REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 2024 Annual Report on the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)
Date: 2025-06-16
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, activity report, biotechnology, clean technology, competitiveness, digital technology, information system, investment promotion, technological independence, twin transition

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 16.6.2025  COM(2025) 322 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 2024 Annual Report on the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENT 
List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2 
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

STEP: Strengthening Europe’s technological leadership ............................................................................. 5 

A coordinated approach: 4 Key tools driving STEP’s implementation ................................................. 5 

Funding scale and strategic focus ......................................................................................................................... 6 

1. 

TOOL 1: A new organisation to implement STEP ......................................................................................................... 7 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.2.1. 

1.2.2. 

The STEP Taskforce ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 

STEP networks .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 

The STEP network in the European Commission ................................................................................................................................ 7 

The network of STEP National Contact Points ...................................................................................................................................... 8 

1.3. 

Raising awareness about STEP: a direct line with research and industry stakeholders ........... 8 
TOOL 2: Aligning EU funding for strategic technologies.......................................................................................... 9 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.2.1. 

2.2.2. 

2.2.3. 

Clarifying the scope and objectives of STEP .................................................................................................... 9 

Programmes under direct management .......................................................................................................... 10 

Driving clean innovation ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 

Accelerating digital and deep-tech innovations ............................................................................................................................... 15 

Empowering biotechnologies ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17 

2.3. 

Cohesion policy funds ................................................................................................................................................ 18 

2.3.1. 

2.3.2. 

2.3.3. 

Analysis of the use of STEP in cohesion policy ................................................................................................................................. 20 

Calls for proposals under cohesion policy programmes ........................................................................................................... 28 

Selected projects ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 

2.4. 

The Recovery and Resilience Facility & InvestEU ........................................................................................ 29 
TOOL 3: Enhancing visibility for excellent projects - the STEP Seal .............................................................. 29 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

Eligibility criteria .......................................................................................................................................................... 29 

The award of the STEP Seal ................................................................................................................................... 30 

Benefits of receiving a STEP Seal ....................................................................................................................... 31 

3.4. 

State of Play .................................................................................................................................................................. 31 
TOOL 4: Facilitating access to funding with the STEP Portal ............................................................................. 35 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

STEP Portal: a one-stop-shop for project applicants, public authorities, and investors ........ 35 

STEP as a pilot single entry point to EU funding ......................................................................................... 36 

5.  Contribution to long-term objectives on competitiveness .................................................................................. 38 
6.  Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 

 
 
 
List of Abbreviations 

Abbreviation 

AI 

CAPEX 

EDF 

EFTA 

ERDF 

ESF+ 

Definition 

Artificial Intelligence 

Capital Expenditure 

European Defence Fund 

European Free Trade Area 

European Regional Development Fund 

European Social Fund Plus 

EU4Health 

European Union Health Programme 

EIB 

JTF 

MFF 

NCP 

NUTS 

OCA 

OPEX 

R&D 

R&I 

RRF 

RRP 

SME 

STEP 

TRL 

European Investment Bank 

Just Transition Fund 

Multiannual Financial Framework 

National Contact Point 

Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 

Ownership Control Assessment 

Operating Expenditure 

Research and Development 

Research and Innovation 

Recovery and Resilience Facility 

Recover and Resilience Plan 

Small and Medium-sized Enterprise 

Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform 

Technology Readiness Level 

2 

 
 
 
Executive Summary  

The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) has delivered concrete results in less than a 
year since the entry into force of the STEP Regulation in March 2024 as part of the medium-term revision 
of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). 

STEP’s objectives are fully aligned with the priorities of the new Commission mandate. It aims to ensure 
Union  sovereignty  and  security,  reduce  strategic  dependencies,  and  strengthen  competitiveness  by 
supporting the development and manufacturing of critical technologies — notably in digital and 
deep technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotechnologies — strengthening their 
respective value chains, and investing in the skills needed for quality jobs for the green and digital 
transitions. 

STEP  is  no  standalone  Fund.  STEP  works  by  integrating  and  coordinating  existing  EU  funds  – 
combining funds directly managed by the Commission and funds managed by Member States – ensuring 
that public investment is more effectively directed toward critical industrial and technological priorities. 

This EU initiative exemplified how EU funding can respond to political priorities and contribute to 
the  competitiveness  and  resilience  of  the  EU.  The  transformative  potential  of  STEP  was 
demonstrated by its unique approach, user-centric actions, and coordination across 11 existing EU funding 
programmes  -  in  the  absence  of  dedicated  budget  beyond  a  EUR  1.5  billion  top-up  to  the  European 
Defence Fund under STEP. 

Key milestones in this first year of operations1 include:  

•  Aligning over EUR 10 billion in funding across the 11 EU programmes contributing to STEP 

by the end of 2024. 

•  The first EU STEP calls closed in March 2024, rapidly followed by national STEP calls under 

cohesion policy launching from April onwards.  

•  The STEP Portal went live in April 2024, providing a one-stop-shop for applicants, and was 

updated with new tools including a project dashboard and funding map.  

•  Publishing  the  STEP  Guidance  Note  as  a  Commission  Communication2  in  May  2024,  as 
mandated by the STEP Regulation, providing practical direction to Member States and project 
promoters to ensure consistent and effective implementation across funding programmes. 

•  A Commission survey on access to EU funding was launched in September 2024 to gather 

stakeholder input on improving funding accessibility.  

•  STEP took its first steps on the ground with technical missions to Member States starting in 

October 2024. 

•  The first STEP Seal projects were awarded in the Autumn of 2024, and promoted publicly via 

the STEP Portal in December 2024, boosting visibility and matchmaking potential. 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/budget/items/872570/  

2 Commission Communication C/2024/3209, Guidance Note concerning certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 
establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), 2024, available at: https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3209/oj 

3 

 
 
In  2024, over  EUR  10  billion  of  EU  funds  were  aligned  with  STEP, combining  EUR  4.6  billion 
steered  by  the  EU  Commission  under  five  direct  management  programmes  and  EUR  5.9  billion 
reprogrammed by Member States and regions under Cohesion Policy Funds. 

Breakdown of direct management funding in all Member States (EUR 4.6 billion) – see section 
2.2. 

•  Clean and resource-efficient technologies: EUR 4 billion earmarked3 for decarbonisation, 

industrial electrification, and clean manufacturing. 

•  Digital  &  deep  technologies:  EUR  461  million  earmarked  for  AI,  quantum  computing, 

microelectronics, and cybersecurity. 

•  Biotechnologies: EUR 154 million earmarked for medical innovation, vaccine development, 

and pharmaceutical manufacturing. 

Breakdown of cohesion policy funding (EUR 5.9 billion) – see section 2.3. 

•  EUR 5.9 billion in approved cohesion policy funds programme amendments by end-2024 to 

align regional development funds with STEP objectives. 

•  STEP calls have been launched in Germany and Denmark already in 2024. 

• 

Initial  project  selections  highlight  STEP’s  reach  –  from  green  hydrogen  and  quantum 
systems to SME financing and clean battery production. 

The Commission awarded STEP (Sovereignty) Seals4 to quality projects – see section 3 

•  162  high-potential  projects  across  23  EU  Member  States,  with  a  view  to  develop  their 

visibility and attract new funding.  

•  STEP  Seals  are  promoted  via  the  STEP  Portal,  connecting  projects  with  investors  and 

Member State funding opportunities. 

•  Awarded  under  EU  programmes  like  Horizon  Europe  and  the  Innovation  Fund,  STEP  Seal 

projects span across STEP sectors in clean, digital, and biotech technologies. 

Strengthening Access to Funding Through the STEP (Sovereignty) Portal5 – see section 4 

•  The  Commission  launched  the  new  STEP  Portal  to  integrate  information  on  EU  funding 

opportunities across all STEP programmes. 

•  Launched in April 2024. 

•  Features STEP Seal projects, national funding maps, and an interactive “Get Funding” section 

for easier navigation of available funding opportunities under STEP. 

3 Earmarked is understood as the planned budgetary allocation for a given programme, call, or topic. 

4 The STEP Seals are referred to as the Sovereignty Seals in the STEP Regulation 

5 The STEP Portal is referred to as the Sovereignty Portal in the STEP Regulation 

4 

 
 
 
 
Introduction  

This first Annual Report on the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) provides a 
consolidated overview of its implementation in 20246, in line with Article 7 of STEP Regulation (EU) 
2024/795.  It  presents  qualitative  and  quantitative  information  on  progress  made  towards  STEP’s 
objectives under each of the programmes listed in Article 3, including, where available, support provided 
per  Member  State  and  on  cross-border  projects,  thus  offering  a  consolidated  picture  of  STEP’s  early 
results and contribution to European competitiveness. 

