EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities of the “Interregional Innovation Investments – Strand 1” (I3-2025-INV1)

1. Single Market Access

- 450 + million consumers & 23 million SMEs: I3 allows pilots at TRL 6–8 to be demonstrated simultaneously in several Member States, accelerating time-to-market and pan-EU certification/standard adoption.

- Public-procurement leverage: Beneficiaries can tap into cross-border innovation-friendly procurement clauses (e.g., joint procurement under the Public Procurement Directive), enlarging initial reference markets beyond a single country.

- Free movement of data, goods and services: Especially relevant for Digital Transition investments (AI, cybersecurity, data spaces) where cross-border data flows are critical for business models.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

- Quadruple-helix consortia: Mandatory involvement of business, research, government and civil society actors from at least three regions fosters multidisciplinary solutions and opens door to cluster-to-cluster agreements (e.g., EDIH network, S3 Thematic Platforms).

- Inclusion of Less Developed Regions (LDRs): Advantages for lead partners from more developed regions to access cost-competitive pilot sites, test-beds and skilled talent pools; LDRs gain entry into mature EU value chains and investment readiness coaching.

- Shared testbeds & demo facilities: Mutual access agreements reduce CAPEX by 20-40 % on average (EC Smart Specialisation Platform data) and speed up scaling.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

- European Green Deal & Clean Industrial Deal: Green Transition projects qualify for additional Green Taxonomy-aligned financing and simplified permitting under REPowerEU fast-track schemes.

- Digital Decade & Digital Europe Programme: Digital Transition investments can plug into existing European Data Spaces, Gaia-X nodes and rely on HPC capacities funded by EuroHPC.

- Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP, Reg. EU 2024/795): Projects in critical tech areas (AI, semiconductors, advanced materials, biotech) gain priority access to blended financing under InvestEU and the EIC Scale-up window.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

- Single set of conformity assessments (CE-marking, MDR, CPR, etc.): One approval valid EU-wide reduces cost/time by up to 30 % compared with sequential national procedures.

- EU Cybersecurity Act & AI Act sandboxing: Projects can test compliance once and deploy across borders without re-certification.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

- 3,400+ Higher Education Institutions & 300+ EIT KIC partners: I3 can finance mobility, shared IP exploitation and joint spin-off creation.

- Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) & Pilot Lines: Immediate routes for technology validation and SME onboarding, lowering TRL-to-MRL gap.

- S3 Community: 280+ regional S3 areas offer matchmaking events and databases to find complementary capabilities.

6. Funding Synergies & Financial Engineering

- Cascade Funding (FSTP): Up to €60 k per SME de-risking, complemented by regional ERDF vouchers.

- Blend with other EU instruments:

• Horizon Europe for upstream R&D (TRL 3-6).

• InvestEU & EIB loans for scale-up CAPEX (> €7.5 m).

• Innovation Fund for large decarbonisation pilots (> €7.5 m, 55 % GHG reduction).

• LIFE/CEF2 for green & mobility infrastructure plug-ins.

- State-Aid compatibility: I3 grants count as ERDF support; Guidelines on Regional Aid 2021–27 allow higher aid intensities (up to 50 % in LDRs).

7. EU-Level Scale & Impact Potential

- Critical mass for new value chains: Interregional investment portfolios can aggregate >€30 m in parallel sub-projects, achieving tipping-point demand for novel materials, green hydrogen hubs, or cross-border data platforms.

- Replication model: Mandatory exploitation plans facilitate roll-out via other S3 regions and Interreg programmes, maximising socio-economic spill-overs.

- Contribution to cohesion & resilience: By integrating LDRs, projects can reduce innovation divide indices (Regional Innovation Scoreboard) and strengthen EU strategic autonomy.

8. Practical Tips to Maximise EU-Wide Advantages

- Map complementary S3 priorities early: Use S3 Platform matchmaking tool to identify at least two LDR/TR regions sharing your thematic priority.

- Design investment portfolios around value-chain gaps: Include demo sites, skills programmes and downstream market replication work packages for a coherent TRL 6-9 pathway.

- Leverage existing EU facilities: Reference EDIHs, EIT labs, Euroclusters or European Testing & Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) to justify cost-effective access to infrastructure.

- Plan blended finance from day one: Attach letters of interest from EIB, regional promotional banks or venture funds to score higher on sustainability & scalability.

- Address EU regulatory roadmaps: Integrate conformity assessment, AI Act compliance, or Fit-for-55 standards into your work plan to show readiness for EU-wide deployment.

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Bottom-Line Advantage: Operating at EU scale through I3-2025-INV1 enables consortia to de-risk and accelerate commercialisation of mature innovations, tap larger unified markets, pool cross-border expertise, and align with flagship EU strategies—delivering impacts unattainable through purely national initiatives.