Supporting the next EU champions: the 'ins and outs' of IPCEIs
Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) are one of the tools the EU can use to reach strategic autonomy in key industries. These projects represent a collective effort to build up entire European value chains.
Considering the different realities across Member States, building an IPCEI is an impressive work of reaching a common ground in identifying objectives, targets and projects that answer to the most stringent common problems in Europe today. The large number of stakeholders involved in building an IPCEI – governments, industry, academia – is one of the main reasons the process usually takes more than one year.
What makes an IPCEI different to other funding programmes?
IPCEIs support projects with a strong research component that is further developed up to first industrial deployment. IPCEIs lend a hand to emerging technologies and products throughout the entire product development cycle – from research to piloting and first-in-kind products.
Lessons learned: building a successful IPCEI
As IPCEI popularity grows, so does the competition between projects submitted for support. The most recent calls for projects for hydrogen and microelectronics saw hundreds of projects submitted to Member States. Besides the technical criteria used to evaluate the projects, a few other factors play an important role:
Start early
There are several stages to the IPCEI process. The first ones might not seem very complicated but you are laying the groundwork for the full proposal you will be asked to develop. The clearer the picture you build from the very beginning, the smoother the process will run and the higher the chances of success.
Build internal buy-in
Make sure all key personnel is aware of what the IPCEIs are and are committed to building your project. Get management support - but build a strong operational team as well, covering technical, financial and legal aspects. Having all the necessary staff involved early on saves time and avoids the need to re-do work later.
Engage with participants
No IPCEI project is developed as a stand-alone investment. In fact, being able to prove the project benefits other companies, industries and use cases is one of the IPCEI key requirements. Start engaging within your industry at EU level early on to find synergies with other projects.
How can we help?
Europe is only now developing its expertise in successfully using IPCEIs. Being able to offer early intel on the process, the stakeholders involved and the possibilities IPCEIs offer has become one of our core strengths.
We can support your team in building an IPCEI submission and help connect your projects with relevant stakeholders.
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