The report also includes: 

•  a breakdown of overall expenditure by programme; 

•  an overview of performance based on relevant programme indicators; 

•  an  analysis  of  the  geographical  and  technological  distribution  of  projects  awarded  the  STEP 

(Sovereignty) Seal; and 

•  an  overview  of  STEP’s  contribution  to  the  Union’s  strategic  objectives  in  ensuring  long-term 

competitiveness. 

The Commission will publish a separate interim evaluation report on STEP pursuant to Article 8 of the 
STEP Regulation in the second half of 2025. 

1.1. STEP: Strengthening Europe’s technological leadership 

STEP was launched to strengthen the EU’s industrial competitiveness, reduce strategic dependencies, and 
support the development and manufacturing of critical technologies. Rather than creating a standalone 
fund, STEP operates in a novel approach by coordinating 11 existing EU programmes, enabling 
faster and more targeted deployment of financial resources across digital and deep technologies, clean 
and  resource-efficient  technologies,  biotechnologies,  and  the  skills  needed  for  the  green  and  digital 
transitions. 

STEP  introduces  a  more  integrated  and  flexible  investment  framework  by  combining  stronger 
coordination with Member States, enhanced incentives for Member States to redirect EU funding, and 
simplified and user-centric access to funding opportunities via the STEP Portal and the STEP Seal — a 
quality label to boost visibility and funding potential for high-potential projects. 

1.2. A coordinated approach: 4 Key tools driving STEP’s 

implementation 

The implementation of the STEP Regulation builds on 4 operational tools, around which the Annual Report 
is structured: 

1.  A new organisation: a network of national contact points (NCPs) and a dedicated team 
within the Commission to facilitate the implementation of STEP across 11 EU programmes 
in a consistent manner, in support to Member States. 

6 The cut-off date for the data presented is understood to apply up until the 31 December 2024. Calls launched in 2024 that 
closed in 2025 are therefore not considered in the total amounts in this Annual Report. 

5 

 
 
2.  Steering EU funding: directing existing EU funds towards STEP sectors and objectives. 

3.  STEP  Seal:  a  new  quality  label  awarded  by  the  Commission  to  quality  projects  above 
evaluation thresholds, increasing their chances of securing funding from STEP programmes. 

4.  STEP Portal: an online platform launched by the Commission and providing a clearer, more 

accessible entry point for project promoters, investors, and public authorities. 

FIGURE 1: Overview of the 4 operational tools 

Source: European Commission. 

1.3. Funding scale and strategic focus 

STEP’s innovative approach steers EU funding across 11 existing EU programmes (see Figure 2 
below):  

•  5 funding programmes managed by the Commission for the internal market (Horizon Europe, the 

Innovation Fund, the European Defence Fund, Digital Europe, and EU4Health);  

•  5 funds supported through national envelopes funded by the EU (e.g., the European Regional 
Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund (JTF), the European Social 
Fund Plus (ESF+), and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)); 

•  1  instrument  (InvestEU)  implemented  with  the  Commission’s  partners  (e.g.,  the  European 

Investment Bank (EIB)).  

6 

 
 
 
 
FIGURE 2: Overview of the 11 STEP programmes

Source: European Commission. 

1. TOOL 1: A new organisation to implement STEP 

1.1. The STEP Taskforce 

Following the Commission proposal from June 20237 to establish STEP, a dedicated STEP Taskforce was 
created  and  staffed  with  resources  re-allocated  from  the  Commission  services  involved  in  the 
programmes under STEP’s remit. 

The STEP Task Force’s main objectives are: 

•  Facilitating and coordinating the implementation of STEP; and 

•  Contributing to the preparation of the future Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) as regards 

competitiveness. 

The  implementation  of  STEP  across  programmes  operating  under  different  rules,  timelines  and  legal 
basis, and across Member States, was a particular operational challenge requiring large coordination 
and clarification efforts. 

1.2. STEP networks 

1.2.1.  The STEP network in the European Commission 

In line with the cross-cutting nature of STEP, the STEP Task Force established an internal network of 
European Commission’s Directorates-General (DGs), comprising of 14 services8 that are involved 

7 COM(2023) 335 final: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52023PC0335  

8 The members of this network are DG BUDG, DG CLIMA, DG CNECT, DG COMP, DG DEFIS, DG ECFIN, DG EMPL, DG GROW, HERA, 
DG REGIO, DG RTD, DG SANTE, SG RECOVER, and SG. 

7 

 
 
 
in or responsible for the implementation of the EU funding programmes under STEP. This network met 7 
times in 2024 and had regular interactions throughout the year. 

1.2.2.  The network of STEP National Contact Points 

Pursuant  to  Article  6  of  the  STEP  Regulation,  all  Member  States  except  for  Czechia9  and  Ireland 
appointed their respective STEP National Contact Point (NCP) in 2024. This group of nationally-
appointed public institutions form the network of STEP NCPs is chaired by DG BUDG Director for Revenue 
and Multiannual Financial Framework. Over the course of 2024, the NCP network met 4 times online and 
in-person. Members shared their experience, while the Commission provided clarity on the STEP objectives 
and regularly shared the STEP Seals awarded to projects to Member States representatives.  

The Commission developed reference documents to facilitate the implementation of STEP in Member 
States, such as:  

•  Guidance Note on the implementation of STEP Regulation;  

•  Brochure for STEP National Contact Points and Managing Authorities;  

•  Notice  on  the  modification  of  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  to  allocate  resources  to  STEP 

objectives;  

•  Guidelines on regional state aid; 

•  Regional Aid maps; 

•  Overview of Cohesion Policy programmes amendments adopted by the Commission. 

Moreover, in 2024, the STEP Task Force conducted missions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and 
Romania, where it met with public authorities, industry associations, SMEs and startups, and financial 
intermediaries to raise awareness about STEP and promote STEP incentives and benefits to managing 
authorities and other potential stakeholders in those countries. 

The STEP Regulation establishes the network of STEP NCPs among EU Member States. The STEP 
Taskforce  also  engaged  with  third  countries  associated  to  programmes  underpinning  STEP  (such  as 
Horizon Europe), including countries of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA).  

1.3. Raising awareness about STEP: a direct line with 

research and industry stakeholders 

With the aim of identifying the needs from potential beneficiaries of EU funding, the STEP Task Force 
held extensive consultations with research and industry stakeholders throughout 2024.  

Relying  on  existing  networks  and  channels  managed  in  particular  by  DG  GROW10  (e.g.,  the  Industrial 
Forum,  Enterprise  Europe  Network,  the  European  Cluster  Collaboration  Platform)  and  sectorial 
representative organisations listed in the EU Transparency Register, the STEP Task Force met mostly with 
industry stakeholders but also with public institutions such as EU Regional offices, the Knowledge and 
Innovation Communities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technologies, network of Regions, 

9 On 6th February 2025, Czechia appointed a STEP National Contact Point . 

10 Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs 

8 

 
 
investors  and other actors. Roughly half of the stakeholders met by the Task Force in 2024 are active in 
more than one STEP sector but with a strong representation from the clean tech sector. 

The STEP Task Force engaged with EU-wide entities or events (e.g., EuroChambres, representing all EU 
Chambers of Commerce, the Hannover Messe11, meeting with SME envoys from Member States and the 
SME Assembly organised by the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union) as well as 
specific Member States. These are the key elements of feedback received on access to EU funding: 

•  Regulatory and structural issues (high energy and labour costs, state aid level playing field, 

articulation between EU and national funding /investment support); 

•  Challenges in navigating and accessing EU funding; 

•  Gaps  in  funding  across  the  innovation  cycle  (lack  of  support  for  higher  TRLs,  no  focus  on 

marketability of supported research); 

•  Need for a longer-term approach (MFF time-horizon too short for industry long-term stability); 

•  EU vs international attractiveness for industry. 

2. TOOL 2: Aligning EU funding for strategic 

technologies 

2.1. Clarifying the scope and objectives of STEP 

Pursuant to Article 2(7) of the STEP Regulation, the co-legislators mandated the Commission to issue 
guidance on certain provisions of STEP. In response, the Commission adopted on 13 May a Communication 
in  the  form  of  a  Guidance  Note12,  providing  practical  direction  to  ensure  consistent  and  effective 
implementation across funding programmes. 

The Guidance Note serves three purposes: 

•  Clarifying the STEP objectives: It outlines the objectives underpinning the STEP Regulation 

(Article 2), clarifying key concepts such as value chains and associated services. 

• 

Illustrating  the  supported  sectors:  It  expands  on  the  three  sectors  prioritised  by  STEP  – 
digital/deep  technologies,  clean  and  resource-efficient  technologies,  biotechnologies,  and 
relevant skills; accompanied by an indicative and non-exhaustive list of technologies that could 
be supported. 

