Open calls are light, quick and user-friendly application schemes for Application Experiments to allow experimentation and testing with new ICT technologies. Each of them has a prompt start date to offer financial and knowledge-based support to manufacturing SMEs and mid-caps, allowing them to conduct small pilot projects to test Industry 4.0 technologies and assess the impact of scaling them up within their companies and offer inspiration to other companies. Each Innovation Action defines the launching and closing dates for applicants to submit their proposals. These applications are no more than 10 pages in length and are designed in a user-friendly way to make the funding application process as swift as possible.
I4MS Open Calls are an attractive mechanism for SMEs and mid-caps because:
- Only a short and specific proposal is needed.
- Short project durations of approx. 6 months with immediate results.
- Offer between 50% and 100% of equity-free funding to SMEs, mid-caps, and DIHs.
- The funding is organized and provided through the intermediary role of the Innovation Action, which makes the evaluation process much quicker and effective.
So far, 327 AEs have already been launched by September 2019 selected via Open Calls. Whenever Phase 4 finalises, the number of experiments will be near 550. These experiments will constitute an invaluable pool of Best Practices on how manufacturing companies can approach digital transformation of their processes. Find today’s I4MS funding opportunities here:

Project | Technology Area | Challenge/ Activity | |||
Launch | Deadline | More info | |||
AI Regio | AI-driven digital transformation | 64 AI-enabled assets to be integrated with the AI4EU toolkit and conducts more than 30 DIH-driven and SME-oriented application experiments | TBC | TBC | https://www.airegio-project.eu/ |
Better Factory | Agile-Production technologies | Collaborations between Manufacturing Companies, Artists and Tech Suppliers to take part in a Knowledge Transfer Programme | 25/4 (EoI)
1/9 (Open Call) |
25/6 (EoI)
15/11 (Open Call) |
https://betterfactory.eu/open-calls/ |
Change2Twin | Digital Twins, Manufacturing, IoT | Offers manufacturing SMEs/midcaps funding to get a digital twin via:
•Assessment voucher – Up to € 10K
•Deployment voucher – Up to € 90K |
Q3 Assessment 2023 Deployment |
Q3 Assessment 2023 Deployment |
https://www.change2twin.eu/open-calls/ |
DIGITBrain | Digital twins, simulation, manufacturing | Application experiments (1 tech partner & 1 end user (SME)) will cover any segments in the manufacturing sector at large and model behaviour of an Industrial Product with the means of a Digital Twin. | 28/02/2022 | 31/05/2022 | https://digitbrain.eu/open-calls/ |
DIH World | All technologies | Supports 45 SME-driven experiments from industries that traditionally have lagged behind on various aspects of digitalization | 04/04/2022 | 28/06/2022 at 13h00 | https://dihworld.eu/opportunities/#opencalls |
KITT4SME | Artificial Intelligence | Scope-tailored and industry-ready hardware, software and organisational kits for European SMEs and mid-caps. Call for technology providers to enrich the platform offer; Call for SMEs AI adopters | Q2 | Q2 | kitt4sme.eu/open-call/ |
PULSATE | Laser-based Additive Manufacturing | TTE: Developing , testing and validating the technical and economic viability of new technologies in LBAAM
AUC: Perfom a technical/ economic feasibility study for the implementation of the LBAAM technology |
24/01/2022 | 14/04/2022 | https://pulsate-opencalls.fundingbox.com/ |
Vojext | Cognitive autonomous systems/Human robot interaction
Cyber-Physical System (CPS) |
Looking for innovators (SMEs and Mid-Caps) in Cognitive autonomous systems for human-robot interaction & artists to stimulate the creation of new products in different contexts | Q3 | Q3 | https://vojext.eu/ |