InnoInvest Thuringia

Up to €200,000 as a flat-rate grant for your next innovation investment in Thuringia.

InnoInvest is Thuringia's central funding programme for innovative investment by small and medium-sized companies and by freelancers working close to business. You receive a fixed flat-rate amount between €2,500 and €200,000, graded by the size of your investment. Instead of itemised receipts, a simplified statement of use is enough. The programme runs on a rolling basis; there is no deadline.

Eligibility

A registered office or operating site in the Free State of Thuringia where the project is delivered (the ERDF place-of-effect principle; a letterbox address with no operational activity isn't enough).
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. Partner and linked companies are included. Freelancers working close to business are treated equally.
A project with an innovation link at least at company level: a new or substantially improved product, process, service, business model, organisational change, or a digitalisation or decarbonisation investment. Pure replacement purchases or routine modernisation with no leap in innovation are not eligible.
An eligible investment sum between €5,000 (minimum) and €1,000,000 (maximum).
No early start: the investment may only be commissioned after the approval notice. Obtaining quotes is permitted; binding orders, contracts or advance payments before approval rule out funding.
De minimis headroom available: the total of all de minimis aid to the single undertaking over the last three tax years plus the grant applied for may not exceed €300,000.
Total financing secured: own funds, external finance and the grant have to be coherently evidenced (a confirmation of full financing from your bank or equivalent).
Three comparable quotes per asset to be funded have to be obtained and documented (whether de minimis thresholds apply following the 2025 simplification is to be verified).
Not an undertaking in difficulty within the meaning of Art. 2 no. 18 GBER (no negative equity position amounting to insolvency, no ongoing insolvency proceedings, no outstanding recovery of aid unlawful under EU law).
No double funding: no further ERDF, JTF or ESF Plus money may be claimed for the same eligible costs.
No exclusion through the de minimis sectoral exceptions under Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 Art. 1 (primary agricultural or fisheries production, purchase of road freight vehicles and so on).

Eligible costs

Tangible assets: acquiring capitalised tangible assets used in the business, including structural changes directly connected with commissioning (foundations and foundation work, for instance).
Intangible assets: capitalised intangible assets such as patents and licences, provided they are used exclusively at the Thuringian site.
Services directly connected with acquiring the eligible assets (assembly and installation work, for instance).
Digitalisation investment: software licences, IT hardware, sensors, cloud platforms, expressly eligible since the programme was extended on 1 September 2025.
Machinery and plant for new or substantially improved production processes.
Investment in energy efficiency and decarbonisation with a demonstrable innovation effect at company level.

Common pitfalls

Starting the project early

The most common approval killer. Any binding order, supply or service contract and any advance payment BEFORE the approval notice makes the investment items concerned ineligible. Obtaining quotes is permitted; placing an order is not. Record in writing that no binding orders were triggered before approval.

Insufficient evidence of innovation

A pure replacement purchase or capacity expansion with no recognisable leap in innovation is rejected. Describe concretely in 3–5 sentences what is NEW about the investment for your company (current state versus target state). The innovation has to exist at least at company level; a global breakthrough isn't required.

The de minimis limit exceeded

The overall limit of €300,000 under Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 applies to the 'single undertaking'; holdings and linked companies are added together. Earlier de minimis decisions from other programmes (KfW, guarantees, state funding) have to be included in full in the de minimis declaration. An internal de minimis log saves time when applying.

SME status assessed wrongly

Holdings, partner companies and linked companies are added together for the SME test under GBER Annex I. Where a group holds a majority stake, SME status often falls away. Check the ownership structure carefully before submitting an application.

A registered office or operating site outside Thuringia

The project has to be delivered in Thuringia (the ERDF place-of-effect principle). A letterbox address with no genuine operational activity at the site isn't enough. The TAB checks this during assessment.

Breaching the retention obligation

Funded assets have to be used at the Thuringian site for 5 years from the final payment (to be verified against the original text of the guideline). Selling, relocating outside Thuringia or decommissioning within that period leads to pro rata or full clawback with interest. Material changes have to be reported to the TAB without delay.