•  Expanding  on  the  conditions  for  considering  critical  technologies:  It  explains  the 
conditions  technologies  must  meet  to  be  considered  critical,  focusing  on  Union  and  internal 
market dimensions. 

11 The Hannover Messe is one of the world’s largest industrial trade fairs, held annually in Germany, showcasing innovations in 
automation, energy, digitalisation, and advanced manufacturing technologies. 

12 Commission Communication C/2024/3209, Guidance Note concerning certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 
establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), 2024, available at: https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3209/oj  

9 

 
 
The Guidance Note addresses the first STEP condition on innovativeness. It explains that STEP support 
should focus on breakthrough innovation, and that critical technologies should demonstrate at least two 
of the three innovative, emerging, and/or cutting-edge elements. In addition, a critical technology should 
demonstrate significant economic potential, carrying the highest spillover effects in other Member States, 
which can increase the economic potential in the internal market. Fundamental research and deployment 
are also not targeted by STEP, whose focus is on development and manufacturing. 

It  also  addresses  the  second  STEP  condition  on  reducing  or  preventing  the  Union’s  strategic 
dependencies.  It  explains  that  such  dependencies  may  be  recognised  in  EU  strategic  documents  or 
identified when reliance on third-country suppliers is significant. It further outlines five assessment factors 
to guide funding authorities in determining a technology’s contribution to reducing or preventing strategic 
dependencies. 

The Guidance Note has played an important role in supporting Commission services, STEP NCPs, and 
managing authorities in ensuring a consistent implementation of across the 11 STEP programmes 
– some directly managed by the Commission, others in shared management between the Commission 
and the Member States. This consistency guaranteed that quality projects were prioritised and that critical 
technologies received the necessary support. 

STEP  is  embedded  within  existing  EU  programmes,  each  implemented  under  its  own  legal  basis  and 
broader  objectives.  Among  these,  only  the  European  Defence  Fund  received  a  dedicated  budgetary 
reinforcement under STEP. 

2.2. Programmes under direct management  

The Commission allocates EU funds through the STEP programmes it directly manages to support STEP 
objectives across the Union and internal market – despite STEP being adopted half-way through 
the MFF period and each programme pursuing a number of policy objectives beyond those of STEP. 

FIGURE 3: Sectoral breakdown of the resources earmarked for STEP in 2024 (in %) 

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

10 

 
 
In  2024,  calls  for  proposal  were  closed13  under  all  the  five  STEP-relevant  programmes  in 
direct management across the three STEP sectors: the Innovation Fund14, Horizon Europe, the Digital 
Europe Programme (DEP), EU4Health, and the European Defence Fund (EDF) - with a EUR 1.5bn budgetary 
reinforcement for STEP actions for the EDF specifically. 

In  total,  the  initial  budget  earmarked  amounted  to  EUR  4.6  billion  in  support  of  STEP-relevant 
technologies  in  202415,  the  large  majority  of  which  was  provided  to  clean  and  resource-efficient 
technologies  under  the  Innovation  Fund.  As  of  2024,  one  call  for  proposals  specifically  targeted  the 
development  of  skills  and  competencies  in  the  STEP-relevant  sectors:  the  “Specialised  Education 
Programmes in Key Capacity Areas” under DEP. Additionally, two EDF topics aimed to develop defence 
products that help address the shortage of labour and skills critical to the targeted technologies. 

Furthermore, under Horizon Europe, the European Innovation Council (EIC) launched in November 2024 a 
first-ever, dedicated STEP Scale-Up call with a budget of EUR 300 million in 2025 (supporting with up to 
EUR 30 million per project) with the a projected growth to EUR 900 million over the period 2025-2027 
(including the 2025 budget); as well as five calls addressing STEP-relevant challenges with a total budget 
of  EUR  250  million.  STEP  Seals  will  be  awarded  under  both  the  STEP  Scale-Up  call,  and  the  calls 
addressing  STEP-relevant  challenges  to  projects  passing  evaluation  thresholds.  However,  this  is  not 
considered for the total funding amounts for 2024 accounted for in this annual report, since the calls for 
proposals did not close in that year. 

13 The scope of the 2024 annual report of STEP covers exclusively the STEP-relevant calls for proposals whose deadline for 
submissions was before 31/12/2024. 

14 The Innovation Fund is funded by the revenues of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) 

15 Calls launched in 2024 with closings in 2025 are therefore not considered in this Annual Report 

11 

 
 
 
 
TABLE 1: Summary of the 2024 STEP-relevant calls for proposal in the three STEP 
sectors across the STEP-relevant programmes in direct management (in EUR million) 

Sector 

Programme 

Topic of the call for proposal 

General decarbonisation - 
Large-Scale Projects 

General decarbonisation - 
Medium-Scale Projects 

Innovation 
Fund 

General decarbonisation - 
Small-Scale Projects 

Budget 
(in EUR m) 

Open 

Close 

€1 700 

Nov '23 

Apr '24 

€500 

Nov '23 

Apr '24 

€200 

Nov '23 

Apr '24 

Clean and 
resource-
efficient  
technologies 

Total 
Cleantech 

Digital 
technologies 

Clean-tech manufacturing 

€1 400 

Nov '23 

Apr '24 

Pilot projects 

€200 

Nov '23 

Apr '24 

European 
Defence 
Fund 

Energy-independent and 
energy-efficient systems for 
military camps 

€40 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

€4 040 

Horizon 
Europe 

Digital 
Europe 
Programme 

European 
Defence 
Fund 

Quantum Space Gravimetry 
Phase-B study & Technology 
Maturation 
Space technologies for 
European non-dependence and 
competitiveness 
Making available a high 
performing open-source 
European foundation model for 
fine-tuning 
Reference deployments of 
European cloud-edge services 
(industrial IoT Edge and Telco 
Edge developments) 
Specialised Education 
Programmes in Key Capacity 
Areas 
Unmanned collaborative 
combat aircraft (U-CCA) 
systems 
Secured and adaptive 
underwater communications for 
UUSs  

Methods for bridging reality 
gaps  

€14 

Nov '23 

Apr '24 

€20 

Nov '23 

Apr '24 

€25 

Feb '24  May '24 

€30 

Feb '24  May '24 

€55 

Jul '24 

Nov '24 

€15 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

€24 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

€15 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

Electronic components  

€25 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

Quantum technologies 

€24 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

AI-based multifunctional 
aperture and transceiver 

€45 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
Defence multi-dimensional 
communication standard  

€25 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

Small enhanced European UAS 

€11 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

Next-Generation Cooperative 
Cyber Range 

Secure waveform for satellite 
communications 

Multipurpose unmanned ground 
systems 

Simulation and training for 
medical emergencies 

The European Vaccines 
Development Hub (EVH) 

Call for proposals to support the 
development of novel antivirals 

Call for proposals to support 
innovative manufacturing 
technologies and processes in 
the Union for medicines 
production 
Defence medical 
countermeasures Alliance – 
Research actions 
Defence medical 
countermeasures Alliance – 
Development actions 

Total digital 
tech 

Biotechnologies 

EU4Health 

European 
Defence 
Fund 

Total biotech 

General 
total 

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

€48 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

€25 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

€50 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

€10 

Jun '24 

Nov '24 

461 

€102  May '24 

Sep '24 

€10  May '24 

Sep '24 

€17  May '24 

Sep '24 

€15 

€10 

€154 

€4 655 

By the end of 202416, applications to the topics of the European Defence Fund and of Digital Europe17 
had  not  yet  been  evaluated.  All  other  topics  have  been  evaluated,  resulting  in  EUR  4.9  billion18 of 
awarded funding. 

16 The 2024 Annual Report covers the calls for proposals closed by 31-12-2024, regardless of whether the results were 
announced by year-end. 

17 By March 2025, the evaluation was concluded under the three topics of the Digital Europe Programme and 17 STEP Seals 
were awarded. They will be reported in the Annual Report 2025. 

18 This amount corresponds to the total amount awarded to the projects selected for funding under the Innovation Fund, Horizon 
Europe and EU4Health. It may be adjusted upon the signing of the Grant Agreements, which could modify individual 
contributions and can’t be reconciled with the EUR 4.6bn of the introductory paragraph which refers to budget allocated (vs. 
funding awarded) under the STEP-calls closed in 2024 under all five directly managed programmes in the STEP remit.  

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The following sections provide a detailed breakdown of STEP’s impact across the three STEP technology 
sectors  and  including  in  EU  Member  States  and  regions.  The  regional  analysis  follows  the  NUTS2 
statistical classification (NUTS 2024, Eurostat). 

