Eurostars 3 – Call 9: International Collaborative R&D & Innovation Projects

Context

Part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs, co-funded via Horizon Europe within the Eureka framework. Eurostars encourages cross-border collaboration among SMEs, large companies, universities, and research organisations across Eureka member states and associated countries.

Goals   

• Enable SMEs to lead international R&D projects.
• Accelerate innovation commercialization in global markets.
• Promote collaborative excellence through diverse consortia.

Consortium composition: 

• Lead partner: innovative SME from a Eurostars country
• Minimum of two independent entities from at least two different Eurostars countries, with at least one from an EU or Horizon Europe associated country (myeurekaproject.org).
• Open to SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and other legal entities.

Eligibility Criteria

1.    SMEs' combined budget ≥ 50% of total project cost (excluding subcontracting)
2.    No single partner/country exceeds 70% of total budget
3.    Project duration ≤ 36 months
4.    Focus strictly on civil applications

Funding & Budget

• Funding type: Decentralised — each partner receives funding from their national funding agency.
• Funding rates & eligible activities depend on national/regional rules.
• Participating organisations from non-Eurostars countries can join if they self-fund.

Timeline

• Call opens: 4 July 2025, 00:00 CEST
• Call closes: 4 September 2025, 14:00 CEST
• Eligibility results: within 1 week of deadline
• Legal/financial viability checks and expert evaluations: mid-October to end-November 2025
• Project selections & notifications: by mid-December 2025
• Grant agreements expected: between 5–7 months post-deadline (approx. Feb–April 2026)