Innovation Projects for the Industrial Sector: Land-based Bioeconomy 2026
This call is planned to be published in our new application system. If this changes, we will inform all applicants as soon as possible.
Important dates
What you can do now
Get to know the new application form
Here you can read about how the new application form is structured and find explanations of terms used in the form.
15 Apr 2026
Earliest permitted project start
15 Apr 2027
Latest permitted project start
Important dates
About the call for proposals
This call is aimed at companies and aims to support innovation projects that contain a significant element of industrial research (IF) and/or experimental development (EU). You can find detailed definitions of IF and the EU under the section Scope of support further down in the call.
The expected results can be a new product, a new service, a new manufacturing process, or a new way of delivering products and services. Significant improvements, or new features of existing products, services or processes at the companies, can also be a result.
We support projects that have a scope and a risk profile that indicate that companies will not be able to carry out the project without funding from the Research Council. This means that our support must be a trigger for initiating the R&D activities. In other words, you cannot apply for funding for activities that you have already started. This means that the project and the relevant activities cannot have started before you send the application to us. We also do not fund activities that you have started before the grant letter from us has been signed. You must finance these activities yourself.
If you intend to submit an application for other funding schemes (including SkatteFUNN) for the project, you can read more about the incentive effect and combination of policy instruments here.
The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The text of the Norwegian call for proposals is legally binding.We will update with more information soon.
Purpose
We will publish more information as it becomes available.
Thematic or subject-specific guidelines
We will update with more information soon.
Prioritisation of applications
We will update with more information soon.
Who can participate in the project?
We require that the Project Owner carries out the project together with at least one partner (Norwegian company) or procures commissioned research from at least one R&D provider.
All partners must have defined tasks and a clear role in the implementation of the project.
The Project Owner and partners must be independent of each other. By this we mean that one cannot have a controlling influence over the other. This applies both between the Project Owner and the partner, and between all the partners.
Nor can an R&D provider have a controlling influence over the Project Owner/partners or vice versa.
Read more about such dependencies here.
To be eligible for funding, the partners and R&D providers must participate in the project as described in the application. If you change the composition of the project before you receive a grant letter from us, we can withdraw the commitment of funding.
Requirements relating to the Project Owner
The Project Owner must be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and have economic activity in Norway. This means that the Project Owner must either be a private company, or a public enterprise that conducts activities of an industrial or commercial nature. In the rest of the call, we use the collective term "company".
Sole proprietorships cannot be Project Owners, but they can be partners.
Requirements relating to the project manager
There are no formal requirements for the project manager, but the professionals will assess whether the person in question has relevant skills and experience.
Requirements relating to collaborating partners
Norwegian companies that are to be partners must meet the same criteria as the Project Owner in order to participate in the project and receive funding. Partners must enter into effective collaboration with the Project Owner, which means, among other things, that they share both the risk and the results that result from the project. The partners whose costs are covered for part of their costs by the Research Council's support will be recipients of state aid. Read more about effective collaboration.
All partners must have identified costs in the project, but they can choose not to have the costs covered through the award.
For sole proprietorships that are to be partners, there are separate rules for the costs we can cover.
Requirements relating to R&D providers
Norwegian and foreign research organisations and other expert communities can participate in the project as R&D suppliers, with responsibility for carrying out R&D work on behalf of the companies in the project. R&D providers are not required to contribute to financing the project, and therefore do not normally have rights to the project results. They deliver work on commission, and are paid for this work at market price. If an R&D provider is nevertheless to take part in the rights to the project results, the price of the agreed assignment must be adjusted by deducting the market value of the rights from the price.
Where doctoral work is part of the R&D provider's work on the project, you may not impose restrictions on the publication of the doctoral work, with the exception of any pre-agreed postponement of the date of publication.
Since the research organisations' work in the innovation projects is carried out on assignment, the work of universities and university colleges in such projects is defined as contract-funded activity. This means that work performed by PhD candidates must also be invoiced at market price. The prizes for this work are not tied to the Research Council's fixed rates for research fellows. Any research fellows who carry out work in these projects do not have the same rights to have their stays abroad covered as research fellows who are wholly or partly funded by the Research Council.We will update with more information soon.
About collaborating with foreign organisations
Foreign organisations that are not R&D providers in the project can participate, but they cannot receive support from us. Instead, they must cover their own costs in full.
Using subcontractors in the project
The Project Owner or partners may engage subcontractors to deliver services and contribute to the implementation of certain tasks in the project. Subcontractors cannot be given rights to project results.
Organisations that are subject to the regulations for public procurement must in the usual way carry out the selection of subcontractors in line with these regulations.
Other Actors
Actors who are not described above, such as other international and public actors, can participate in the project, but you must not include them as partners in the application form. You should instead mention this type of collaboration in the application form, under Implementation.
Read more about collaboration agreements, partners and R&D providers (link to come).
What can you seek funding for?