2.2.1.  Driving clean innovation 

The transition to clean and resource-efficient technologies is at the heart of Europe's industrial and 
climate strategy, underpinning the EU’s efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 under the European 
Green Deal. It was more recently reflected in the EU Clean Industrial Deal19. 

The STEP Regulation recognised this sector as a strategic priority, aligning with the Net-Zero Industry Act 
(NZIA)20, which aims to scale up the manufacturing of key clean technologies within Europe to ensure 
technological sovereignty and reduce reliance on external suppliers. In other words, investments in these 
technologies  are  critical  not  only  for  reducing  emissions  but  also  for  strengthening  industrial 
competitiveness and securing the EU’s energy independence. 

Clean  and  resource  efficient  technologies  include  a  broad  spectrum  of  innovations,  from  renewable 
technologies to sustainable fuels, carbon capture, and decarbonisation technologies21. 

The Innovation Fund, funded by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), has been by far the largest 
contributor to STEP objectives among the programmes directly managed by the Commission. The first 
STEP-aligned call under the Innovation Fund closed in April 2024. It earmarked a significant EUR 4 billion 
budget to support clean technology advancements.  

Structured into five topics based on capital expenditure (CAPEX) requirements and technological focus, 
the calls covered areas such as general decarbonisation, cleantech manufacturing, and pilots. As with all 
Innovation Fund calls, projects were evaluated based on greenhouse gas reduction potential, innovation 
level, maturity, replicability, and cost efficiency — ensuring a rigorous selection process.  

Substantial financial support was allocated to projects selected for funding under these calls. In total, 85 
projects were pre-selected for an overall awarded financial support of EUR 4.8 billion22, with 
grants covering up to 60% of both capital and operating expenditures included in the funding gap of the 
projects, thus leaving sufficient room for other financial resources to cover the non-funded portion of the 
eligible  costs.  Among  these  projects  we  can  find  the  development  of  a  first-of-a-kind  technology  to 
produce chemicals and building block materials from biomass waste (L1X) in Slovakia, the first large-
scale underground tank thermal energy storage of 20 megawatts (ScaleUp) in Austria and a permanent 
underground storage of carbon dioxide (Greensand Future) in Denmark23. 

19 Commission Communication COM/2025/85, The Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and 
decarbonisation, 2025, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025DC0085  

20 Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on establishing a framework of 
measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology manufacturing ecosystem and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724, 
available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1735/oj  

21 A detailed but non-exhaustive list of technologies covered by the STEP Regulation is available in the Commission 
Communication C/2024/3248, Guidance Note concerning certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 establishing the 
Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), 2024, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3209/oj  

22 These figures capture a snapshot of the results of the relevant call(s) for proposal. The subsequent signature of the grant 
agreements between the project promoters and the Commission may result in adjustments to both the number of projects that 
are awarded a grant and to the individual contributions. 

23 More details on a selected number of awarded projects are available at: https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/step-
documents_en  

14 

 
 
Three  cross-border,  multi-beneficiary  initiatives  were  also  awarded  funding  for  a  total  of  EUR  150.6 
million.  One  such  example  is  Energy  Observer  2,  a  project  taking  place  between  France  and  the 
Netherlands envisaging the development, construction, and operation of the world’s first liquid hydrogen 
cargo ship. 

FIGURE 4: Geographical split of the grants awarded in the clean-tech sector in 2024 
by STEP relevant EU funding programmes 

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

Entities established in Germany and Belgium were by far the largest recipients of STEP-related grants in 
this sector, receiving EUR 661 million and EUR 604 million, respectively. They were followed by France 
(EUR 530 million), Spain (EUR 480 million), and Denmark (EUR 417 million).24 

2.2.2.  Accelerating digital and deep-tech innovations  

Digital and deep technologies play a crucial role in advancing Europe's technological sovereignty and 
digital  resilience.  This  sector  encompasses  a  broad  spectrum  of  cutting-edge  innovations,  including 
advanced computing, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, microelectronics, and quantum 
technologies25 — all of which are fundamental to the EU’s Digital Decade Policy Programme 203026, 
which aims to enhance Europe's digital infrastructure, skills, and technological leadership. 

24 Under the Innovation Fund STEP Seals, for multi-beneficiary projects located in more than one region, the amount of financial 
contribution awarded to the specific region/Member State is calculated by splitting the total contribution to the project equally 
among its locations. 

25 A detailed but non-exhaustive list of technologies covered by the STEP Regulation is available in the Commission 
Communication C/2024/3209, Guidance Note concerning certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 establishing the 
Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), 2024, available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3209/oj  

26 DECISION (EU) 2022/2481 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 14 December 2022 establishing the 
Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 

15 

 
 
 
Recognising  the  strategic  importance  of  these  technologies,  STEP’s  support  in  2024  was  channelled 
through two topics under Horizon Europe, three topics under the Digital Europe programme, and twelve 
topics under the European Defence Fund. In total, a budget of EUR 461 million was earmarked for 
STEP-relevant actions in the digital technologies sector in 2024.  

By the end of 2024, six projects were selected for funding under the above-mentioned calls of Horizon 
Europe27, being awarded a grant covering 100% of their eligible costs. The evaluation of the submissions 
to the Digital Europe programme and the European Defence Fund is still in progress.  

In total, EUR 18.2 million was allocated to these projects under the STEP-labelled topics within Horizon 
Europe Pillar II, Cluster 4 ("Digital, Industry, and Space"). All these projects were promoted by cross-country 
consortia established across EU Member States – with Norway and Iceland also eligible. 

FIGURE 5: Geographical split of the grants awarded in the digital tech sector in 
2024 by STEP relevant EU funding programmes 

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

At the national level, entities from France and Germany emerged as the top recipients of STEP-related 
grants in this area, receiving EUR 9.6 million and EUR 4.4 million, respectively. They were followed by 
Spain (EUR 1.5 million) and Belgium (EUR 0.8 million)28. 

Examples of projects include PUMA, a collaboration between French, German and Italian promoters which 
addresses  EU  strategic  dependencies  in  the  field  of  micro-electronics  for  space  applications  and 

27 By the end of 2024, the 6 projects were selected for funding under the topic “Space technologies for European non-dependence 
and competitiveness”. The award of a grant for the project selected under the second topic was postponed due to withdrawal of 
one major partner in the consortium. Grant signature for the project selected under this second topic/call is expected in Q2 2025. 

28 For projects located in more than one location, the amount of financial contribution awarded to the specific Region/Member 
State is calculated on the basis of the financial contribution awarded to the entity or entities established there. 

16 

 
 
 
SPACELINK,  where  entities  from  Greece,  Germany,  France  and  Belgium  will  collaboratively  develop 
components for space-grade optical communications29. 

2.2.3.  Empowering biotechnologies  

Biotechnologies play a crucial role in advancing medical innovation, strengthening health resilience, and 
fostering Europe’s strategic autonomy in critical medical supplies. This sector spans a broad spectrum of 
cutting-edge fields, including genomics and pharmacogenomics, DNA synthesis, cell and tissue 
engineering, bioinformatics, and nano-biotechnologies. STEP’s focus on biotechnologies aims to 
accelerate innovation, ensure supply security, and reinforce Europe’s competitiveness in life sciences. 

STEP’s support for biotechnologies materialised in 2024 through three dedicated STEP-relevant topics 
under  the  EU4Health  programme  and  two  under  the  European  Defence  Fund.  These  topics 
earmarked a budget of more than EUR 150 million to support projects focused on antiviral development, 
vaccine  production,  the  manufacturing  of  essential  medicines  as  well  as  to  defence  medical 
countermeasures.  These  investments  aim  to  enhance  Europe’s  preparedness  for  future  health  crises, 
reduce dependence on external suppliers, and drive the next generation of biomedical breakthroughs. 

By  the  end  of  2024,  only  the  submissions  to  the  EU4Health  topics  were  evaluated  and  the  results 
communicated with a total of around EUR 130 million awarded under the STEP-relevant calls. Seven 
projects  were  awarded  a  grant,  covering  between  60%  and  80%  of  their  eligible  costs.  Four  of  the 
supported projects are multi-beneficiary initiatives with three carried out by cross-country consortia – 
entities from associated third countries30 are also eligible. These include the development, in Portugal, of 
a continuous pharmaceutical spray-drying process that will enhance efficiency, scalability and flexibility 
of  pharmaceutical  manufacturing  in  the  EU  (PharmSD  3.0)  and  a  platform  for  AI  and  robotic  driven 
pharmaceutical manufacturing in collaboration between entities established in Finland, Sweden, France, 
Estonia and Germany (RoboPharma)31.  

