Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) is an EU funding instrument under Horizon 2020 aimed at supporting mature innovations driven by industry. The idea is to provide both, large and small industry with non-repayable funding to help bring innovations to the market faster, and ultimately create new jobs and growth in Europe.

The focus of FTI lies on late-stage innovation as opposed to research activities. Projects going beyond the current state of the art proposed for FTI funding should already have passed the research stage or include very limited research activities aimed at finalizing the technology before commercial uptake. FTI aims at funding piloting and real-life demonstrations, upscaling activities towards mass scale manufacturing, market replication activities or standardization. Technologies funded by the FTI program are expected to enter the market within latest three years after project start.

FTI is a thematically open programme. Applicants are expected to team-up in small international consortia representing at least three and no more than five legal entities from at least three different EU Members States or certain associated countries (e.g. Norway, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey). Although research institutes, universities and other actors are welcome to participate, each project must be driven by industry, representing at least 60% of the project budget.

Each project can be funded with up to € 3 million, with 70% of the costs covered by the EU and the remaining 30% to be covered by each project partner (100% funding for non-profits is foreseen). Applications can be submitted throughout the year, with evaluations taking place after each of the three cut-off deadlines. The next deadlines are:

  • 21 February 2018,
  • 31 May 2018 and
  • 23 October 2018.

Interested in applying for Fast Track to Innovation?

Here’s what you can expect from us:

  • A first consultation free of charge
  • Expertise in the programme, with LNE Group being one of the first to successfully apply for FTI
  • A large network of potential partners for collaborative projects

Our services are not provided on a no win-no fee basis. We have a strong belief that delivering high quality is only possible when services are valued and remunerated accordingly. However, we offer our clients flexible remuneration models with risk-sharing elements.
Want to learn more? Get in touch with us:

Your Contact:

Maia Kaplan
e-mail: mkaplan@lnegroup.com