An interview with Steinbeis expert Professor h. c. Dr. Jonathan Loeffler
How can enterprises stay competitive in the face of current challenges? Innovation is one of the main keys – both for individual businesses and at national and European level. The EU has several instruments for funding innovation, and Steinbeis expert Professor h. c. Dr. Jonathan Loeffler knows all about this subject. He has worked in innovation consulting and research funding at European level for 35 years, offering customized services for enterprises that include funding advice, submitting proposals to the EU, innovation management and access to international partnerships. In this interview for TRANSFER, he presents an overview of EU funding opportunities, concluding that if the European Union is to remain competitive over the next ten years, it will need innovative, pioneering companies – and the EU’s funding instruments can play a key part in making this happen.
Professor Loeffler, what are the main economic development instruments at EU level?
The primary objective of economic development at EU level is to develop and successfully implement innovations in Europe. The new European Commission is mindful of the huge challenge that this represents. The aim of the Competitiveness Compass presented by the Commission at the end of January is to help make the European Union competitive again.
There is a very wide range of funding instruments at EU level, but I’d like to highlight the innovation and competitiveness programs. European research and innovation programs offer funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups and midcaps with growth potential and an international focus, as well as for universities, research institutions and other innovation actors. The principal EU funding instruments in this area are Horizon Europe, InvestEU, Digital Europe and NextGenerationEU.
Horizon Europe is the main research and innovation program. It supports scientific, technological, economic, environmental and societal projects and can cover between 70% and 100% of their R&D and innovation costs.
InvestEU is a European Investment Bank program offering securities, loans and guarantees in the policy areas of digitalization, infrastructure, corporate finance, research and innovation, healthcare and social investment, environment and nature conservation, and transportation.
The Digital Europe program is an EU funding program that focuses on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and administrations. Finally, the NextGenerationEU program invests in loans and grants to support projects relating to the digital and green transitions, health and economic resilience, education and skills, and SMEs and startups.
Which funding instruments are the easiest to access for German businesses, especially SMEs?
There are several funding instruments for enterprises that we’ve found to be useful at Steinbeis Europa Zentrum. For instance, innovative SMEs can take part in joint innovation and research projects with other European partners under Horizon Europe. Every year, the program invites applications to form consortiums in innovative areas. For 2025, there are currently calls in the fields of healthcare, climate, energy, bioeconomy and agriculture. Applicants must have or be willing to establish contacts with partners elsewhere in Europe. Steinbeis Europa Zentrum can help. We’re involved in roughly 80 research and innovation projects with over 800 foreign partners every year.
Individual businesses can also obtain funding of up to 2.5 million euros through the European Innovation Council (EIC). The EIC seeks to bridge the gap between research and market launch. It supports the later stages of the development process, i.e. a technology’s scaling up and market launch. Through the EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition and EIC Accelerator instruments, the program promotes game-changing innovations and radically new, groundbreaking products, services, processes and business models. The EIC adopts a flexible, open-topic approach. Short applications may be submitted at any time. With our support, enterprises can assess their innovative ideas by completing a questionnaire on the innocheck-bw portal and get free initial advice. The European Commission’s funding instruments are a valuable supplement to the German government’s programs and actually have certain advantages. Ranging between 70% and 100% depending on the funding instrument, the average funding rate for businesses is higher than for national programs. Moreover, participation in an international consortium offers companies privileged access to contacts in countries where there could be new market opportunities for them, as well as the chance to collaborate with the best in Europe in a given technology field.
What kind of questions about economic development measures do your clients typically ask you and how does Steinbeis Europa Zentrum support them?
They very often come to us with questions about reducing costs, improving quality, developing new product and service functionality, and innovation partnerships with organizations in other countries.
Developing innovative products and services is a risky business. We help to minimize these risks. To do this, our clients need know-how, resources and funding. We also get approached by startups that want to scale up their business model or bring a new product to market. We can draw on 35 years’ experience in innovation consulting and research funding at European and international level to support companies, startups, universities, research institutions, towns and cities and cluster initiatives with the development and implementation of innovations.
Our involvement in some 200 EU projects over the last ten years makes us Germany’s number one medium-sized enterprise in this field. We help our clients to identify suitable funding opportunities, submit successful applications and ensure a sustainable financial basis for their innovation projects. We provide them with extensive information about current calls, funding criteria and administrative requirements, and advise clients on everything from submitting applications to project coordination and exploitation of their project results.
The development of strategic partnerships is also crucial. Our clients are keen to build networks and enter into partnerships with foreign businesses, research institutions and public agencies. We help them initiate and implement international partnerships, especially in the fields of innovation, research and technology transfer. As an Enterprise Europe Network partner, we can provide access to the largest technology transfer network worldwide, as well as promoting transnational cooperation.
Our aim is to foster innovation, promote economic growth and provide our clients with the best possible support for the successful implementation of EU-funded projects. Drawing on our extensive experience and strong network, we help to bring innovations to market faster and to sustainably strengthen the competitiveness of businesses and research institutions.
Further information on EU funding instruments:
- EU funding: https://www.steinbeis-europa.de/de/leistungen/eu-foerderung | https://www.innocheck-bw.de/home-1-de
- Horizon Europe: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/horizon-europe-work-programmes_en | https://www.horizont-europa.de/
- InvestEU: https://investeu.europa.eu/index_en
- Digital Europe: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/de/activities/digital-programme
- NextGenerationEU: https://next-generation-eu.europa.eu/index_de
Contact
Prof. h. c. Dr. Jonathan Loeffler (interviewee)
CEO
Steinbeis Europa Zentrum
Steinbeis 2i GmbH (Stuttgart)
www.steinbeis-europa.de