Green Platform Initiative 2026

The company or research institute that will have the role of Project Owner is the one that can apply (see "Requirements relating to the Project Owner" below). For this call, only companies and research institutes may be eligible to be the Project Owner: 

• Companies that apply must be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and have economic activity in Norway. Sole proprietorships and clusters cannot be Project Owners. 
• Research institutes are limited to "Organisations covered by the Guidelines for Central Government Basic Grants" and "Other organisations covered by the Government's Strategy for Comprehensive Institute Policy". There is an overview of which research institutes these are at the bottom of this website (lists 2 and 3).

About the Project Owner 

Both companies and research institutes can take on the role of Project Owner organisation. Even if one organisation is the Project Owner and submits the application, the application must be supported by a consortium as a whole. 

At the time of application, the Project Owner is the organisation that represents the consortium and that approves the submission of the application. In the event that funding is awarded to the project, the Project Owner will have a coordinating role for the project as a whole and will also be a contracting party to the Research Council. However, each partner will be responsible for their duties and contributions to the project. The division of tasks, working methods, rights and obligations between the Project Owner and partners shall be regulated in the consortium agreement. 

About the project manager 

The project manager will be the one who follows up and has contact with the policy support system on behalf of the consortium. The consortium chooses the project manager they consider most suitable. The project manager may be employed by the Project Owner or one of the partners, or the project manager may be hired from an external party outside the consortium. 

The project manager's competence and suitability to lead the project will form part of the assessment basis for the application, and it will be an advantage to be able to demonstrate experience in managing large and demanding R&D projects. 

About partners 

In the Green Platform Initiative, the project will be carried out by a consortium, which is an association of at least three Norwegian independent partners, of which at least two must be companies. Companies belonging to the same group will not be considered independent partners in the consortium (read more about partners and suppliers in innovation projects).  

Other partners may be companies, Norwegian research institutes, catapults, universities, university colleges, public enterprises and other organisations registered in the Brønnøysund Register Centre (Read more about the catapult scheme here (in Norwegian)). 

Sole proprietorships may not be Project Owner or collaborating partner. 

Foreign companies and foreign research organisations can also participate as partners. The foreign research organisations can receive grants in the same way as Norwegian research institutes. Other foreign organisations, including companies, cannot receive grants from the Green Platform Initiative. 

We encourage you to only include partners who have a clear and dedicated role, a real contribution to the project implementation, and who have clear ambitions to exploit and contribute to the commercialisation and dissemination of the results. 

The partners that you have included in the application are the starting point for the award. If you change the project composition or work packages after the contract has been signed, this must be approved by the funding agencies that fund the project. Changes that have not been approved may lead to the withdrawal of the commitment. Proposed changes may also entail a need to adjust the commitments. 

You can apply for funding to cover the actual costs necessary to carry out the project. The Project Owner must obtain information on costs from the partners in the project. These costs must be entered in the cost plan under the cost type to which they belong. 

You can apply for funding for: 

• Payroll and indirect expenses 
• Equipment (rent/depreciation instruments and equipment), this also includes existing equipment made available by catapults 
• Other operating costs (including the use of subcontractors) 

Since the project will work in actual collaboration, all partners must enter their costs under personnel and indirect costs, equipment or other operating costs, and all partners must also have the role "Both executing and financing" in the application. The item "Procurement of R&D services" in the application form should therefore not be used. 

Here you will find more information about costs and what the budget should contain.  

The use of subcontractors in connection with R&D activities shall be reserved for deliveries of services, equipment and other tasks of limited scope and which the partners cannot carry out without assistance. Subcontractors must not be partners. 

Scope of support 

For the purposes of this call, funding is only available to cover costs that are authorised by Article 25 of the GBER and that fall within the categories of industrial research (IF) and experimental development (EU). 

The state aid rules set some maximum aid rates (in percentages) depending on the size of the company and the type of activity to be carried out, see the table below: 

Activity	Large company	Medium-sized business	Small business	GBER
Industrial research	50 %	60 %	70 %	Art 25
Experimental development	25 %	35 %	45 %	Art 25
Maximum share of support per partner*	60 %	60 %	60 %

In the Green Platform Initiative, no company will be able to cover more than 60% of its eligible costs, and this includes any collaboration bonus (see below). The exception is catapults, which can have up to 70% of their eligible costs covered, including cooperation bonuses. 

