EXIST-Forschungstransfer — Research Transfer Grant
Supports research-intensive spinouts through staged development from discovery to company readiness.
EXIST-Forschungstransfer (EFT) is the highest-intensity sub-programme within the federal EXIST initiative, operated by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE) via Projektträger Jülich (PtJ) and confirmed active through Monitoring Report #3 (March 2026). Unlike EXIST-Gründungsstipendium, which supports ventures that are ready to be founded, Forschungstransfer is structured for resea…
Research-based founding projects with complex, high-risk development work requiring pre-company-formation R&D.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see how to apply
Sign up free to see what you submit
Sign up free to see the timeline
Guides for this application
All guides →Grants for Biotech Startups: NIH, NSF, SBIR/STTR, and Non-Dilutive Funding
A practical guide to grants for biotech startups, including NIH SBIR/STTR, NSF, translational funding, evidence, regulatory readiness, and budgets.
DocumentsGrant Work Plan Template: Work Packages, Gantt, Milestones, and Risks
Use this grant work plan template to structure work packages, tasks, owners, deliverables, Gantt timing, dependencies, and risk registers.
Find grantsGovernment Grants for Startups: What Deeptech Founders Should Know
A practical guide to government grants for startups, including Grants.gov, SBIR/STTR, state programs, eligibility, fit, timelines, and when to apply.
More from BMWE
All grants from this funder →EXIST Transfer of Research
🇩🇪BMWE · Germany
Funds German research teams for up to 36 months to spin their work into a startup.
WIPANO Standards Participation for Companies
🇩🇪BMWE · Germany
Funds German companies with up to 1,000 employees taking part in national, European, and international standardization committees through WIPANO.
WIPANO Patenting for Companies
🇩🇪BMWE · Germany
Funds German small and medium-sized enterprises protecting their own research and development results with patents and other industrial property rights through WIPANO.
EXIST Start-up Grant (EXIST-Gründungsstipendium)
🇩🇪BMWE · Germany
Supports german federal founding grant for students graduates and researchers developing technology based ventures from university.
Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures — GRW (Gemeinschaftsaufgabe Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur)
🇩🇪BMWE · Germany
Funds regional German commercial projects through public investment subsidies to strengthen real-world implementation.
High-Tech Founders Fund (High-Tech Gründerfonds, HTGF)
🇩🇪BMWE · Germany
Backs deep technology and medtech startups in Germany with investment and follow-on support through High-Tech Gründerfonds.
Similar grants
Browse the directory →
Clinical Research for Common Cancers
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds €7–10M programmes that bring better cancer diagnosis and treatment trials to patients across four or more European countries.
Bavarian Transformation Fund (Bayerischer Transformationsfonds)
🇩🇪Bayern Innovativ · Germany
Provides research teams and institutions for Bavarian Transformation Fund TFT TFO TFK in climate technology, energy systems, and manufacturing.
ERC Starting Grant
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds early-career researchers building an independent research team and pursuing frontier research through an ERC Starting Grant hosted at a public or private research organisation.
INVEST — Venture Capital Grant for Business Angels
🇩🇪BAFA · Germany
Supports business angels investing in innovative German startups during early growth.
Large-Scale Research Infrastructure Access Pilots
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds €35M pilots that make cross-domain research infrastructure access simpler, wider and more sustainable.
ERC Consolidator Grant
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds researchers 5 to 15 years past their PhD who are building an independent research team in Europe through an ERC Consolidator Grant.