Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)
Summary
Budget
Official information source
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/strategic-technol...Description
"Let's make sure that the future of our industry is made in Europe."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, State of the Union Address, 14 September 2022.
Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform
EU Industry I Competitiveness I Strategic Technologies
The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) was set up by the EU to support the European industry and boost investment in critical technologies in Europe. STEP raises and steers funding across 11 EU programmes to three target investment areas:
- Digital technologies and deep-tech innovation
- Clean and resource-efficient technologies
- Biotechnologies
STEP also supports projects growing the skills necessary to develop those critical technologies. STEP introduces a new STEP Seal – an EU label for high quality projects granting STEP projects visibility and facilitating their access to other possible sources of funding.
A Guidance Note provides practical support in implementing the STEP Regulation, making it easier to navigate its key provisions
In a nutshell
Funding opportunities for project promoters
STEP backs projects that bring game-changing innovation and significant economic benefits to the EU's Single Market and/or help reduce its strategic dependencies.
STEP Seal for visionary investment
STEP supports innovative projects that can be considered attractive investment prospects. A STEP Seal will be awarded to high-quality projects contributing to the STEP objectives.
Managing authorities as key partner
Managing authorities play a vital role in bringing the STEP regulation to life. National Contact Points are designated by the EU member States and operate at national level.
Get in Touch
STEP seeks to reinforce, leverage and steer EU funds – existing and new – to investments in deep and digital, clean and bio technologies in the EU, and in people who can implement those technologies into the economy.
STEP also introduces the Sovereignty seal – the EU quality label for sovereignty projects.
To find all information about existing funding opportunities for STEP investments and relevant contact details of national authorities, visit the dedicated Sovereignty portal.
Target investment areas
STEP will help making Europe future-proof. It will enhance the EU’s competitiveness and make our economies more resilient in the name of Europe’s independence, resilience, and security.
To do that, it will steer investments in three priority areas - deep and digital technologies, clean technologies, and biotechnologies.
Contributing EU programmes
The STEP will help reinforce and leverage existing EU instruments in view of a quick deployment of financial support to the benefit of companies The STEP will also help to direct existing funding towards technology fields that are crucial for Europe’s leadership, while safeguarding cohesion and preserving the level playing field in the Single Market.
By combining leverage on existing programmes, including reprioritisation, and targeted top ups, STEP is expected to result in up to €160 billion of new investments.
Sovereignty seal
The ‘Sovereignty seal’ is the EU quality label awarded to the high-quality projects contributing to the STEP objectives. It is expected to give them visibility and attract alternative or additional public and private investments.
How does it work?
The ‘Sovereignty seal’ is awarded to all projects that scored high during the selection process of a competitive procedure of calls for proposal under Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe programme, the European Defence Fund, the EU4Health programme, or the Innovation Fund. In case a high-quality project cannot receive financing under the programme for which it applied due to the limited budgetary availabilities, with the label of ‘Sovereignty Seal’ it will get a privileged and simplified access to other sources of funding under STEP.
Who can benefit?
Any company or an organisation which has applied for funding under Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe programme, the EU4Health programme, the European Defence Fund or the Innovation Fund, provided that the project contributes to the STEP objectives and that it has been assessed as eligible and complying with the quality requirements of a call for proposals.
Making better use of existing EU funds
The STEP will mobilise available funding within the scope of existing instruments and deploy them in a more focuesed and flexible manner. This will help to provide timely and targeted support in strategic sectors and when require pool ressources from different programmes to finance strategic projects enhancing EU sovereignty
More concretely, the STEP will leverage on existing programmes such as InvestEU, Innovation Fund, Horizon Europe, EU4Health, Digital programme, European Defence Fund, Recovery and Resilience Facility, and cohesion policy funds.
To boost the investment capacity dedicated specifically to promoting STEP investments, the Commission further proposes to reinforce several existing programmes. These reinforcements can lead to additional investments in critical technologies of around €110 billion:
- €3 billion for InvestEU, resulting in €75 billion of investments given the 40% provisioning rate and an average multiplier of 10;
- €0.5 billion to Horizon Europe, complemented with €2.13 billion of redeployment and use of decommitted amounts, resulting in €13 billion of investments with an average multiplier of 5;
- €5 billion to the Innovation Fund, resulting in €20 billion of investments given the experience to date under the Innovation Fund;
- €1.5 billion to the European Defence Fund, which could result in up to €2 billion of investments.
By providing financial incentives in cohesion policy funds in the form of higher pre-financing and co-financing, Member States are encouraged to reprioritise their programmes. Every 5% of reprogramming towards STEP priorities leads to €18.9 billion of resources made available, in addition to €6 billion to be paid out from the Just Transition Fund.
An additional flexibility under the Recovery and Resilience Facility can lead to further €30 billion potentially available for sovereignty investments.
Altogether, the total estimated amount of new investments through STEP could reach up to €160 billion.
A detailed overview of the proposed funding is available in the legislative proposal.
STEP will support investments in companies that contribute to preserving a European edge on critical technologies, throughout companies’ full life cycle.
Related policy areas
Strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy through the green and digital transformations has been the EU compass over the last years. In this context, the EU has already put forward several initiatives to support industry and strengthen EU competitiveness. Below is an overview.
Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership
Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA)
