CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 2023 for the CONNECTED INDUSTRY 4.0 PROGRAM.

From IMPULSO, we are pleased to inform you that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has published the 2023 call for applications for the CONNECTED INDUSTRY 4.0 PROGRAM, which aims to provide grants for research and development projects, as well as innovation projects in organization and processes that contribute to the digital transformation of industrial companies and the improvement of their environmental sustainability as a result of their digitalization.

This call has a budget allocation of 30 million euros (15 million euros in loans plus 15 million euros in grants).

Below, we summarize the main characteristics of these grants:

BENEFICIARIES

Companies that are not part of the public sector and have been carrying out a productive industrial activity for at least three years, with industrial activity understood as the following cases:

• Production activities CNAE codes 10 to 32.
• Valorization activities CNAE code 38.3x.
• Activities complementary to industrial production:
  • Packaging and packing: CNAE code 82.92.
  • Storage and warehousing: CNAE code 52.10.
  • Industrial-scale repair activities for machinery and equipment classified under CNAE code 33 directly related always and only when such services are provided directly to:
    • Manufacturing industry (activities included in CNAE codes 10 to 32).
    • Any of the activities classified under CNAE code 35 (supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning).
    • Water treatment activities for industrial use or desalination of seawater or groundwater to obtain water as a main product, classified under CNAE code 36;

With the exception of repair and maintenance activities for firearms and ammunition (including repair of weapons for sports and recreational activities), repair and maintenance of supermarket trolleys, repair of fire extinguishers, repair and maintenance of agricultural tractors, agricultural and forestry machinery, automatic vending machines, cash registers, photocopiers, repair of calculators, electronic or not, repair of typewriters, repair of radiation, electromedical and electrotherapeutic equipment, optical equipment and instruments, repair and maintenance of electrical lighting equipment and repair and maintenance of current-carrying or non-current-carrying wiring devices for electrical circuits. Activities classified under CNAE codes 33.19 and 33.20 are also excluded.

• Industrial service activities:
  • Industrial design: CNAE code 71.12.
  • Technical testing and analysis: CNAE code 71.20 (with some exceptions).

LINES OF ACTION

• Activa-Pymes: Projects carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises within the eligible thematic priorities.
• Activa-Grandes implementaciones: Projects carried out by any type of beneficiary within the eligible thematic priorities.

THEMATIC PRIORITIES

• Interconnection platforms for the company’s value chain.
• Solutions for advanced data processing.
• Artificial intelligence solutions.
• Industrial simulation projects.
• Additive design and manufacturing.
• Augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial vision projects.
• Collaborative and cognitive robotics.
• Sensors.

PROJECT TYPES

• Industrial research projects.
• Experimental development projects.
• Innovation projects in organization and/or processes. For projects carried out by large companies, they will only be eligible for aid if they effectively collaborate with SMEs in the activity subject to aid and if the SMEs with which they collaborate bear a minimum of 30% of the total eligible costs.
• Preliminary validation projects (only for Activa-Pyme Line).

For industrial research and experimental development projects, it will be necessary to provide a qualification report of the project activities issued by a certification entity accredited by the National Accreditation Entity (ENAC). The report will determine the technological nature of the project activities, in accordance with the provisions of this order. So it is better to always try to opt for the process innovation project type whenever possible.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

• Investment execution period: from the day following the application submission date up to a maximum of 24 months from the grant resolution.
• Minimum/maximum budget:
  • Line ACTIVA-Grandes Implementaciones: minimum budget of €100,000.
  • Line ACTIVA-PYME: maximum budget of €400,000 for micro and small enterprises and €1,000,000 for medium-sized enterprises.
• Guarantees: The submission of proof of guarantee constitution will be required before the grant resolution, establishing a period of 15 business days to submit it from the notification of its requirement, both for the loan and for the proposed grant, if applicable.

When the proposed aid combines a loan and a grant, separate proofs of guarantee constitution must be submitted for each type of aid.

The amount of the guarantees to be constituted for each type of aid will be determined based on the financial rating of the applicant entity calculated at the time of application.

Guarantees will generally be released once accreditation of the completion of the activity subject to the aid has taken place, as established in Article 30.4 of this order, and the corresponding refund has been made, if applicable. Additionally, the different calls may require companies with a satisfactory financial rating, calculated according to the methodology established in Annex IV of this order, to maintain the guarantees until the full repayment of the loan. The cancellation regime for guarantees will comply with the provisions of the General Deposit Box regulations.

Guarantees will be seized when there is a default on the corresponding refund due to non-compliance with any condition imposed on the beneficiary in this order of bases.

• Thematic priorities: business solutions and collaborative platforms, big data processing, additive manufacturing, advanced robotics, sensors, and embedded systems.
• Incentive effect: start of investments after applying for aid.

