EKOO: Circular Economy (other than circular plastics or biobased circular)

Do you research or develop innovative circular products, processes and/or services? Do you collaborate with other companies or researchers in doing so? Then apply for a grant with the Energy & Climate Research and Development (EKOO) scheme: Circular Economy (other than circular plastics or biobased circular). This grant is also known as Knowledge and Innovation Agenda - Circular Economy (KIA CE).

Budget and application period

• Start date: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 09:00
.
• End date: Thursday, August 21, 2025 17:00
• Maximum grant per project: €500,000
• Total budget: €2,500,000
• This is a tender: the highest-scoring applications will receive funding until the budget runs out.

New name for the KIA CE

This grant is also known as KIA CE. In addition to this grant, there are 2 other EKOO grants that encourage circular innovations. These are: EKOO: Circular Plastics and EKOO: Biobased Circular. Check carefully beforehand which grant fits your project.

Visit the information session

Are you interested in the subsidy EKOO: Circular Economy (other than circular plastics and biobased circular)? And would you like to know more about it? Then sign up for the information meeting about this subsidy on Thursday, May 8 from 09:00 to 13:30 in Amersfoort.

For whom?

This grant is for:

• companies and research organizations collaborating in an innovation project;
• where the partnership consists of at least one firm;

This grant is for partnerships for innovative developments, which a large partnership cannot yet pick up.

What do you get a grant for?

Your innovation must offer a clear solution within one of these 3 topics:

Manufacturing industry

• Capital goods (such as lifting, hoisting and transport equipment, mechanical engineering, medical devices and production equipment, electric motors, generators and transformers, computers and peripherals, communications and measurement equipment)
• Wind turbines and solar panel systems (only if focused on recycling and life extension)
• Electrolysers
• Batteries for light electric transport (such as bicycles, scooters, scooters, wheelchairs)
• Building air conditioning systems (such as heat pumps and cooling systems)

Construction and infrastructure

• Dwellings and offices. This does not apply to prefabricated construction (making building elements in advance in the factory). Nor does it apply to biobased construction (building with materials from nature).
• Concrete bridges and viaducts
• Road paving

Consumer goods

• Electrical and electronic appliances
• Furniture
• Textiles
• Packaging and disposables

For what cost?

You will receive a subsidy for the cost of:

• technological research and development aimed at a new or greatly improved product, service and/or process. You thereby (where possible) significantly reduce the cost price compared to existing circular products, services and/or processes;
• research into consumer behavior, business or revenue models (or a combination thereof). With your activities, you help to develop a new circular product, service or process;
• a combination of 1 and 2.

We calculate the grant on the costs you must incur to carry out your project, known as eligible costs. See more at Subsidy Rules Ministry of Economic Affairs.

You will not receive a subsidy for costs of activities for which you have previously received a subsidy.

How much subsidy will you get?

How much of the costs you get reimbursed as a participant in a partnership depends on the size of your company. And whether you are an entrepreneur or research organization. The reimbursement is:

• 80% for a research organization performing non-economic activities. Non-economic activities are activities that are not directly related to making a profit or economic gain;
• 60% for a small business;
• 50% for a medium-sized business;
• 40% for a large company;

Want to know if your company is small, medium or large? Then do the small business test.