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. The following cost types should be used:
- Payroll and indirect expenses
- Procurement of R&D
- Equipment
- Other project expenses
You can find more information about how to set up a budget on our website Set up work packages and budget in the new application system.
We do not support activities that are not directly related to the implementation of the project or to measures toexploit the R&D results, such as the protection of intellectual property rights, market research and marketing, as well as testing (except as falling within the definition of experimental development) and the completion of new products and services. We will not provide support for costs that will not be recorded in the Project Owner's or partners' official accounts, such as unpaid work input. You must therefore not include such costs in the budget in the application.
Scope of support
Article 25 of the EU Block Exemption Regulation describes in more detail which activities can be supported and which costs of these activities can be covered in whole or in part. Funding may cover direct and indirect project costs to the extent that they are costs related to industrial research or experimental development.
You can apply for funding to cover up to 50 per cent of the costs of each of the companies in the project. The degree of support for the company's project costs within the framework of 50 per cent depends on the size of the company and the type of R&D activities.
| Type of company/type of activity | Industrial Research (IF) | Experimental development (EU) |
| Small businesses | 50% | 45% |
| Medium-sized businesses | 50% | 35% |
| Large companies | 50% | 25% |
Please note that we are not making full use of the room for manoeuvre in the state aid rules. In this way, we will be granted more innovation projects. The state aid rules allow a small company to be covered up to 70 percent for IF, and a medium-sized company up to 60 percent for the same. However, none of them can receive more than 50 per cent under this call, even though all the activities are industrial research.
- Example 1: a small company with all the costs within the IF: The state aid rules indicate that public support can contribute 70 per cent of the costs, but the company can only cover 50 per cent through an innovation project in the business sector.
- Example 2: a medium-sized company with all the costs within the EU category: The state aid rules indicate that state aid can cover 35 per cent of the costs, and that is what the company can be covered.
- Example 3: a small company with half of the costs within the IF category and half within the EU: The state aid rules indicate that state aid can cover 57.5 per cent of the total costs, but we only cover up to 47.5 per cent of them.
- Example 4: a medium-sized company with half of the costs within the IF and half within the EU: The state aid rules indicate that state aid can cover 47.5 per cent of the costs, but we only cover up to 42.5 per cent of the costs.
Since the Research Council only allocates up to 50 per cent to industrial research even though the company could have been covered by up to 70 per cent, you can apply for additional funding from other public schemes, such as Innovation Norway and SkatteFUNN.
The final amount and percentage of support will be determined in the grant letter.
Conditions for funding
This call constitutes an aid scheme that must be notified to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and has the reference: GBER XX/2026/R&D&I.
The aid under the scheme is awarded in accordance with Article 25 of the Block Exemption Regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014). In addition, the general conditions in Chapter I of the Regulation must be met.
See the Consolidated Block Exemption Regulation with amendments up to and including June 2023 (link opens in a new window). The scheme shall be practised in accordance with the EEA Agreement's state aid rules. Terms and concepts shall be interpreted in accordance with the corresponding terms and concepts in the aid rules. In the event of any conflict between the announcement and the state aid rules, the latter shall take precedence. For the same reason, the call for proposals may also be adjusted.
Aid may not be granted to undertakings that have not complied with the requirements for repayment following a previous decision by the ESA/EU Commission declaring the aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market. Nor may aid be granted to undertakings in difficulty within the meaning of EEA law.
The Research Council's conditions for funding can be found in our general terms and conditions for R&D projects on this information page.
Practical information
This call is open-ended. You may submit applications and we will process the applications from the time the call opens.
The application must be created and submitted via the Research Council's application system.
Please note that you can only submit the application once. If you submit the application and subsequently discover that it still needs to be changed, you must submit a new application and notify us that the original application will be withdrawn. When you submit the new application, you must fill in the entire application form again.
The application must be written in Norwegian or English.
You must not link to websites in the application. Any links will not be included in the assessment of the application.
The Research Council may reject applications where the Project Owner or partner has materially breached its obligations in other projects funded by the Research Council in the two years prior to the submission of the application.
The application may be rejected if the project manager has been appointed to the Joint Integrity Committee or the Investigation Committee in the last two years prior to the submission of the application.
The call is available in both Norwegian and English. The text in the Norwegian call for proposals is legally binding.
Ethical standards
The Research Council requires a high standard of research ethics in the projects we fund. You must therefore provide a brief description of how ethical issues will be handled, to show the panel that you have an appropriate plan for this.
The responsibility for ensuring that the research ethics standard is followed lies with the individual researcher and research organisation (cf. the Research Ethics Act). The panel's assessment and the Research Council's decision on the award do not entail any approval of research ethics.
For more information, see the Research Council's research ethics requirements website.
If you are granted funding
If your application is approved, you must be aware of the following:
- You cannot have started any of the activities in the project before you submit the application. If you intend to submit an application for other funding schemes (including SkatteFUNN) for the project, you can read more about the incentive effect and combination of policy instruments here.
