, a detailed project description, an SME declaration under GBER Annex I, an exploitation plan, a cooperation agreement (for consortia), the last 2 sets of annual accounts, a commercial register extract and short CVs.
- 7 — Funding decision and project start. Approval follows around 2–3 months after the full application. The project may only start once the funding decision has been served. Funds are drawn down through profi-Online; interim reports and statements of use are due annually.
How upsmart helps
We match your production project against more than 2,000 funding programmes, so you know whether KMU-innovativ production research is the right line or whether ZIM, the Forschungszulage or state funding fits better. We check the cumulation and de minimis rules (Art. 25 GBER) and keep an eye on the next deadline, 15 October 2026. On that basis we write a draft outline ready for assessment; your team decides. Fixed terms, independent of the grant amount.
Combining it with other programmes
Cumulation with the Forschungszulage (FZulG) is possible as long as the same cost blocks aren't claimed twice: the share funded by KMU-innovativ may not feed into the FZulG assessment base, while your own contribution and unfunded staff costs may. No cumulation with ZIM or Horizon Europe for the same costs. De minimis funding doesn't apply (Art. 25 GBER). From 15 April 2026 the ESF Plus co-financing ends.
Frequently asked questions
SMEs as defined by the EU (fewer than 250 employees, annual turnover ≤ €50m or a balance sheet total ≤ €43m) can apply, as can mid-sized companies above that threshold provided they have an operating site in Germany. Universities and non-university research institutions can take part as consortium partners.
SMEs receive 60% of eligible costs as a grant, larger mid-sized companies 50%. As a guide, an SME share of up to €500,000 in eligible costs applies; in consortia the total volume can be higher. Universities as consortium partners receive 100% plus a 20% project flat rate.
The procedure has two stages. First submit a project outline (typically 10 pages) through the PTKA outline tool; the deadlines are 15 April and 15 October each year. Next deadline: 15 October 2026. After a positive assessment (around 2 months) the full application follows through easy-Online, with a deadline of typically 3 months.
Funded are pre-competitive R&D projects in Industry 4.0 and smart production, robotics in new value creation fields, resilient and sustainable value chains, new production plant and processes, service innovation, and skills and work research. Pure AI or software projects with no production link belong to the ICT/SWS line.
Yes, both programmes can be used for the same project, but only for different cost blocks. Costs the BMFTR funds through KMU-innovativ may not simultaneously feed into the FZulG assessment base. The remaining own contribution and unfunded staff costs, by contrast, do qualify for the FZulG.
Read on in the blog
Funding strategy across the innovation process
Primary sources
- BMFTR — KMU-innovativ: the future of value creation (official programme)— Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)
- Thematic portal for the future of value creation — the PTKA project management agency— Projektträger Karlsruhe (PTKA) at KIT
- Förderdatenbank Bund — KMU-innovativ production research— Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Förderdatenbank)
- easy-Online — the federal full application portal— Federal Office of Administration / PTKA
- PTKA — Projektträger Karlsruhe at KIT— Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
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