If the collaboration in the project meets at least one of the conditions below, the enterprise partners in the project may receive up to 15% cooperation bonus to cover the costs of the R&D project, if there is room within the maximum aid limit of 60%: 

• effective collaboration between enterprises where at least one is an SME (see definition of enterprise size here), and no enterprise alone accounts for more than 70% of the eligible costs, or  
• effective collaboration between an enterprise and one or more research and knowledge dissemination organisations, where the latter(s) alone bear at least 10% of the eligible costs and have the right to publish their own research results. 

Research organisations can apply to have their costs covered and may collectively account for up to 50 per cent and a maximum of NOK 40 million of the total application amount for the project. 

All other partners, regardless of their form of organisation (public organisations, clusters, associations, foundations and special interest organisations), can apply for up to 50% support. If a public organisation is considered to be an undertaking for the purposes of state aid, the same rules apply to aid as to companies. be implemented and put into use in the organization and in other businesses. 

Budgeting and recording of costs 

Each partner must describe its activities, costs and needs for public support in connection with the implementation, and one partner may cover a maximum of 40% of the total project costs. 

• Here you will find guidelines for calculating hourly rates when recording personnel costs and indirect costs for business, the public sector and other partners. 
• Here you will find information about budgeting and recording costs for partners abroad. Separate guidelines for hourly rates apply to catapults.  

The higher education sector must use the total cost model (TDI model) when budgeting costs, while the institute sector must use the rates they have reported to the Research Council.  

Project costs must be entered in the application form and in a separate budget template for the Green Platform (Budget template - Green Platform 2026), which can be found at the bottom of the call. 

The application must include a substantiated financing plan for each business partner, including own financing (earned funds, equity and/or subordinated loan). The plan must be free of significant shortcomings, and show how the project will be financed throughout the period. 

You must enter the catapults' project costs in the application form in the same way as other partners, preferably as a separate work package or sub-project where it is natural, and the catapults must also fill in their own, more specified catapult budget. This must follow a separate budget template (at the bottom of the call). 

Conditions for funding 

The projects must start between 1 January 2027 and 1 March 2027 with the latest permitted project completion date of 31 December 2029. 

The support to the research institutes must be used for their non-economic activity in the form of independent research carried out in effective collaboration with others. The Research Council assumes that the necessary accounting separation is in place. 

Funding from the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and Siva is awarded to companies and catapults in accordance with Article 25 of the General Block Exemption Regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014). The scheme shall be practised in accordance with the EEA Agreement's state aid rules. In this context, the terms and concepts must be interpreted in accordance with the corresponding terms and concepts in the aid rules. Read more about state aid.  

The support from the various policy instruments is notified as an aid scheme to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA). 

Undertakings that have not complied with the requirements for repayment pursuant to a previous decision by ESA/the European Commission declaring the aid unlawful and incompatible with the internal market are not eligible for aid, nor may aid be granted to undertakings in difficulty within the meaning of EEA law. 

You must provide us with up-to-date and supplementary information about the project and the partners. The companies participating in the project must also submit a form with company information confirming that they are eligible to receive state aid, see the template for this at the end of the call. 

The Project Owner or partners must be independent of any subcontractors in the project, i.e. they must operate at arm's length in accordance with the state aid rules. 

If one of the companies in the consortium receives a total state aid from the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway or Siva that corresponds to EUR 100,000, we will make this known in the Register for State Aid in Brønnøysund. See the Regulations on the registration of state aid (in Norwegian). 

If you are awarded funding for the project, you must notify any partners who are listed on the stock exchange or who have applied to be admitted to trading on Oslo Børs as soon as possible, so that they can assess whether or not the allocation of project funds represents exchange-sensitive information. 

Ethics 

The Research Council requires a high standard of research ethics in the projects we fund. The responsibility for ensuring that the research ethics standard is complied with lies with the individual researcher and research institution (cf. the Act on the Organisation of Research Ethics Work). 