29 More details on a selected number of awarded projects are available at: https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/step-
documents_en  

30 See List of Participating countries in EU4Health Programme  

31 More details on a selected number of awarded projects are available at: https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/step-
documents_en  

17 

 
 
 
 
FIGURE 6: Geographical split of the grants awarded in the biotechnologies sector in 
2024 by STEP relevant EU funding programmes 

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

Entities from Germany and Italy emerged as the top beneficiaries, receiving EUR 47 million and EUR 34 
million, respectively. France followed, securing EUR 19 million in grants32. 

2.3. Cohesion policy funds  

Cohesion policy proved to be one of the main contributors to achieving STEP objectives and 
strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of the European economy.  The main flexibilities and 
incentives  introduced  by  STEP  for  cohesion  policy  included  the  possibility  to  finance  productive 
investments  in  enterprises  other  than  SMEs  under  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund’s  STEP 
dedicated priorities, higher co-financing rates of up to 100% at the level of the STEP-dedicated 
priority and 30% of the allocation to STEP priorities paid by the EU budget as a one-off 30% 
pre-financing. 

To cater to strong interest by Member States, in April 2024, shortly after the entry into force of the STEP 
Regulation, the European Commission organised a technical seminar33, mainly intended for managing 
authorities of cohesion policy funds, to clarify how STEP should be implemented under the cohesion policy 
programmes and to provide guidance on the scope of STEP.  

The Commission received the first wave of submissions of programme amendment requests by 
31 August 2024, allocating funds to STEP investments ahead of the mid-term review of the cohesion 

32 For projects located in more than one location, the amount of financial contribution awarded to the specific Region/Member 
State is calculated on the basis of the financial contribution awarded to the entity or entities established there. 

33 Inforegio - 2021-2027 Technical seminars, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/2021-2027/technical-
seminars/step_en 

18 

 
 
 
policy funds. Since then, additional informal consultations are taking place with a number of Member 
States, several resulting in formal requests for programme amendments.  

As of the end of December 2024, 41 STEP amendments were submitted by 6 Member States for 
Commission approval, amounting to EUR 6.4 billion of cohesion policy funds. Additional amendments 
are expected throughout 2025. 

The split is as follows: 

•  EUR 4.8 billion under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 

•  EUR 838 million under the European Social Fund + (ESF+) 

•  EUR 764 million Just Transition Fund (JTF) 

19 

 
 
 
2.3.1.  Analysis of the use of STEP in cohesion policy  

As of 31 December 2024, 29 STEP amendments totalling almost EUR 5.9 billion were approved by the 
European Commission in six Member States (see table 2 and figure 7 below).  

TABLE 2: Overview of funding allocations in 2024 (in EUR million) 

MS 

Title 

ERDF 
(m EUR) 

JTF 
(m EUR) 

ESF+ 
(m EUR) 

Total 
(m EUR) 

Multi Funds Programme ERDF/JTF North Rhine-
Westphalia 2021-2027 

200.20 

301.60 

Programme ERDF 2021-2027 Baden-Württemberg 

62.22 

Green Technologies and Skills for a Just Transition 

52.30 

Programme Catalonia ERDF 2021-2027 

Programme ERDF 2021-2027 Bavaria 

Programme ERDF 2021-2027 Schleswig-Holstein 

RP Lazio ERDF 2021-2027 

Sicilia ERDF 2021-2027 

RP Sardegna ERDF 2021-2027 

Programme Cantabria ERDF 2021-2027 

RP Lombardia ERDF 2021-2027 

Programme Hauts de France ERDF-ESF+-JTF 2021-
2027 

IT 

RP Campania ERDF 2021-2027 

Programme ERDF 2021-2027 Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern 

Programme Community of Madrid ERDF 2021-2027 

RP Calabria ERDF ESF+ 2021-2027 

RP Puglia ERDF ESF+ 2021-2027 

Programme Aragon ERDF 2021-2027 

Health 

RP Emilia-Romagna ERDF 2021-2027 

NP Research, innovation and competitiveness for green 
and digital transition 2021-2027 

RP Umbria ERDF 2021-2027 

Smart growth, digitalization and financial instruments 

113.51 

104.54 

47.00 

109.04 

615.20 

166.01 

15.53 

120.00 

581.14 

138.69 

72.67 

264.45 

471.53 

23.44 

351.77 

61.46 

558.46 

31.42 

271.01 

DE 

DE 

DK 

ES 

DE 

DE 

IT 

IT 

IT 

ES 

IT 

FR 

DE 

ES 

IT 

IT 

ES 

RO 

IT 

IT 

IT 

RO 

RO 

FR 

DE 

ES 

501.8 

62.2 

52.3 

113.5 

104.5 

47.0 

109.0 

615.2 

166.0 

15.5 

120.0 

34.87 

34.9 

581.1 

138.7 

72.7 

264.5 

471.5 

23.4 

466.2 

61.5 

558.5 

31.4 

271.0 

266.3 

47.7 

36.9 

3.2 

63.8 

114.44 

12.48 

36.92 

3.17 

63.82 

Just Transition 

266.33 

Programme régional Île-de-France et bassin de la Seine 
ERDF-ESF+ 2021-2027 

35.19 

Bayern - ESF+ 

Cantabria - ESF+ 

ES  Madrid - ESF+ 

RO 

Education and Employment – RO – ESF+ 

572.63 

572.6 

Total  29 

Source: Member States’ reporting. 

4 414.5 

620.2 

838.3 

5 873.0 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FIGURE 7: Total STEP allocations in adopted programmes in 2024 (in EUR million) 

Source: Member States’ reporting. 

21 

 
 
 
Geographical distribution of the STEP investments 

The  majority  of  STEP-relevant  investments  were  proposed  by  the  regional  programmes  in  France, 
Germany, Italy and Spain (see figure  below) - representing 23 out of the 29 adopted programmes, with 
STEP allocations worth EUR 3.7 billion (EUR 3.23 billion ERDF, EUR 151 million ESF+ and EUR 302 million 
JTF).  The  remaining  six  national  programmes  featured  amendments  worth  EUR 2.2 billion 
(EUR 1.18 billion ERDF, EUR 687 million ESF+ and EUR 319 million JTF).  

FIGURE 8: Geographical location of adopted programme in 2024 

Source: Member States’ reporting. 

22 

 
 
 
 
FIGURE 9: Financial volume of STEP amendments per Member State in 2024 
(submitted vs. adopted, descending by amount)34 (in EUR million) 

Source: Member States’ reporting. 

Concerning the ERDF and ESF+, more than two thirds of the STEP allocations were re-programmed under 
the less developed regions35. 

34 Only for programmes with dedicated priorities or known amounts dedicated to STEP based on intervention fields allocations. 

35 “Less developed regions”, according to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 are the regions of EU Member States whose Gross 
Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is less than 75% of the average GDP of the 27 EU Member States. 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
FIGURE 10: Financial volumes of STEP allocations under ERDF and ESF+ per category 
of region in 2024 (in EUR million) 

Source: Member States’ reporting. 

Sectoral distribution of STEP investments 

Cohesion policy, under the 2021-2027 programming period, aims to support a smarter, greener, more 
connected, more social and inclusive Europe closer to citizens. Under these main policy objectives, there 
are more detailed specific objectives (see Open Data Portal for the European Structural Investment Funds 
- European Commission | Cohesion Open Data). The STEP Regulation introduced two new specific 
objectives  under  the  ERDF  and  the  Cohesion  Fund  (CF),  to  support  investments  aiming  at 
strengthening industrial development and reinforcement of value chains in strategic sectors.  

More than 60% of the STEP investments under Cohesion Policy Funds will be implemented under the 
new specific objective under the ‘Smarter Europe’ policy objective, followed by around 15% for 
clean technologies in policy objective ‘Greener Europe’. ESF+ will support skills via lifelong learning 
and employment measures with 14% of STEP investments under policy objective ‘Social Europe’. Finally, 
10% of the STEP investments will be made in the just transition regions under the JTF specific objective 
(see figure 11). 

24 

 
 
 
 
FIGURE 11: Financial volume of STEP amendments by policy objective and specific 
objective in 2024* (in EUR million)  

Source: Member States’ reporting. 
*only for programmes with dedicated priorities 

Productive investments represent around 60% of the planned amounts under STEP. Investments in skills 
development and in research and innovation account for 15% of the allocation. Around 10% will support 
other activities, such as technology transfer, support to business incubation, spin-offs and start-ups, as 
well as services linked to low-carbon-economy and resilience to climate change (see figure 12).  

25 

 
 
 
 
FIGURE 12: Financial volume of STEP amendments by sector in 2024* (in EUR 
million) 

Source: Member States’ reporting. 
*(only for programmes with dedicated priorities or known amounts dedicated to STEP) 

Zooming into the split of the productive investments per STEP sector, the investments are rather equally 
split (see figure 13). Most of the allocation was attributed to productive investments in enterprises other 
than SMEs, using the possibility to finance such enterprises under the ERDF for STEP-related projects. 

