EUopSTART

EUopSTART — cut-off

Funds Danish companies preparing Horizon Europe and EDF proposals by supporting proposal development.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

EUopSTART is a Danish co-funding scheme administered by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science (UFSN), operating under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, to increase Danish participation in competitive European research programmes. The scheme reimburses up to 50% of the direct costs — specifically payroll at a fixed rate of DKK 600 per hour, travel and per diem expenses, and external consultancy fees — incurred while preparing an application for Horizon Europe (all pillars, partnerships, and missions) or the European Defence Fund. The grant period runs from submission of the EUopSTART application through the Horizon Europe or EDF deadline, with a minimum period of 30 calendar days.

Grant sizes are determined by the applicant's role: consortium coordinators may apply for up to DKK 150,000, while partners in a consortium and single applicants without a consortium may apply for up to DKK 75,000. The scheme applies de minimis state aid rules, capping combined public aid at EUR 300,000 over three rolling fiscal years. Applications for EIC Accelerator and Eurostars preparation are restricted to SMEs; research organisations (GTS) are ineligible for those specific sub-programmes. A maximum of one EUopSTART application may be submitted per organisation per cut-off. In 2026, EUopSTART will support EU applications with Horizon Europe or EDF deadlines no later than 31 December 2027.

The May cut-off deadline falls on Wednesday 27 May 2026 at 12:00 noon. Applications are submitted through the e-grant electronic portal at login.e-grant.dk. Proposals are scored on three criteria — purpose and content, relevance to the Horizon Europe call, and consortium composition — each rated 1 to 5, with a minimum total score of 6 required for funding consideration. Questions are directed to euopstart@ufm.dk or the Grants Unit at bevilling@ufm.dk, +45 33 92 92 00.