CDTI — Centre for Technological Development & Innovation (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación) logo
CDTI — Centre for Technological Development & Innovation (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación)

SME Aid for Seal of Excellence 2026 (Ayudas PYMES Sello de Excelencia 2026)

Funds Spanish SMEs holding a 2024 or 2025 EIC Accelerator Seal of Excellence to scale their R&D.

CDTI grants this aid directly from its own funds plus FEDER co-financing, without running a fresh competitive evaluation of merit -- the evaluation that counts is the one Horizon Europe's EIC Accelerator already carried out to award the Seal of Excellence. CDTI covers 70% of the eligible cost, capped at EUR 2.5 million per beneficiary per project, and the total amount it can finance can't exceed w

The call backs R&D projects (TRL 5-8) run by SMEs that already won a Seal of Excellence in the second 2024 or second 2025 EIC Accelerator call. It funds work to validate the technology in a relevant environment, refine the business model, and prepare the company for scale-up; deployment-stage work (TRL 9) is excluded.

CycleiHow often this grant runs - e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.No fixed schedule
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.-
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.-
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.12–36 months
Award typeiThe form of funding - grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.30%
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.€7.5M

Sign up free to see the funding breakdown

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

Sign up free to see where teams trip up

Guides for this application

All guides →
European Commission logo
Open

Support for SEAP Functioning and Defence Industrial Readiness Pools

🇪🇺European Commission · European Union

Pays already-established SEAPs to fund at least a year of operations, including running defence industrial readiness pools.

Defense
€2MOct'26
IJ
Open

Decode the Immunoscience of age-related diseases

🇪🇺IHI JU · European Union

Funds a research consortium that studies why immune-mediated diseases behave differently when they first strike older adults and hunts for biomarkers to predict them.

BiotechMedtech
€9.2MOct'26
European Innovation Council logo
Open

EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2026

🇪🇺EIC · European Union

Funds deep-tech research consortia with EIC Pathfinder grants up to €4 million.

€4MOct'26
European Commission logo
Open

Artistic intelligence — harnessing the power of the arts for complex challenges, soft skills and innovation

🇪🇺European Commission · European Union

Pays research consortiums roughly €4.5-5 million to study and pilot art-science-technology collaborations that boost innovation, soft skills and human-centred technology.

AI
€4.5M – €5MSep'26
European Commission logo
Scheduled

Improving Socio-Economic Outcomes for Persons with Dementia

🇪🇺European Commission · European Union

Funds person-centred interventions that improve life, care, inclusion and economic resilience for people with dementia and informal caregivers.

€3.2MMay'27
European Commission logo
Scheduled

AI for Regional Climate Resilience

🇪🇺European Commission · European Union

Funds four €3M projects that put trustworthy AI to work for climate resilience in European regions and local authorities.

AIClimate Tech+1
€3MSep'27