26 

 
 
 
 
FIGURE 13: Productive investments by type of enterprise and STEP-sector in 2024* 
priorities (in EUR million) 

Source: Member States’ reporting.  
*(only for programmes with dedicated priorities or known amounts dedicated to STEP) 

Main expected achievements of the STEP investments 

Based on the main output and result indicators that the Member States have selected in the amended 
programmes, and in line with the STEP objectives, it can be inferred that the cohesion policy resources 
will co-finance STEP-relevant strategic technologies in many enterprises. Investments in approximately 
7,200 enterprises in total are expected across 23 of the adopted programmes, 2,900 out of them in the 
digital technologies sector, 3,000 in the clean sector and almost 570 in the biotech sector. The planned 
investments are expected to create 9,800 jobs in the supported entities. 

27 

 
 
 
 
2.3.2.  Calls for proposals under cohesion policy programmes 

Following the approval of the first STEP programme amendments, Denmark and Germany reported four 
STEP calls36 by the end of 2024 amounting to EUR 244 million37.  

Table 3: Overview of cohesion policy programmes in 2024 

MS 

Programme Title 

DK 

Green Technologies and Skills for a Just 
Transition 

Programme ERDF 2021-2027 Bavaria 

DE 

Programme ERDF 2021-2027 Schleswig-Holstein 

Multi Funds Programme ERDF/JTF North Rhine-
Westphalia 2021-2027 

Total 

Source: Member States’ reporting. 

2.3.3.  Selected projects 

Total amount 
in million EUR 

Status on 
31/12/2024 

45.5  Completed 

Ongoing (deadline 
31/01/2025) 
Ongoing (deadline 
31/08/2025) 
Ongoing (deadline 
03/02/2025) 

47.0 

11.4 

140.0 

243.9 

Four Member States (Denmark, France, Germany, and Italy) have already selected projects under STEP, 
including: 

In Denmark, following the Danish call ‘Development of value chains within Power-to-X', aiming to reduce 
CO2 emissions in hard-to-transition sectors, establishing a competitive Danish market for green hydrogen 
and PtX solutions (budget of EUR 13 million), four projects were selected. These include HYFLEX (Flexible 
Hydrogen Storage for Power-to-X and Grid Optimization), aiming to establish a hydrogen storage and 
associated  hydrogen  compressors  with  a  storage  capacity  of  10  tons  (500  MWh)  and  optimize  the 
operation of the PtX plant by demonstrating a higher degree of utilization of the power production from 
Solar Park Kassø, as well as ensuring an optimal balancing of the plant in relation to the public electricity 
grid. See the list of selected operations here. 

In Île-de-France (France), a financial instrument was established by the managing authority to support 
industrial start-ups and innovative SMEs with high economic potential, in the clean tech sector, in their 
pre-industrialization and expansion phase. See the list of selected operations here. 

Regarding Baden-Württemberg (Germany), four projects were selected by the managing authority, 
including  one  on  the  establishment  of  a  micro-production  and  verification  infrastructure  for  the 
development  of  “compact  quantum  systems”  (total  cost  EUR  5  million,  EUR  3  million  from  ERDF).  A 
technology cluster for the production and verification of quantum systems is being established at the 
Institute of Quantum Technologies of the German Aerospace Center. The project will develop compact 
quantum systems for space applications. The goal is to transfer quantum systems from research and 
laboratory  operation  to  application,  for  example,  as  sensors  on  satellites.  See  the  list  of  selected 
operations here. 

36 Germany launched further five calls, not entirely STEP dedicated, which might result in STEP projects. 

37 Germany, Italy and Latvia reported further calls at the beginning of 2025. 

28 

 
 
 
 
The Umbria region (Italy) established a financial instrument aiming to support SMEs in investing in the 
development and manufacturing of technologies in the fields of digital, deep and biotech technologies, 
and clean and efficient technologies through a mixed form of support (loan and subsequent grant in the 
form of debt remission). The aim is to support SMEs that find it more difficult to access credit to invest in 
technology innovations in the sectors described above. See the list of selected operations here.  

2.4. The Recovery and Resilience Facility & InvestEU  

As of 31 December 2024, implementation of STEP under the Recovery and Resilience Facility 
(RRF) has been limited. No Member State has amended their Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) to 
add a STEP priority  or  support  a project awarded the STEP Seal. No  Member  State  made  use  of the 
increased flexibility, introduced by Article 19 of the STEP Regulation38, to allocate RRF resources to the 
InvestEU Member State compartment for STEP-relevant investments, allowing to mobilise funding beyond 
the RRF deadline of August 2026. 

As expected, the requirement for Member States to prioritise projects awarded the STEP  Seal 
when revising their RRPs was not yet implemented in 2024 as the first STEP Seals were awarded 
at the very end of the year 2024. 

To facilitate the uptake of STEP, the Commission provided further guidance and support to Member States. 
In July 2024, the Commission amended the RRF Guidance39 to clarify the process for amending RRPs 
to allocate RRF resources toward STEP objectives. The Commission has engaged regularly with STEP 
NCPs and national authorities responsible for RRPs, to disseminate information including regarding 
the list of STEP Seals awarded in their respective countries. 

3. TOOL 3: Enhancing visibility for excellent 

projects - the STEP Seal 

Among the tools introduced by the STEP Regulation to support the development and manufacturing of 
critical technologies, the STEP (Sovereignty) Seal is a quality label introduced under Article 4 of the STEP 
Regulation. It is awarded by the European Commission to recognise quality projects across the 
internal market. It is awarded at the end of the selection process under the five programmes directly 
managed by the Commission and contributing to STEP: the European Defence Fund, Horizon Europe, the 
Digital Europe Programme, the Innovation Fund, and EU4Health. 

3.1. Eligibility criteria  

Pursuant to Article 4(1) of the STEP Regulation, the Commission awards a STEP Seal to any project that 
complies with two conditions:  

38 Article 19 of the STEP Regulation amends the Regulations governing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), allowing 
Member States to direct up to 6% of their RRF funds toward the InvestEU Member State compartment in support of financial 
investments in STEP-related technologies—on top of the pre-existing 4% transfer possibility, bringing the total potential transfer 
to 10%. 

39 Commission Notice C/2024/4618, Guidance on recovery and resilience plans  

29 

 
 
•  Strategic alignment: directly contributes to STEP objectives, as defined in Article 2 of the STEP 

Regulation and further elaborated in the STEP Guidance Note40.  

•  Excellence: complies with minimum quality requirements, in particular eligibility, exclusion and 
award criteria, provided for in the specific call for proposals under which it is being assessed. 

In  practice,  the  Commission  services  design  dedicated  calls  for  proposal  (i.e.,  “calls”)  to 
implement STEP objectives. Proposals submitted to the dedicated calls, which comply with the quality 
requirements after assessment from the Commission services, will receive a STEP Seal. A project may 
receive the STEP Seal even if it does not receive direct funding due to the limited budget of a given call 
for proposal. 

Projects approved under the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) framework 
undergo thorough Commission assessment. While the STEP Seal could help these projects access funding, 
such as cohesion funds, the STEP Regulation does not foresee the award of STEP Seals to IPCEI projects. 

The  STEP  Seal  is  similar  to  the  Seal  of  Excellence,  currently  awarded  to  projects  assessed  under 
programmes, among others, like Horizon Europe and Digital Europe, which did not receive funding due to 
the lack of budget available in a given call. The STEP Regulation grants the STEP Seal the same status as 
to the Seal of Excellence, in facilitating access to cohesion policy funds (see below).  

However, differently from the Seal of Excellence, the STEP Seal is also awarded to (partially or fully) 
funded projects, opening the way to possible combinations of funding. The Seal of Excellence 
concerns a specific range of EU funding actions under Horizon Europe.41 

3.2. The award of the STEP Seal 

The STEP Seal awarding process is designed to be simple and user-friendly. Project promoters do not 
need  a  separate  application;  projects  applying  to  STEP-labelled  calls  under  the  five  eligible 
programmes are automatically assessed for a STEP Seal. The STEP Seal is awarded alongside the call 
results,  with  recipients  receiving  an  online  certificate  and  an  explanatory  brochure  prepared  by  the 
European Commission. 

Awarded projects are published on the STEP Portal in a dedicated dashboard42, in compliance 
with the Financial Regulation43. For calls where the Commission decided to trigger security restrictions 
under  Article  136  of  the  Financial  Regulation  or  related  Articles  in  the  respective  programme  acts, 
concerning strategic assets and interests of the EU, additional conditions may apply. In such cases, an 
ownership control assessment (OCA) may be required, but is performed only if the project is selected for 
funding. For STEP Seal projects under security-restricted calls, which did not receive funding, the linked 
incentives may be unavailable until an OCA is conducted. 

