Description

The call is now only open to projects based on research results from the Centres of Excellence (CoE), FRIPRO, the European Research Council (ERC) or the MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions).

The Proof‑of‑Concept call aims to support the commercialisation of research results from publicly funded research, by funding “verification projects” that mature and validate new technologies or innovations — bridging the gap between research outcomes and viable products, processes, or services for market or societal use. The goal is to increase utilisation of publicly funded research through increased commercial exploitation and/or societal innovation.

With a focus on pre‑commercial phase (similar to EIC‑Transition in Horizon Europe), the funding is designed to clarify critical uncertainties, demonstrate feasibility, and prepare the ground for further development (e.g., business development, licensing, spin‑off, or follow-up R&D) once the project is completed.

Funding Amount

• Funding per project: NOK 1,000,000 to NOK 5,000,000.
• Total call budget: NOK 135,000,000 presumed available for this call.
• Project duration: 12–36 months.

Submission Deadlines

• The call is open-ended — there is no fixed deadline. Applications can be submitted at any time until the available funds have been allocated.
• Applicants may submit only one application at a time. If they wish to revise or change the application after submission, they must create a new application (e.g., copy of the previous).
• Projects must start no later than 6 months after the decision date; and must be completed by no later than 31 December 2029.

Submission Conditions & Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Project Owners

• Approved Norwegian research organisations.
• Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) linked to research organisations (with the research organisation as partner if TTO is Project Owner).
• Start‑up companies originating from approved research organisations, i.e., companies established to commercialise the underlying publicly funded research.
• Sole proprietorships are not eligible.

Eligibility conditions for underlying research

• The project must be based on research results from publicly funded research.
  • The call is now only open to projects based on research results from the Centres of Excellence (CoE), FRIPRO, the European Research Council (ERC) or the MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions).
• The underlying research results must not be openly available — protection (e.g., IP rights) must be intact to allow for commercialisation.
• Results must represent a significant improvement over state-of-the-art and show realistic potential for commercial applications (products, services, processes).
• The project must aim to advance those results from TRL 2–7.

Eligible Activities / Funding Use

Funding may cover activities such as:

• Validation and maturation of technology under relevant conditions (e.g., prototype testing, pilot deployment)
• Market and commercial feasibility analyses, IP strategy (freedom to operate), patent filing, licensing preparatory work
• Establishing contacts with potential partners, licensees, investors, customers/users; business development and commercialisation planning

Eligible Types of Organisations

• Public research organisations (universities, institutes) approved by the Research Council of Norway.
• Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) associated with those research organisations.
• Start-up companies (SMEs) established specifically to commercialise research results from those organisations (subject to GBER Article 22 and size/age criteria).
• Subcontractors may be used (e.g. consultants, service providers), but they cannot hold or be granted rights to project results.