If the project is awarded funding, the following must be in place when you revise the application: 

• The project manager and the Project Owner must have assessed and managed the consideration of research security in the project. Research security refers to risks associated with unwanted transfer of knowledge and technology, impact on research and innovation, or breaches of research ethics/integrity where knowledge and technology are used to undermine key societal values. 
• Research organisations and the public sector (Project Owners and partners) that receive grants must have action plans for gender equality (GEPs) available on their websites. The requirement does not apply to the private sector, interest groups or the voluntary sector.  
• The Research Council requires full and immediate open access for scientific articles, see Plan S - open access to publications.  
• For all projects that handle data, the Project Owner must prepare a data management plan in connection with the revised application, where you will find more information about the requirements for data management plans in projects that receive funding from us. 

Funding from the Research Council is paid in arrears on the basis of an EHF invoice sent from the Project Owner to the Research Council. You will only be reimbursed for actual costs that have been entered in the project partners' accounts. All reporting must be done electronically, see Invoicing in arrears. 

The funds that come from Innovation Norway are made as partial payments of grants for innovation projects: Up to 30% of the grant can be paid in advance. When it can be documented that at least 50% of the total project costs have been incurred, an additional up to 50% of the grant may be disbursed. Of the total grant, a minimum of 20% must be withheld until the project has been completed and the final report with auditor-controlled project accounts is available. 

The support that comes from Siva is paid out up to 90% in advance each year, of which 10% or a minimum of NOK 100,000 must be paid. be withheld until the project has been completed and the final report and auditor-approved accounts are available. 

The application must be based on at least one project outline submitted by the deadline of Wednesday 4 March at 13:00. 

The application must be created and submitted via My RCN Web. The application and all attachments must be written in Norwegian or English. This call has a fixed deadline of Wednesday 3 June at 13:00, which means that you can change and submit the application several times until the application deadline. We recommend that you submit your application as soon as you have completed the application form and uploaded the mandatory attachments. When the application deadline expires, it is the version of the application that was submitted most recently that we process. 

• The application and all attachments must be written in Norwegian or English. 
• All attachments must be in PDF format. 
• The requirements relating to the Project Owner must be met. 
• Requirements for the collaborating partners must be met. 
• The project must start between 1 January 2027 and 1 March 2027. Projects that have received a decision on allocation, but have not started during this period, may lose their funding. 

Mandatory attachments 

• Project description of a maximum of 15 pages. Use the default template that you can download at the bottom of the page. 
• Separate project budget for Green Platform. Use a template that you can download at the bottom of the page. 
• CV for the project manager and for the most important project participants. A maximum of five CVs can be submitted per application, each of a maximum of four pages, and we recommend that you use the CV templates at the end of the call. Key project participants who are researchers can use the CV template called "Template for CV researchers". Other key project participants can use the CV template called "Template for CV". 
• Partner information for all the companies in the consortium. Use the template that you can download at the bottom of the page. 
• Letter of intent from all registered partners in the project. The letter must include an organisation number and a description of each partner's expectations, role, motivation and efforts. 
• Catapults must fill in their own, more specified catapult budget when applying for support. 

All attachments to the application must be submitted with the application. We do not accept attachments submitted after the application deadline unless we have asked applicants for additional documentation. 

We will not consider documents and websites linked to in the application, or attachments other than those specified above. Be careful to upload the correct attachment type, as there are no technical restrictions on what kind of templates it is possible to upload in the application form. 

Applications that do not meet the requirements above will be rejected. 

We assess the applications according to the criteria below. 

The criteria are assessed by a panel of external experts. Each criterion is given a grade from 1-7 (with 7 being the highest). The average of these marks gives the main mark for the application.

The degree of innovation is an expression of how novel and groundbreaking the project is compared to what is available in the market both nationally and internationally. Innovation is understood as value-creation/ novelty in the market.

To what extent
• the project represents something new, innovative and ambitious that challenges established approaches and creates added value in the industry/area in general and for the partners in the project in particular
• the project addresses known needs or new market opportunities for partners in the project

Excellence is an expression of the scope and quality of the project's R&D activities.

To what extent
• the project is based on relevant and up-to-date knowledge
• the status of the research represents state-of-the-art
• the R&D activities are relevant and essential to achieve the goals of project
• the R&D activities are of high quality and are clearly described

The potential for value creation is an expression of the expected financial benefits for the partners in the project and the industry/area in general following implementation and commercialisation. We consider the commercial potential towards 2030 against the overall costs of the project. In the assessment, we assume that the realisation will be successful and aligned with the stated ambitions of the project.