40 Commission Communication C/2024/3209, Guidance Note concerning certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 
establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), 2024, available at https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3209/oj  

41 The Seal of Excellence benefits from GBER exemptions, while the STEP Seal does not. 

42 See https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/investors_en  

43 Article 125 of Regulation 2024/2509 (EU) on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (i.e., the 
Financial Regulation) requires the Commission to publish information on recipients of funds financed by the EU budget. Available 
at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202402509  

30 

 
 
3.3. Benefits of receiving a STEP Seal 

The  STEP  Seal  was  introduced  in  the  STEP  Regulation  to  facilitate  access  to  alternative  or 
complementary funding from EU programmes and private investors, including cohesion policy 
funds, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Modernisation Fund, and InvestEU44. 

The final decision on additional financial support remains with the authorities responsible for managing 
EU  budget  resources  in  the  Member  States,  such  as  those  overseeing  cohesion  policy  funds  and  the 
Recovery and Resilience Facility. 

In 2024, The Commission  STEP Taskforce ensured that  labelled projects  were  published  on the STEP 
Portal45, with the list regularly updated and actively shared with STEP National Contact Points (NCPs). The 
STEP Taskforce also disseminated this information to relevant Commission services supporting Member 
States in the implementation of EU funding, including DG REGIO, DG ECFIN, and SG-REFORM. 

In the first year of STEP’s implementation, initial challenges have emerged regarding the effectiveness 
of the STEP Seal as a funding facilitation tool.  

For  example,  combining  different  funding  sources  can  be  complex  due  to  different 
methodologies  used  by  granting  authorities.  For  instance,  when  reimbursing  project  costs,  the 
Commission frequently employs “simplified cost options”46. These methods reimburse a project’s costs 
based  on  cost  estimations  or  on  the  achievement  of  predefined  project  milestones.  Aligning  these 
approaches with reimbursement systems based on actual incurred costs presents challenges, particularly 
in ensuring compliance with the prohibition against double funding47, which prevents any cost item from 
receiving more than 100% of its funding from the EU budget. 

These will be further explored in the STEP interim evaluation report due in the second half of 2025. 

3.4. State of Play 

The first STEP Seals were awarded in October 2024 – only when the evaluation process for the very first 
STEP-aligned calls was completed. In 2024, a total of 162 STEP Seals were awarded under the five 
call topics of the Innovation Fund 2023 call, the two topics of Horizon Europe – Pillar II Space call for 
proposal and the three topics of EU4Health. The STEP Seals awarded under the Innovation Fund were 
awarded to projects in the area of clean and resource efficient technologies, while the Seals awarded 
under  Horizon  Europe  and  EU4Health  are  respectively  relevant  for  the  digital-  and  bio-technologies 
sectors. 

44 Among the facilitations introduced by the STEP Regulation, managing authorities of the European Regional Development Fund 
(ERDF) and European Social Fund+ (ESF+) can directly fund STEP Seal projects without launching a new call for proposals, 
provided the projects meet programme conditions. Similarly, the STEP Regulation requires Member States to prioritize Seal-
awarded projects when revising their Recovery and Resilience Plans or allocating investments from their Modernisation Fund 
share and to consider them in the procedures related to the selection of investments by the EIB and in the “policy checks” laid 
down in Regulation (EU) 2021/523, i.e. the InvestEU Regulation. 

45 See https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/investors_en 

46 Article 125 of the Financial Regulation provides that Union contributions under direct, shared or indirect management may 
take the form of financing not linked to the costs of the relevant operations based on (i) the fulfilment of conditions set out in 
sector-specific rules or Commission decisions or (ii) the achievement of results measured by reference to previously set 
milestones or through performance indicators. 

47 Article 194 of the Financial Regulation, although allowing for joint financing from separate budget lines, lays down that “in no 
circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the budget”. 

31 

 
 
TABLE 4: Summary of the STEP Seals awarded under the STEP-relevant calls for 
proposal in 2024 

Call Name 

Call Topic Name 

InnovFund-2023-
NZT 

Large Scale 

Medium Scale 

Small Scale 

Pilots 

Cleantech Manufacturing 

Total 

Call Name 

Call Topic Name 

HORIZON-CL4-
2024-SPACE-01 

Quantum Space Gravimetry Phase-B study & Technology 
Maturation 

Space technologies for European non-dependence and 
competitiveness 

Total 

Call name 

Call topic Name 

The European Vaccines Development Hub (EVH) 

Seals 

80 

16 

8 

20 

25 

149 

Seals 

0 

6 

6 

Seals 

1 

Call for proposals to support the development of novel antivirals  1 

EU4H-2024-PJ-01 

Call for proposals to support innovative manufacturing 
technologies and processes in the Union for medicines 
production 

Total 

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

5 

7 

Out of a total of 162 projects awarded the STEP Seal, 98 projects were pre-selected for a grant by the 
call for proposals under which they were assessed. All projects awarded a STEP Seal under Horizon Europe 
and EU4Health and 85 projects awarded the Seal under the Innovation Fund were also invited for grant 
agreement preparation. In most cases, the awarded grants will cover part of the eligible projects cost (e.g., 
max 60% of the funding gap for the Innovation Fund), thus leaving room for potential additional funding. 
The remaining 64 projects positively evaluated under the Innovation Fund did not receive grants due to 
budgetary constraints but were still awarded the STEP Seal for their strong potential and technical merit. 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
FIGURE 14: Breakdown of the number of projects awarded a STEP Seal per funding 
status and per awarding programme.  

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

Based on the topic under which they were assessed, most of the awarded projects aligned with STEP 
objective of supporting the development and/or the manufacturing of critical technologies throughout the 
Union, or safeguarding and strengthening their respective value chains.  

In 2024, no STEP Seal projects specifically addressed labour and skills shortages in the STEP 
sectors. 

In terms of geographical distribution, most of the projects awarded the  STEP Seals were located48 in 
France (29 Seals), Germany (25 Seals), Spain (22 Seals), Italy (19 Seals) and Sweden (14 Seals).  

48 A country is considered to have received a STEP Seal if at least one project with an awarded Seal is partially or fully located 
within its borders, even in the case of multi-location projects. 

33 

 
 
 
 
 
FIGURE 15: Geographical distribution of STEP Seals awarded in 202449 

Source: European Commission services reporting. 

In regional terms, the EU regions that received the highest number of STEP Seals were Cataluña (Spain) 
and Lombardy (Italy) with five STEP Seals each in the clean-tech sector, Île-de-France (France) with four 
for  digital  technologies  and  two  for  biotechnologies,  and  Oberbayern  (Germany)  with  two  for  digital 
technologies and two for biotechnologies. 

49  STEP  Seals  awarded  to  multi-beneficiary  consortia  are  counted  under  each  Member  State  where  a  participating  entity  is 
established. 

34 

 
 
 
4. TOOL 4: Facilitating access to funding with the 

STEP Portal 

4.1. STEP Portal: a one-stop-shop for project applicants, 

public authorities, and investors 

Pursuant to Article 6 of the STEP Regulation, a first version of the STEP portal (Sovereignty Portal) was 
publicly released on 29 April 2024, less than two months after the entry into force of the 
Regulation. It focused on the 5 EU programmes under the scope of STEP which are directly managed by 
the Commission, and displayed information about: 

•  ongoing and upcoming calls for proposals contributing to STEP objectives; 

•  a list of technologies in the scope of STEP; 

• 

• 

• 

compact information on STEP and the underpinning programmes; 

the possibility to send feedback and questions, and subscribe to a STEP Newsletter; 

links to  existing resources (e.g.,  advisory services,  key  Commission initiatives supporting  STEP 
objectives, etc.). 

In response to user feedback, a revamped version of the STEP portal was released in September 
2024. This updated version introduced: 

•  a user-centric structure tailoring content to meet the specific needs of key audiences targeted: 
project  promoters,  Managing  Authorities  of  EU  budget  in  the  Member  States,  and  private 
investors. Dedicated sections were created for each group, ensuring easier access to relevant 
information;  

•  enhanced  visuals  and  infographics,  improving  the  Portal  design  and  strengthening  its  visual 

identity; 

•  a "Get Funding" dashboard, which lists all STEP-related calls for proposals using the data from 
the EU Funding & Tenders portal as backbone, and redirecting project promoters to the latter for 
the actual application to specific calls; 

•  an interactive map of STEP NCPs; 

• 

the dashboard of the STEP Seals, providing detailed insights into projects awarded the STEP 
Seal across the EU; 

•  a map highlighting the Member States/Regions which have unlocked funding opportunities for 

STEP under their Cohesion Policy programmes.  