- You must cover all costs that may arise from the time you submit the application until you receive the letter of allocation from us.
- The latest date for the start of the project will be four months after you are notified of the award. Projects that have not started by this time may lose the award.
- Funding from other public actors for the project or for activities included in the project may affect the scope of the Research Council's funding.
- If you receive state aid from us that is equivalent to EUR 100,000 or more, we will make it known in the Register for State Aid (link opens in a new window).
- The project manager and the Project Owner must have assessed and managed any issue of research security in the project. Research security refers to the risks related to undesirable transfer of knowledge and technology, malign influence on research and innovation or violations of research ethics or integrity, where knowledge and technology are used to undermine key societal values.
- 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.
- For medical and health studies involving humans, the Research Council sets special requirements and guidelines for prospective registration of studies and publication of results.
Assessment
Excellence
- The extent to which the objectives are clear and relevant to the purpose of the call.
- The extent to which the project is ambitious and will challenge the state of the art.
- The extent to which the innovation meets a need or is aimed at new market opportunities.
- The extent to which the gender perspectives in research and/or innovation are adequately addressed.
- The extent to which ethical issues are adequately addressed.
- The extent to which the methodological choices, including underlying concepts, models and assumptions, are solid.
Impact
- The extent to which the expected impact of the project underpins the purpose of the call.
- The extent to which the planned results will contribute to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
- The extent to which the project is likely to contribute to societal benefits.
- The extent to which the companies participating will reap economic benefits as a result of the project.
- The extent to which the plans to achieve the described impact are credible.
- The extent to which the plans and measures for dissemination and exploitation of the results are suitable for maximising the expected impact.
Implementation
- The extent to which the project participants’ expertise is complementary and that they as a whole have the necessary expertise.
- The extent to which the plan for the implementation of the work is clear and realistic with defined milestones, work packages and deliverables.
- The extent to which the organisation of the project is clear, and the allocation of the budget and roles is appropriate.
- The extent to which the proposed management structures and governance are appropriate.
- The extent to which the project is strategically supported by the Project Owner and the collaborating partners.
- The extent to which relevant risk assessments have been made.
Administrative procedure
Application Reception
Applications that do not satisfy the formal requirements will be rejected. Applications that fall outside the limitations set out in the call will be rejected without further consideration.
You can only apply for funding for the project once per calendar year, regardless of the IPN call in question. Applications that are submitted several times will be rejected without further consideration. The exception is applications that are rejected due to thematic issues. These can apply for the other Innovation Projects calls.
Panel assessment
Applications that meet the formal requirements and fall within the scope of the call will be submitted to a panel of at least three panel members for assessment. The panel members make their individual assessments of the application and award a mark per criterion. After the individual assessments, the panel meets for discussion, so that the application receives a single joint panel assessment. At the meeting, the panel agrees on a joint panel assessment with grades and written assessments for each of the criteria.
The grading scale goes from 0 to 5, where 5 is best.
Grade limits for award, further consideration and rejection OR Grade limits for further processing and rejection
This call has the following threshold values
- We consider applications with an average mark ≥3 and no partial mark ≤2 to be eligible for funding and will process these further.
- All other applications will be rejected.
Assessment of whether the application satisfies the academic, thematic and/or structural guidelines set out in the call
The administration will assess the extent to which the application satisfies the requirements and the thematic, academic and/or structural guidelines described in the call.
Portfolio assessment and decisions by the portfolio board
The administration makes a recommendation to the portfolio board. Applications can be recommended for allocation, rejection or waiting list.
The portfolio board makes decisions on allocation or rejection based on a portfolio assessment, the purpose of which is to identify the applications that best meet the objectives, guidelines and priorities of the call as a whole.
Waiting list
The administration will place applications with grades above the threshold value, but below the threshold for direct award, on a waiting list. If the available budget at the last allocation point is higher than the amount applied for applications with direct allocation, the portfolio board will allocate the remaining budget to applications on the waiting list. All other applications will be rejected.
Processing time
Please note that there may be different processing times for different applications.
Feedback on the application
You will receive feedback in the form of a decision letter. This includes written assessments, grades, and a written justification for the decision.
Closure of calls for proposals with ongoing application processing
We process the applications on an ongoing basis and make decisions on allocations and rejections regularly, until there are no longer funds left. We cannot predict when the funds will be used up, and there may therefore be submitted applications that have not been fully processed when there are no funds left. These applications will be rejected without further consideration. We will close the call for proposals when we are certain that the remaining available funding will be allocated to the applications we have received at the relevant time. Applicants who have created an application will be notified one week before the call closes.
The call for proposals may also be closed for submission of applications in connection with the transition to a new budget year, even if not all of the funds in the call have been allocated. We will publish notice of this in the call at least two weeks before we close the call. We will notify applicants who have created an application to this effect at the same time as we close the call.
Messages at time of print 23 April 2026, 16:48 CEST