Funding for Transformation Hubs (Module B)
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) supports the establishment and operation of thematically oriented transformation hubs to strengthen knowledge and technology transfer in the automotive and supplier industry. Project outlines can be submitted until March 13, 2026.
Discover your potential with AI support
- Find out if this grant matches your project
- Develop your application together with AI
- Get matched with many more suitable grants
Grant criteria
Funding objective
The aim of the funding is to establish and operate thematic transformation hubs nationwide that prepare research results along relevant value chains of the automotive and supplier industry in a target-group-oriented manner for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), consolidate knowledge, and provide expertises, demonstrators, and event formats free of charge and without discrimination, as well as to establish feedback channels for research needs.
Eligible expenses
- Personnel expenses
- Rent and ancillary costs
- Event and public relations work
- Systematic analyses of national and international research results
- Contracts for goods and services
- Show more
Non-eligible expenses
- Furniture and standard basic equipment
- IT equipment at the workstation level
- Business trips outside the EEA
- Political advocacy activities
- Personnel expenses already covered by public budgets
Eligible to apply
- Companies
- Public Institutions
Funding requirements
- Activity as a neutral intermediary for technology transfer
- Project must not have started before approval
- Provision of exclusively non-economic activities
- Separation of economic and non-economic activities (separate accounting)
- Proof of technological-scientific competence
- Show more
Documents required for application
- Stage 1: Electronic project outline with thematic presentation and proof of expertise and capacities
- Stage 2: Formal funding application upon request
- Stage 2: Detailed project description and financing concept
- Stage 2: Evidence of separate accounting for economic activities
Evaluation criteria
- Relevance of the thematic focus and need for transformation
- Competencies, experience, and capacities of the hub
- Nationwide coverage and fit with the program
- Plausibility of the transformation and knowledge transfer concept
- Service portfolio and action plan
- Added value compared to existing initiatives
- Sustainability and consolidation concept
- Appropriateness of expenditures/costs
Description
Funding Line "Transformation Hubs Module B" represents a nationwide grant program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), aimed at establishing thematically specialized hubs to strengthen knowledge transfer in the automotive and supplier industry. Transformation hubs consolidate research findings along relevant value chains, prepare them in a target-group-oriented manner, and provide expertise, demonstrators, and event formats free of charge and without discrimination. Through close cooperation with multipliers such as regional transformation networks, the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are systematically identified and fed back as a return channel to research and development. Funding is provided as a non-repayable grant with a funding rate of 100% for a maximum project duration of 36 months. Application outlines must be submitted electronically via the easy online portal by March 13, 2026; the guideline is valid until December 31, 2029.
Eligible for funding are companies and public institutions that act as neutral intermediaries for technology transfer and exclusively perform non-economic activities. Consortium and individual projects are permissible, provided that a separation of economic and non-economic activities is demonstrated. Eligible expenses include personnel costs, rent and ancillary costs, events and public relations, systematic analyses of national and international research results, contractual services for goods and services, as well as travel expenses. Not eligible for funding are, for example, IT equipment at the workstation level, political opinion-forming activities, or business trips outside the European Economic Area. The submitted outlines are evaluated based on criteria such as relevance of the thematic focus, proof of competence, nationwide coverage, conceptual plausibility, sustainability, and cost appropriateness. Following a positive initial evaluation, applicants will be invited to submit a formal funding application.
Ready to secure your funding?
Register now and let our AI guide you through the application process – from eligibility check to finished application.