After being online for 8 months, the STEP portal now serves as an engaging and accessible platform for 
all stakeholders. The STEP  Portal was established as a  comprehensive  one-stop-shop designed to 
present all  funding  opportunities available through EU funding  for strategic  sectors earmarked under 
STEP, without duplicating existing systems as it relies partly on the Funding & Tenders Portal. 

35 

 
4.2. STEP as a pilot single entry point to EU funding 

One of the objectives of the STEP Portal as set in the STEP Regulation was to assess the feasibility of 
providing  information  on  Union  programmes  in  a  single  Union  portal,  to  bring  all  Union  funding 
opportunities closer to potential beneficiaries and enhance their transparency towards Union citizens. 

Guided by a user-centric approach, the STEP Task Force carried out an EU-wide survey on access to 
EU funding from mid-September to end of October 2024 which gathered almost 500 replies from all 
27 Member States. In parallel 30 bilateral interviews with a sample of potential beneficiaries, industry 
associations,  national  contact  points  (of  STEP  and  other  EU  programmes  like  Horizon  Europe),  and 
consulting companies took place.  

The key takeaways were: 

•  Applicants face challenges in finding information on EU funding 

FIGURE 16: Is information on EU funding easy to find? 

Source: EU-wide survey on access to EU funding conducted from mid-September to end of October 2024. 

FIGURE 17: Challenges when looking for funding information (% of users) 

Source: EU-wide survey on access to EU funding conducted from mid-September to end of October 2024. 

36 

 
 
 
•  Both new and experienced users score the easiness to find info on EU funding only 5/10, indicating 
the overall experience to be challenging regardless of the level of experience the user has. 

•  Most  indicated  that  the  struggles  are  related  to  the  awareness  and  identification  phases, 
confirming that the current landscape of EU funding opportunities is too difficult to read and 
navigate through (“I need to scan very often for new information [no useful reminders]”, “I get 
confused on the overall timelines [opening, closing, due date]”, “it’s hard to understand eligible 
funding amounts [what are the eligible costs]”) 

•  Therefore,  users  must  rely  heavily  on  external  support:  they  look  in  particular  for  free 
resources like events & webinars but 33% of users need to rely on paid professional experts or 
consultants for guidance. Identifying EU funding opportunities has thus a cost for stakeholders 
even before they start the application process. 

•  Stakeholders seek a clear and easy EU funding portal. 

•  Official  channels  remain  the  main  source  of  info.  Expectations  are  thus  high  among  the 
stakeholders  for  a  clear,  easy  to  navigate  and  understand  portal  gathering  all  funding 
opportunities stemming from the EU budget. 

•  Unofficial  sources  such  as  events  and  professional  networks  are  heavily  leveraged  for 

additional information and updates. 

One-stop-shop: Forward-looking users’ expectations 

In  2024,  the  STEP  Task  Force  strived  to  provide  a  STEP  Portal  which  would  make  the  life  of  project 
applicants  easier  and  thus  allow  more  researchers/companies  to  access  EU  funding  –  fulfilling  the 
objective set in Article 6 of the STEP Regulation as regards simplification and transparency. The positive 
experience on the STEP Portal was confirmed: 1/3 of respondents was already aware of STEP (showing 
good outreach impact given the short timeframe it has been available), and almost 90% could find the 
information they needed.  

3 in 4 respondents saw value in a one-stop-shop combining EU and national funding opportunities. 

Users highlighted what kind of information is essential: deadline and timeline of a call, eligibility 
requirements and scope, type of funding and amount are the top 3. 

FIGURE 18: What is the most important information to identify? 

Source: EU-wide survey on access to EU funding conducted from mid-September to end of October 2024. 

37 

 
 
Setting-up a simulator to provide SMEs with guidance on Union funding opportunities 

To comply with the requirement set out in article 8 of the STEP Regulation regarding the feasibility of 
setting up a simulator, the STEP Task Force initiated work already in 2024 on a possible STEP chatbot 
project using artificial intelligence (AI). Such a tool should help project applicants to better identify 
funding opportunities they are eligible to on a demand basis (i.e., considering the user input or project 
idea). Such a new approach would revolutionise the existing system of EU funding, currently offer-based, 
which requires applicants to  look through a  broad range of programmes to identify relevant funding 
opportunities. 

Relying on user needs expressed in the survey, the STEP Task Force got a clearer picture of how artificial 
intelligence could help with regard the identification of EU funding opportunities: 

•  Users expect AI to provide clear information & onboarding support to identify EU funding 

opportunities; 

•  A majority of users value AI as assistance with identifying the fit with most relevant funding 

opportunities; 

•  Users have not raised interest in using AI for matchmakings (finding partners for multi-

beneficiary projects); 

•  Trustworthiness and correctness of info are the most valued characteristics users expect 

from AI assistance; 

•  Multi-lingual support is seen as ‘nice to have’ by users from Eastern European Member States, 

but not a must compared to the above. 

5. Contribution to long-term objectives on 

competitiveness  

By steering investments into digital and deep-tech innovation, clean and resource-efficient technologies, 
and  biotechnologies,  STEP  strengthens  Europe’s  competitiveness  by  enhancing  industrial 
resilience  and  innovation  capacity.  Unlike  a  standalone  fund,  STEP  works  by  integrating  and 
coordinating existing EU financial instruments – combining funds directly managed by the Commission 
and funds managed by Member States – ensuring that public investment is more effectively directed 
toward critical industrial and technological priorities. 

STEP aligns closely with the Competitiveness Compass50, the EU’s long-term framework for economic 
resilience  and  industrial  strength.  A  key  priority  of  the  2025  Annual  Single  Market  and 
Competitiveness  Report51 is to scale up strategic investment in research and innovation (R&I)  and 
improve access to finance for high-growth companies — objectives directly supported by STEP through 
the STEP Seal, the STEP Portal, and the alignment of over EUR 10 billion in funding in 2024. 

50 Commission Communication COM(2025) 30, A Competitiveness Compass for the EU, available at: 
https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness_en  

51 Commission Communication COM(2025) 26, The 2025 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report, available at: 
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/publications/2025-annual-single-market-and-competitiveness-report_en  

38 

 
 
By integrating direct and shared management funding, STEP bridges funding silos, ensuring a more 
strategic and impact-driven approach to EU investments in high-impact sectors. STEP ensures that EU 
funding mechanisms better support technology scale-up and long-term industrial competitiveness. 

In its first year, STEP facilitated better access to finance, supported frontier technologies, and 
enabled a more strategic allocation of EU resources. Moving forward, continued coordination and 
targeted  investments  will  be  crucial  in  scaling  European  innovation,  securing  supply  chains,  and 
maintaining global competitiveness. 
6. Conclusion 

In its first year of operation in 2024, STEP has demonstrated its value as a catalyst for strategic 
investment, steering over EUR 10 billion towards critical technologies. By aligning 11 EU programmes 
and Member States towards the same objectives, STEP has enhanced synergies between funding sources, 
improved access to finance for quality projects, and reinforced Europe’s long-term competitiveness and 
technological sovereignty. 

The  implementation  of  STEP  required  extensive  coordination  efforts  considering  the  degree  of 
heterogeneity across the underpinning programmes and the  challenges to  create  synergies among 
them – this is further explored in the interim evaluation report of STEP. 

Looking ahead to 2025, STEP’s focus will be on deepening its impact through: 

•  Expanding the scope of STEP to defence technologies as a fourth technological sector, as 

part of the defence mini omnibus package proposed by the Commission in April 202552. 

•  Scaling up funding opportunities by expanding STEP-aligned calls under Horizon Europe, the 
Innovation Fund, and the European Defence Fund, ensuring a steady pipeline of investment in 
strategic sectors. 

•  Encouraging greater Member State participation in Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and 

Resilience Facility (RRF) to mobilise additional resources for STEP projects. 

•  Enhancing the STEP Seal’s role in unlocking alternative and complementary funding 

sources, ensuring that both funded and non-funded projects can attract investment. 

•  Strengthening the STEP Portal by integrating AI-powered tools to make EU funding more 

accessible for businesses, researchers, and project promoters. 

Beyond this, STEP will continue to evolve as an instrument of EU industrial policy. By maintaining 
strong coordination between EU programmes, Member States, and private investors, STEP will continue 
as one of the long-term drivers of Europe’s competitiveness. 

52 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2021/694, (EU) 2021/695, 
(EU) 2021/697, (EU) 2021/1153, (EU) 2023/1525 and 2024/795, as regards incentivising defence-related investments in the EU 
budget 
(22  April  2025),  available  at:  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/FR/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52025PC0188&qid=1745326390551 

the  ReArm  Europe  Plan 

implement 

to 

39