Critical Technology Support Fund in Poland – grant for critical technologies

Who can receive a grant from the Critical Technology Support Fund in Poland?

The grants will be targeted at the development and production of critical technologies in three sectors referred to in Regulation (EU) 2024/795 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 on establishing a Platform on Strategic Technologies for Europe, i.e.:

• digital technologies and deep technology innovations;
• clean and resource-efficient technologies;
• biotechnologies, including medicinal products on the EU list of critically important medicinal products and their ingredients,

important from the point of view of green and digital transformation.

Grants from the Critical Technologies Support Fund in Poland also cover investments aimed at revitalising industrial development and strengthening value chains, thereby reducing the strategic dependencies of the European Union and increasing the sovereignty and economic security of the EU.

Technologies are considered critical if they meet one of the following two criteria:

1. bring to the internal market an innovative, cutting-edge and groundbreaking element with significant economic potential;
2. contribute to limiting or combating the EU’s strategic economic dependence.

In addition, grants from the Critical Technology Support Fund may be awarded to Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI projects) that have been approved by the European Commission in accordance with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU, where these projects relate to critical technologies essential for the economic security of the Union. Support may also be granted to projects that have been awarded the Seal of Sovereignty (a quality project label awarded in competitions managed centrally by the European Commission).

Entrepreneurs who plan to develop dual-use technologies – civil and military – will also be able to obtain grants from the Critical Technology Support Fund.

What can grant from the Critical Technology Support Fund in Poland be used for?

Grants from the Critical Technology Support Fund in Poland will be available for R&D projects and investments involving:

• production of critical technologies
• on protecting and strengthening the value chains of critical technologies and raw materials, i.e. the production of:

• • final products
  • specific components
  • specific machines used primarily to produce these end products
  • critical raw materials listed in the annex to the Critical Raw Materials Act
  • related services

Sectors within the Critical Technology Support Fund

Critical technology grants will target the following sectors:

Digital technologies and deep technology innovations

Digital technologies include technologies that contribute to the goals and objectives of the 2030 Digital Decade policy agenda, including but not limited to artificial intelligence, 5G, 6G, blockchain, cloud and edge computing, and the Internet of Things.

Critical technologies for the EU’s economic security include, among others, advanced semiconductors, AI, quantum technologies, advanced communications and navigation, advanced digital technologies, advanced sensing technologies, and robotics and autonomous systems.

This sector also includes deep technology innovations, which are breakthrough solutions based on the latest achievements in science, technology and engineering, including those that combine progress in the physical, biological and digital spheres. Deep technology innovations can be cross-cutting and arise at the intersection of all three sectors covered by the Critical Technology Support Fund.

Clean and resource-efficient technologies

The sector includes, among others, carbon neutral technologies as defined in the Carbon Neutral Industry Act, namely: solar, onshore and offshore wind, batteries and energy storage, heat pumps and geothermal energy, hydrogen, sustainable biogas and biomethane, CO₂ capture and storage _, electricity grid, nuclear fission, sustainable alternative fuels, hydropower, other renewable energy sources, energy efficiency technologies, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, biotechnological solutions for climate and energy, transformative industrial technologies for decarbonisation, technologies for the transport and use of CO₂, and technologies for wind and electric propulsion in transport.

Critical technologies for the economic security of the EU include, among others: advanced materials, production and recycling technologies (including critical raw materials), water treatment and desalination technologies, and circular economy technologies.

Biotechnology

The sector includes, among others, DNA/RNA technologies, proteins, cell and tissue cultures, biotechnological process techniques, RNA genes and vectors, bioinformatics and nanobiotechnology. The sector includes, among others, medicinal products included in the EU list of critically important medicinal products and their ingredients.