The extent to which the results of the project
• generate new, green turnover
• strengthen competitiveness in new or established markets
• provide other business gains (e.g. reduced costs, better resource utilisation, new business models, digitalisation and enabling technologies)

The project results will have significant positive outcomes and impacts on climate and the environment in a 2030 perspective and move us closer to a low-emission society in 2050.

To what extent
• the project contributes significantly to solving at least one of the six environmental objectives of the EU taxonomy without significant negative impact on the other five environmental goals ("Do No Significant Harm")
• the application substantiates and quantifies the climate and environmental benefits
• the project clarifies benefits using suitable methods/tools such as Life Cycle Analysis

Socio-economic value is an expression of the significance the project will have for society in general beyond the value creation within the companies in the project.

The extent to which the project
• contribute to the development of new or secure established jobs in relevant industries/sectors
• boost export revenues from new green markets
• include plans for communication and dissemination of knowledge and results
• contribute to the sustainable transformation of the public sector and civil society
• build knowledge and research capacity benefiting green transformations in society
• develop and increase utilisation of national testing and verification infrastructure for new green technologies or solutions

The ability to implement the project covers the partners' overall ability to carry out the project in line with stated objectives and ambitions, as well as the quality of the project organisation presented in the grant application.

To what extent
• the project plan has specific and well-developed goals, work packages, milestones, and a robust set of risk assessments
• there is a balanced and appropriate allocation of budget, tasks, roles, risks, and results between the partners
• the budget and financing plan are realistic and feasible, where the partners possess sufficient financial implementation capacity
• the project is strategically endorsed by the Project Owner and other partners
• the project manager has the appropriate skills and experience to lead a large R&D project
• the project has access to expertise and capacity needed to carry out the project
• there are plans for market-related activities such as scaling and commercialisation during and after the project period to ensure realisation of benefits and project objectives

After the application deadline, the Research Council, Innovation Norway and Siva will check that the applications meet all the formal requirements and prerequisites described in the call. Applications that do not satisfy these will be rejected. 

Applications that meet the formal requirements will be considered by an external panel consisting of impartial experts with relevant expertise, who award a mark for each of the six assessment criteria. The six sub-grades form the basis for the main grade, which is calculated based on the average of the six assessment criteria. 

Based on the main mark and an initial portfolio assessment, up to 25 applications with an overall mark higher than or equal to 5 will be invited to an interview where the panel and academic advisers from the policy support system will participate. The purpose of the interviews is to give them the opportunity to ask questions and clarify ambiguities in the application. One result of the interview may be that one or more grades are adjusted before the main grade is finally set. Applications that are not invited for an interview will be rejected. 

The decision to award funding will be made on the basis of the budget framework of the funding agencies, in addition to each application's main mark, portfolio assessment and any other factors (see below). The overall mark must be greater than or equal to 5 for an application to be considered worthy of support. 

The portfolio assessment is intended to ensure that the applications contribute to the objective of a balanced green platform portfolio. The portfolio assessment takes into account and emphasizes the following criteria: 

• the extent to which the projects contribute to a wide range of sectors, industries, technologies and topics 
• the extent to which the projects contribute to the utilisation and development of national infrastructures, knowledge and competence environments 
• the extent to which the projects contribute to geographical spread 

Other priorities we will focus on for applications that are otherwise similar: 

• most sustainable in terms of effects on climate, the environment and society 
• most market proximity and connection 
• low financial risk in connection with the implementation of the project 
• good gender balance with regard to the project manager 

The current budget constitutes an overall framework for the allocation. The individual budgets of Innovation Norway, Siva and the Research Council may therefore influence the final decision. 

The allocation decision is made by a committee consisting of two impartial board members from each of the boards of Siva, Innovation Norway and the Research Council of Norway. Once the Green Platform Allocation Committee has made a final decision, the policy support system will publish which projects will be allocated funding. 

Applications that do not receive a final decision on allocation will be rejected. We do not make any decisions during the process. Applicants may be contacted during the application process in connection with interviews or other clarifications, and all application documents will be shared between the Research Council, Siva and Innovation Norway. By submitting an application, you agree to this. 

We expect to publish which applications will be funded in December 2026.