The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) is the common European action to support EU industry and boost investments in critical technologies in Europe. STEP will leverage and steer resources across 11 EU funding programmes to 3 target investments areas in the EU and in people who can implement those technologies into the economy, namely:
- digital technologies and deep-tech innovation
- clean and resource efficient technologies
- biotechnologies
STEP also introduces a new Sovereignty seal – an EU label for high quality projects – granting STEP projects’ visibility and facilitating cumulative or combined funding from several EU budget instruments or national public and private investments.
Next steps
The STEP Portal will progressively display, as of Q2 2024:
- Funding opportunities relevant for STEP critical technologies and meeting STEP conditions under EU programmes:
- directly managed programmes: the Digital Europe programme, the European Defence Fund, the EU4Health programme, Horizon Europe, and the Innovation Fund
- other programmes: e.g. InvestEU, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and cohesion policy funds such as the Cohesion Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund+ and the Just Transition Fund.
The first calls are expected to be published in Q2 2024.
- Dedicated guidance on the STEP scope and its specific conditions
- The list of projects that have been awarded the Sovereignty seal
- The national focal points one can contact to learn more about funding opportunities in the respective 27 EU Member States
- Contacts to the existing advisory services relevant to STEP projects
- Information about STEP implementation and performance
Related policy areas
Strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy through the green and digital transformations has been the EU compass over the last years. In this context, the EU has already put forward several initiatives to support industry and strengthen EU competitiveness. Below is an overview
