Broad calls covering all of Swedish Mining Innovation’s thematic areas are announced on a regular basis. The financed innovation projects should help to strengthen the sustainability and competitiveness of the Swedish mining and metal producing industry, for example through new technological achievements. The projects financed may be pre-studies, fullscale projects or pilot projects.
Project applications are evaluated by an external assessment team. This leaves a recommendation to Swedish Mining Innovation’s board, which, after a thematic review, leaves a decision to Vinnova. After that, Vinnova takes the formal decision on which projects are granted and administrates them.
In addition to broad calls, there are also opportunities for existing projects to apply for planning grants to gear up the whole or part of their Swedish Mining Innovation project.
You can apply for funding for projects that address any of the challenges defined by the Strategic Research and Innovation Roadmap (2019). The Roadmap covers the branch-wide challenges of the mining and metals producing industry. Special focus for this year’s call is innovations addressing resource efficiency and sustainability.
Planned budget for the call is 45 million kronor.
There are three types of projects in the call:
• Pre-studies
• Full-scale Innovation projects
• Pilot and Demonstration projects
Maximum funding for a pre-study is 500 000 kronor with a maximum support level of 75 % of eligible costs. Full-scale innovation projects, and Pilot and Demo projects are divided into two funding levels: (1) maximum funding of 5 million kronor; and (2) large projects where funding is 5-15 million kronor. Full-scale Innovation projects and Pilot and Demo projects at both funding levels can receive support up to 50 percent of eligible project costs. Only legal entities can be granted funding. These include e.g. companies, public authorities (e.g. municipalities, counties), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and research organizations (universities and research institutes).
Pre-studies have a maximum duration of six months. Pre-studies aim to supporting the decision-making process by objectively and scientifically evaluating a potential innovation’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and risks and to identify the resources required to develop the innovation further. The pre-study should conclude the whether or not the development of the innovation should continue. The project partners can consist of only one organization but the pre-study proposal must demonstrate industrial relevance in the form of a letter of support from at least one relevant organization that is not a research organization (academia or a research institute).
Full-scale Innovation projects and Pilot and Demo projects at both funding levels have a maximum duration of 3 years. The projects aim to develop and implement
ideas that contribute to the realization of Swedish Mining Innovation’s overall objectives through developing and testing new methods, processes or working
procedures. The project consortium must consist of at least one research organization (institute or academia) and two other relevant organizations that are not universities or research institutes.
The applications will be evaluated by international reviewers, so it is strongly recommended that proposals are written in English.
Opens for application: 18 May, 2021
Apply before: 11 November, 2021 at 14:00
Decision given: 22 February, 2022
Project allowed to start: 1 March, 2022
The formal application is made through Vinnova’s portal.
Lawrence Hooey, Technology and Innovation Manager Swedish Mining Innovation (contact)
All projects financed by Swedish Mining Innovation will be offered a workshop in Gender inclusion. But already when you write your application, it is important that you take into account and describe how you will work with gender equality within the project. This is a short introduction to why you will benefit from including a gender perspective in your project.
Everyone working with innovation know that the hidden assumptions is a goldmine for new ideas, and we also know that diverse groups give us a better and more innovative work environment, simply because people with different backgrounds and perspective ads more insight to the problem and the solution.
In this video Melinda From, RISE, explains why it is important to to bring in a gender perspective early in the project and give you some guidelines about how you can think when you develop your project.
Bring in the gender perspective early in the project, from when you form the problem, and you have come a long way.
Four identical webinars will be held to introduce the call and give you the possibility to ask questions.
The webinars are planned to be maximum 1 hour. The call will be presented in English, but the questions and answers in Swedish or English.
A link will be sent to you before the webinar.
Are you planning to apply for internationally financed project, e.g. Horizon Europe? Do you need to broaden your consortium? Build a solid application?
It is no longer necessary to have had a project in Swedish Mining Innovation to apply for the call. We have revised the conditions so if the project for which you are planning to apply (your leverage project) supports the objectives of Swedish Mining Innovation you can be eligible for a planning grant of up to 300 000 SEK. All the themes and challenges outlined in the Strategic Innovation Roadmap are included.
The aim with this call is to accelerate the development and implementation of Swedish innovations supporting sustainable mining into international markets, facilitate international cooperation and improve the quality of applications – and thereby success rate – in attracting international financing by Swedish partners.
Please contact Lawrence Hooey before you start preparing the application for the planning grant.
Lawrence Hooey, Technology and Innovation Manager Swedish Mining Innovation (contact)
Call opens: 11 January 2021
Call closes: 18 November 2021
Date of decision: Continuous
Earliest date of project start: Continuous
Last date of project start: 10 December 2021