ELIGIBLE CONCEPTS

The eligible concepts depend on the line of action:

• ACTIVA-PYME:

• • Production apparatus and equipment.
  • Hardware infrastructure: For hardware infrastructure costs to be eligible, they must be associated with a project that includes other eligible items.
  • Costs of external collaborations exclusively derived from the project, as well as other expenses incurred by the provision of advanced ICT services, consulting for the design or redesign of processes, and the acquisition of patents that contribute to the execution of the project. Excludes any form of consulting associated with the management and processing of the requested aid.
  • For preliminary validation projects:
    • Depreciation of indispensable instruments and equipment for the project.
    • Rental of equipment indispensable for carrying out proof-of-concept and initial developments. In cases of renting and/or leasing, associated financial costs will not be eligible.

• ACTIVA-GRANDES IMPLEMENTACIONES:

• • Costs of personnel: Costs related to researchers, technicians, and other auxiliary personnel, to the extent that they are dedicated to the relevant project or activity. Costs for personnel with employment contracts, self-employed partners of the company, and economically dependent self-employed personnel may be charged to the project. The call may establish the maximum imputable cost per professional category.
  • Costs of instrumentation and inventory material (depreciation): For instrumentation and inventory material costs to be eligible, they must be associated with a project whose eligible budget includes other items previously indicated. The costs of instrumentation and inventory material will not exceed 60% of the eligible budget.
  • Costs of contractual research, technical knowledge, and patents acquired or obtained under license from external sources under arm’s length conditions. Costs of external collaborations exclusively derived from the project, as well as other expenses incurred by the provision of advanced ICT services, consulting for the design or redesign of processes, and the acquisition of patents that contribute to the execution of the project. Excludes any form of consulting associated with the management and processing of the requested aid.

Other considerations to take into account are the following:

• • The physical equipment associated with the eligible budget must be provided with the corresponding CE marking or declaration of conformity and serial number.
  • For external collaboration, consulting, or engineering expenses, tasks performed by the same provider cannot be split.
  • To contract with related persons or entities, express authorization from the managing body is required and under normal market conditions.
  • When the amount of the expense exceeds the amounts established at any given time in Article 31.3 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, the beneficiary must request at least three offers from different suppliers prior to contracting.

TYPE AND INTENSITY OF SUPPORT

The aid may take the form of a loan, a grant, or a combination of both modalities. The total funding to be granted, nominal loan plus grant, will be a maximum of up to 80% of the eligible budget.

The repayable loan will have a 0% interest rate and a variable repayment period depending on the line of action:

• ACTIVA-PYME: 5 years repayment, with 2 years grace period.
• ACTIVA-GRANDES IMPLEMENTACIONES: 10 years repayment, with 3 years grace period.

The amount of aid to be granted in the form of a GRANT will be a maximum of: Up to 50% of the eligible budget for small enterprises. Up to 20% of the eligible budget for medium-sized enterprises. Up to 5% of the eligible budget for large enterprises. The nominal amount of the LOAN to be granted will be limited according to the following: The company’s Accumulated Live Risk with the DGIPYME may not exceed 5 times the entity’s equity in the last closed fiscal year. The loan amount to be granted may not exceed the average turnover in fiscal years 2021 and 2022. GRANT, will be at most:

• 50% of the eligible budget in the case of small enterprises.
• 20% of the eligible budget in the case of medium-sized enterprises.
• 5% of the eligible budget in the case of large enterprises.

The nominal amount of the LOAN to be granted will be capped in accordance with the following limits:

• The company’s Cumulative Outstanding Exposure with DGIPYME may not exceed five times the entity’s equity in the last closed financial year.
• The loan amount to be granted may not exceed the average turnover in financial years 2021 and 2022.

• ACTIVA-GRANDES IMPLEMENTACIONES:
  • Industrial research projects: €20M per company and project (up to €40M if it is a Eureka project).
  • Experimental development projects: €15M per company and project (up to €30M if it is a Eureka project).
  • Innovation projects in organization and processes: €7.5M per company and project.

The aid will have a maximum gross intensity, in the form of equivalent gross grant (% of eligible budget), depending on the type of project and the size of the company, which will vary between 15% and 70%.

The aid intensity for industrial research and experimental development projects may be increased by 15 percentage points, up to a maximum of 80%, if any of the conditions defined in Article 25.6.b) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of June 17 are met.

• ACTIVA-PYME: €200,000 per company during the three-fiscal-year period (de minimis aid) and the maximum gross intensity will be 50% of the eligible project cost.

The aid may be combined with any other public aid, provided that it refers to different identifiable eligible costs, as well as with any other public aid corresponding – partially or totally – to the same eligible costs, only if such accumulation does not exceed the maximum aid intensity (or the highest aid amount).

This type of financing does not affect the company’s bank risk, as it does not appear in the CIRBE figures.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Open from May 29 to June 27, 2023.

25/05/2023