Latest update: 22 July 2024
A new practical brochure is now available, providing National Contact Points and Managing Authorities centralized information to help implementing STEP at the national and regional level: from the STEP Seal to cohesion policy funds, Recovery and Resilience Facility, and state aid rules, this brochure summarizes relevant aspects of the STEP initiative to help navigate its implementation.
The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) was set up by the EU to support European Industry and boost investment in critical technologies in Europe.
STEP will raise and steer funding across 11 EU programmes to three target investment areas:
- Digital technologies and deep-tech innovation
- Clean and resource efficient technologies
- Biotechnologies
STEP also supports projects growing skills necessary to the development of those critical technologies. STEP introduces a new STEP Seal – an EU label for high quality projects – granting STEP projects visibility and facilitating their access to other possible sources of funding.
Related policy areas
Strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy through the green and digital transformations has been the EU compass over the last years. In this context, the EU has already put forward several initiatives to support industry and strengthen EU competitiveness. Below is an overview.
Upcoming STEP Portal developments - stay tuned for more:
- Q2 2024: List of national contact points coordinating the implementation of STEP in each Member States to guide you to get more funding opportunities locally
- Funding opportunities for critical technologies meeting STEP conditions under EU programmes:
- Regularly updated: Opportunities from programmes managed by the European Commission: the Digital Europe programme, the European Defence Fund, the EU4Health programme, Horizon Europe, and the Innovation Fund
- End 2024: Opportunities from programmes managed jointly by the Commission and the Member States or indirectly via implementing partners: InvestEU, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and cohesion policy funds including the Cohesion Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund+ and the Just Transition Fund.
- End of 2024: List of projects that have been awarded the STEP Seal by the European Commission
- Coming Soon: Contacts to the existing advisory services relevant to STEP projects
- Coming Soon: List of strategic projects selected under the EU initiatives Net-Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw materials Act
- Information on STEP implementation and performance
