The Notice establishes criteria and methods for granting incentives to large companies for industrial research, experimental development and innovation activities:
– identifying innovative technological solutions to support industrial innovation;
– facilitating the diffusion of research and innovation to increase the competitiveness of the regional production system;
– aggregating skills, both between companies interested in promoting joint research programmes, and between companies and research organizations and institutions, also to create and strengthen vertical and horizontal supply chains in the different sectors, introducing a concept of contamination, exchange of experiences and skills;
– supporting and qualifying regional employment including female employment.
Beneficiary
The Program Contracts can be presented by one or more large companies always in partnership with innovative SMEs and/or Start ups.
Eligible interventions.
Eligible investment programs are research and development projects promoted by one or more large companies, including small and medium caps, exclusively through effective collaboration with SMEs/start-ups.
If non-EU financial resources become available in the future, productive investments by large companies may be facilitated.
The Program Contract, aimed at large companies and SMEs and participating innovative start-ups, must be made up of Industrial Research and Experimental Development projects that can be integrated with:
- Innovation projects;
- productive investments;
- training projects;
- investments in favor of environmental protection;
as well as, exclusively for SMEs:
- acquisition of specialist consultancy, internationalization programs and participation in trade fairs.
Requests for access must concern programs with a total amount of eligible expenses and costs of no less than 5 million euros. Costs for Industrial Research and Experimental Development cannot exceed 60 million euros per Program Contract.
The Program Contracts can facilitate productive investments in the following ways:
- for Large Enterprises investments with a total amount of eligible expenses and costs between 5 million euros and 110 million euros.
- for medium-sized enterprises, investments with a total amount of eligible expenses and costs between 1 million euros and 40 million euros.
- for Small Businesses investments with a total amount of eligible expenses and costs between 1 million euros and 20 million euros.
- for innovative start-ups, investments with a total amount of eligible expenses and costs between 0.5 million euros and 5 million euros.
Innovation costs for SMEs cannot exceed 2 million euros for SMEs.
The costs for process and organizational innovation cannot exceed 10 million euros for large companies and 2 million euros for SMEs.
Training costs cannot exceed 4 million euros for large companies and 2 million euros for SMEs.
Investments in favor of environmental protection cannot exceed 20 million euros for large companies and 10 million euros for SMEs.
SME expenses for consultancy services and internationalization cannot exceed 0.5 million euros; expenses for participation in SME fairs cannot exceed 0.5 million euros.
Eligible expenses
Facilitation
Non-repayable contribution. The benefits for research and development projects, including any increase, may not exceed, regardless of the amount of the eligible amount, the following limits per company:
the. if the project is predominantly an industrial research project: 35 million euros per company and per project; this condition is met when more than half of the eligible costs of the project concern activities falling under the category of industrial research or in the categories of industrial research and experimental development combined;
ii. if the project is predominantly an experimental development project: 25 million euros per company and per project; this condition is met when more than half of the project's eligible costs concern activities that fall into the category of experimental development;
iii. for aid to SMEs for research and development projects which have been awarded a seal of excellence, the maximum aid amount shall not exceed €2.5 million per SME and per project.
The aid intensity for industrial research and experimental development referred to in letters a) of article 7 paragraph 1, for each beneficiary does not exceed:
to. 50% for large enterprises, 60% for medium enterprises and 70% for small enterprises of the eligible costs for industrial research;
b. 25% for large enterprises, 35% for medium enterprises and 45% for small enterprises of the eligible costs for experimental development.
This aid intensity for industrial research and experimental development may be increased by 15 percentage points up to a maximum intensity of 80 % of the eligible costs if one of the following conditions is met:
I. the project:
to. provides for effective collaboration between enterprises of which at least one is an SME and does not require a single enterprise to bear more than 70 % of the eligible costs alone, or
b. provides for effective collaboration between an enterprise and one or more research and knowledge dissemination organisations, in which these organizations bear at least 10% of the eligible costs and have the right to publish the results of their research;
II. Project results are widely disseminated through conferences, publications, open access databases or open source or free software.
The incentives for the Innovation of SMEs are granted to participating SMEs up to a limit of 50% of the overall expenditure deemed appropriate, relevant and deemed eligible. The limit of aid for the provision of highly qualified personnel is equal to 1 million euros per project.
The benefits for process and organizational innovation do not exceed 15% of the eligible costs for large companies and 50% of the eligible costs for SMEs. For Productive Investments with an eligible amount of less than 55,000,000.00 euros, the benefits for eligible expenses are granted, in the form of plant grants, within the following limits:
– 30% for large companies; – 40% for medium-sized businesses; – 50% for small businesses.
In the context of Productive Investments, companies will be able to indicate in the financial economic plan a combination of percentages for investments in fixed capital and intangible assets (a) and for salary costs (b), provided that the combination between costs (a) and (b) does not exceed the limits indicated above.
In the context of Productive Investments, the concession percentages may be increased up to 10% based on any bonuses.
These benefits cannot exceed the limits established by the Aid Charter - State Aid SA.100380 (2021/N) Italy Regional aid charter for Italy (1 January 2022 - 31 December 2027) approved on 02.12.2021 C (2021) 8655 final. For Productive Investments of large companies of an amount equal to or greater than 55,000,000.00 euros, the relative benefits are granted up to a limit of 30% based on the correct aid rate, as calculated according to the formula set out in point 20 of the Article 2 of the GBER.
In relation to Training Aid, the aid intensity does not exceed: – for large companies 40% of the eligible costs;
– for medium-sized enterprises 50% of eligible costs.
This intensity can be increased by 10 percentage points if the training is intended for workers with disabilities or disadvantaged workers or if the subsidized unit is located in a SEZ area;
– for small businesses 70% of eligible costs.
For investments in favor of environmental protection and sustainability, the aid intensity does not exceed in relation to:
to. Investment aid for energy efficiency measures: – 45% for large companies of eligible costs;
– 55% of eligible costs for medium-sized enterprises;
– 65% of eligible costs for small businesses.
b. Investment aid for the promotion of energy from renewable sources, renewable hydrogen and high-efficiency cogeneration on:
– 45% of eligible costs for large companies; – 55% of eligible costs for medium-sized enterprises; – 65% of eligible costs for small businesses.
The benefits relating to consultancy services for businesses are granted to participating SMEs up to a limit of 50% of the overall expenditure deemed appropriate, relevant and deemed eligible.
Presentation
Waiting for the publication of the implementing decree. Publication expected in the second half of 2023.
Photo by Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash
