Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI): a game-changer for businesses

Eligibility details

The applicants must:

• Be legal entities (public or private bodies)

• Be located in an EU Member States (including Overseas Countries and Territories) or EEA countries such as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein

• Be eligible for projects that go beyond the state-of-the-art, potentially receiving a seal of excellence upon approval.

Companies of all sizes and from all sectors can participate, as long as they align with the objectives and focus of the respective IPCEI wave.

Different roles in IPCEI participation 

• Contribution to EU objectives and research and development projects: beyond the “State-of-the-Art.” Significant impact on competitiveness, innovation, sustainability, or value creation across the EU.

• Existence of the market failure affecting the project. Positive externalities prevailing negative externalities.

• Positive spillover effects creation. Impact beyond participating Member States and  benefits  for other sectors.

• Necessity of the partnerships. Effective cross-border collaboration

• Need for co-funding. State Aid recipients can be aided up to 100% of the funding gap of eligible costs.

IPCEI project must comply with at least one of the following criteria:

1. Research and development (R&D) - Significant innovation or significant added value in terms of R&D  in a specific sector 

2. First industrial deployment (FID) - The development of a new, highly innovative product or service with a focus on research and innovation content and/or the introduction of a fundamentally innovative production process, such as the upscaling of pilot facilities, demonstration plants or deployment first-in-kind equipment.

3. Infrastructure projects - Either of great importance for the environment, climate, energy (including security of energy supply), transport, health, and/or industry agendas, the Union’s digital strategies  or contribute significantly to the internal market.

The process of constructing IPCEI typically spans one to two years and involves several key steps: 

1. Each participating country issues open calls or adopts an alternative appropriate procedure to identify promising projects from interested companies. 

2. Selected companies establish collaborations to create an integrated European project. 

3. Pre-notified details are submitted by national authorities to the European Commission 

4. The constructed IPCEI is formally notified to the European Commission for State aid approval. 

5. Once approved, Member States provide funding to beneficiaries. 

6. Project execution is monitored by the European Commission and Member States to ensure compliance, effectiveness, and proper use of funds.

Since 2018, the European Commission has approved ten IPCEIs, covering a range of strategic sectors. Total 37.2 billion EUR of state aid was approved, with an expected 66 billion EUR of private investment, involving 283 companies from 22 member states, the UK and Norway in 335 projects.

State aid and expected private investment by IPCEI areas

The bar chart illustrates the distribution of state aid and expected private investment across various IPCEI areas.

_{Source: PwC assessment of IPCEI State aid and expected private investment distribution by sectors.  The bar chart is based on data from the official EU website: Approved Integrated IPCEI.}

The IPCEI state aid was approved for participants across various implementation areas but the greatest number of funded direct participants related to battery cells and systems.

_{Source: PwC assessment of IPCEI State aid distribution to participants by areas. The bar chart is based on data from the press releases of each funded IPCEI call of proposals from the official EU website: Approved Integrated IPCEI.}