Important Project of Common European Interest
IPCEI
Planning a large-scale innovation project? IPCEI can provide opportunities to support development and first industrial deployment through European cooperation.
FIND OUT MOREWhat you need to know about IPCEI
General information
IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) is one of the European Union’s key instruments for supporting large-scale, strategically important investments and research and development projects implemented through cooperation between several Member States and generating substantial added value for the European Union as a whole.
Under the IPCEI framework, Member States may provide state aid under more flexible conditions than those applicable under the general state aid rules to projects involving significant technological, financial or market risks, while contributing to strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, innovation capacity and strategic autonomy.
IPCEI is therefore not a traditional grant programme. Projects are selected through a multi-stage process at national and European level, and the aid must also receive state aid approval from the European Commission.
The framework may be particularly relevant for companies planning investments in Hungary with substantial R&D&I content, involving First Industrial Deployment or contributing to the development of strategic value chains.
In which areas can IPCEI projects be implemented?
IPCEIs typically focus on technological and industrial fields that play a key role in Europe’s long-term economic and technological development.
In recent years, European IPCEI cooperation has covered, among others, the following areas:
- battery technologies and battery value chains,
- hydrogen technologies and hydrogen infrastructure,
- microelectronics and communication technologies,
- cloud and edge computing infrastructures and services,
- healthcare and pharmaceutical innovation.
The specific eligible areas are always determined by the objectives of the relevant IPCEI initiative and the participation of Member States.
Who can participate in an IPCEI project?
IPCEI initiatives may primarily offer opportunities to companies planning ambitious projects with substantial innovation content and relevance at European level.
For participation, it is particularly important that the project:
✅ contributes to the strategic objectives of the European Union,
✅is linked to cooperation involving several Member States or to a European value chain,
✅ delivers a significant technological or innovation advance,
✅ involves a level of technological or financial risk that may justify state aid,
✅ generates positive spillover effects for other companies, research organisations or the European economy as a whole,
✅ produces benefits that are not limited solely to the company directly participating in the project.
Both large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises may participate in an IPCEI, provided their project meets the requirements of the relevant initiative.
What types of projects can be supported?
One of the key features of IPCEI is that support is not limited exclusively to traditional research and development activities.
Eligible activities may include, among others:
✅ industrial research projects,
✅ experimental development projects,
✅ R&D&I activities with substantial innovation content,
✅ investments related to First Industrial Deployment (FID),
✅ in certain IPCEIs, strategically important infrastructure projects.
First Industrial Deployment can be a particularly important element. It can enable an R&D result to move from laboratory or pilot scale to its first industrial-scale implementation. At the same time, IPCEI is generally not intended to support the straightforward mass production of technologies already available on the market or routine capacity expansion.
Form and amount of support
The amount of support provided under an IPCEI is determined individually for each project.
A central element in determining the amount of support is the assessment of the project’s funding gap. The purpose is to establish the level of support required for a strategically important project with higher risks or weaker standalone financial returns to proceed.
Support is therefore not based on a predetermined aid intensity that is identical for every company. The company must provide a detailed presentation of, among other things:
- the project’s investment and operating costs,
- expected revenues,
- financial returns,
- the alternative scenario without support,
- and why state aid is necessary for the project to be implemented.
Eligible costs and support conditions depend on the type and technical content of the relevant IPCEI project and on the approval of the European Commission.
Why can IPCEI be beneficial for companies?
IPCEI represents more than a financing opportunity. Participating companies can become part of European-level innovation and industrial cooperation involving large enterprises, SMEs, universities and research institutions.
An IPCEI project can contribute to:
✅ making a high-risk innovation project financially viable,
✅ the industrial deployment of new technologies,
✅ establishing international R&D and business partnerships,
✅ integration into European supplier and technology value chains,
✅ expanding the company’s R&D and high-value-added activities in Hungary.
At the same time, participation in an IPCEI requires a longer preparation period and more detailed technical, financial and state aid documentation than traditional support schemes.
IPCEI selection and approval process
Preparing an IPCEI project consists of several stages, and the process may vary depending on the specific European initiative.
The process typically includes the following main steps:
- Definition of the IPCEI initiative and national participation
- Identification and preliminary selection of potential corporate projects
- Development of the international partnership and project structure
- Preparation of detailed technical and financial documentation
- Determination of the support requirement and funding gap
- Member State notification to the European Commission
- European Commission state aid assessment and approval
- Conclusion of the national aid agreement and project implementation
A key feature of the process is that the company’s project is assessed not on a standalone basis but as part of a broader European project connecting several Member States.
What should companies consider when planning an IPCEI project?
The preparation of a potential IPCEI project should ideally begin at an early stage of the investment or R&D strategy. The way the project’s European added value, innovation content, cooperation opportunities and financial structure are presented can fundamentally determine its prospects for participation.
Particular attention should be paid to:
✅ clearly demonstrating the project’s innovative novelty,
✅ identifying technological and market risks,
✅ defining the project’s role in the European value chain,
✅ demonstrating positive spillover effects for other companies and research stakeholders,
✅ establishing appropriate international cooperation,
✅ and developing the project’s financial scenarios both without support and with support.
IPCEI may therefore be particularly relevant for strategically important projects that go beyond a traditional investment or corporate R&D project and create tangible technological, economic or societal added value for Europe.
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