Overview
MAT4EU has opened its first Advanced Materials Innovation Open Call, offering financial and support services to European manufacturing SMEs developing or adopting advanced materials solutions. The call focuses on four material groups, metals, polymers, ceramics and composites, with applications across aerospace and defence, agri-food, including packaging, renewable energy, construction, health and mobility.
The call is part of the MAT4EU Euroclusters project, which aims to strengthen Europe’s advanced materials ecosystem, support SME innovation and internationalisation, and help companies develop sustainable solutions across European industrial value chains.
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Benefits
The first open call has a total budget of €1,207,500, divided across two funding strands:
- Strand 1: Product Innovations Supporting European Autonomy
Supports the development, testing and validation of innovative advanced materials solutions. MAT4EU aims to support at least 10 SME projects, with a fixed grant of €60,000 per project. Projects must have a minimum total budget of €80,000. - Strand 2: Mastering Green and Digital Transformation
Supports the uptake, scale-up, and integration of advanced materials solutions into industrial environments and value chains. MAT4EU aims to support at least 19 SME projects, with a fixed grant of €33,750 per project. Projects must have a minimum total budget of €45,000.
Funding covers up to 75% of eligible costs, meaning SMEs must provide at least 25% private co-financing through their own resources or private debt financing. In-kind contributions and other public funding cannot be used to cover the co-financing requirement.
Selected SMEs will also receive support services, including mentoring, training, capacity-building, internationalisation support, matchmaking, and ecosystem integration opportunities.
Who Can Apply
The call is open to manufacturing SMEs located in an EU Member State or another country participating in the Single Market Programme/COSME strand. This makes Cypriot manufacturing SMEs eligible, provided they meet the programme’s criteria.
Applicants must work with at least one of the four target material groups, metals, polymers, ceramics or composites, and their product or application must target at least one of the six strategic sectors: aerospace and defence, agri-food including packaging, renewable energy, construction, health or mobility.
Criteria
Applications must be submitted by a single manufacturing SME. Other organisations, such as companies, universities or technical centres, may be involved only as service providers or subcontractors, where relevant. Consortia applications are not part of this call.
Each SME may submit only one application and must choose either Strand 1 or Strand 2. Submitting applications to both strands will make the applicant ineligible. Supported projects will run for 12 months, from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027.
Applications are assessed on criteria including business potential, innovation potential, scalability and economic impact, scientific and technical quality, organisational capacity, contribution to European industrial competitiveness, and the proposed networking and dissemination plan.
How To Apply
Applications must be submitted in English through the MAT4EU Grant Platform. The call opened on 6 May 2026 and closes on 6 July 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time. Applicants must submit the required supporting documents, including a screenshot of their SME self-assessment, a screenshot of the completed financial capacity self-check, and the completed Annex Budget.
Evaluation will take place after the deadline, with notification letters expected between 22 and 29 July 2026. Contracting and eligibility checks are scheduled from 29 July to 28 August 2026, before selected projects begin on 1 September 2026.
About MAT4EU
MAT4EU brings together European cluster partners to support SMEs working with advanced materials. The project combines direct financial support with training, mentoring, internationalisation services and networking to help SMEs build more sustainable, competitive and globally connected advanced materials value chains.