The application process

1 — Sharpen the innovation idea and use TAB's advice. Clarify by phone or email with TAB's funding advisers (info@aufbaubank.de, 0361 7447-0) in advance whether your project meets the innovation requirement. That is the most common sticking point. Formulate in 3–5 sentences what is new about the investment for your company.
2 — Obtain three comparative quotes. Obtain three comparable quotes for each asset to be funded and document the reasons for your choice. The quotes have to be dated and available before you apply. Only place the order after approval.
3 — Clarify SME status, de minimis headroom and total financing. Produce the SME self-declaration under GBER Annex I, check your remaining de minimis headroom against €300,000 (over three tax years) and obtain confirmation of full financing from your bank.
4 — Submit the application entirely digitally in TAB's ERDF portal 21–27. Submit all documents through TAB's ERDF portal 21–27 (aufbaubank.de): the application form, a project description with the innovation link, comparative quotes, the SME self-declaration, the de minimis declaration, confirmation of full financing, a self-declaration that the project hasn't started early, current financial documents and the ERDF cross-cutting objectives declaration.
5 — Wait for approval. The TAB processes applications on a rolling basis (there is no deadline procedure). Typical processing time: 6–12 weeks from completeness (to be verified). Only after the approval notice may you commission the investment.
6 — Deliver the project and meet the ERDF publicity obligations. Deliver the project within 24 months of approval (to be verified). Show the ERDF co-financing with the EU and ERDF logo on your website. Inform the TAB without delay of material changes to the project.
7 — Submit the simplified statement of use and receive the grant. Submit the statement of use in the ERDF portal. No individual invoices are required, only evidence that the project was delivered as applied for (an inventory list, a delivery note overview, photo documentation). Report the ERDF indicators. After the TAB's check the flat-rate payment follows.

How upsmart helps

We match your project against your remaining de minimis headroom and your SME status under GBER Annex I, including partner companies, and check whether combining it with further federal or state programmes would break the €300,000 limit. If InnoInvest fits, we write a draft application ready for assessment with the innovation description and project presentation; your team decides and submits. We keep an eye on the deadlines and on the five-year retention period from final payment.

Combining it with other programmes

In state aid terms InnoInvest is based on de minimis (Regulation (EU) 2023/2831). Combination with further de minimis aid is possible as long as the overall limit of €300,000 over three tax years per single undertaking isn't exceeded. Funding the same investment costs in parallel from other ERDF, JTF or ESF Plus programmes, or from GRW investment grants, is ruled out (the ban on double financing, Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 Art. 63). Compatibility with KfW loans (the debt element) is possible provided the KfW product contains no ERDF funding element.

Frequently asked questions

No. The innovation has to exist at least at company level; it is enough that the product, process or technology is new for your company. A globally new breakthrough isn't required.

Yes. Connected investments can be bundled into one InnoInvest application. That raises the total investment sum and lifts the flat-rate grant into a higher band, up to a maximum of €200,000 for an investment sum of €800,000 to €1,000,000.

Any binding order, contract or advance payment before the approval notice makes the investment item concerned ineligible. Obtaining quotes is expressly permitted, but the order may only be placed after approval.

Yes. Since the programme was extended on 1 September 2025, digitalisation investment — including software licences, IT hardware, sensors and cloud platforms — is expressly within the eligible scope. What matters is that the process digitalisation constitutes an innovation at company level.

InnoInvest runs as an open call; there is no deadline and no ranking. Applications are processed on a rolling basis. The guideline runs to 31 December 2029 (to be verified against the original text). Applications are possible while funds remain.

Read on in the blog

Guide: the right funding strategy for your SME

Primary sources

InnoInvest — programme page of Thüringer Aufbaubank (TAB)— Thüringer Aufbaubank (TAB)
InnoInvest — funding principles (PDF)— Thüringer Aufbaubank (TAB)
InnoInvest — relaunch notice on the extension and simplification from 1 September 2025— Thüringer Aufbaubank (TAB)
InnoInvest — entry in the Förderdatenbank des Bundes— Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) — Förderdatenbank
InnoInvest — ERDF Thuringia programme page— ERDF managing authority Thuringia (TMWWDG)
De minimis Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 (EUR-Lex)— European Commission / EUR-Lex

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