Insights

In recent years, cultural sectors across Europe have faced significant financial challenges. With the local funding drying up, the need for the sector to explore alternative sources of support, for example from the EU funding, has become more pressing. Here are some insights into the impact of funding cuts in Finland, Sweden and Germany, and into the potential of role of the EU in supporting cultural initiatives. Spinverse can provide advisory services to identify funding instruments for the culture sector. 

Ecocem is a pioneer of high-performance technology that significantly reduces CO₂ emissions in the cement and construction industries. As part of a consortium consisting of leading academic and industrial actors in Europe, Ecocem’s project was awarded EUR 4 million in research funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC). The grant is part of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge 2024 and will support work which aims to optimise the environmental compatibility of Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slag for low-carbon cement. 

The Patria-led European defence industry consortium AI-WASP, which consists of 16 leading defence companies, has been selected by the European Commission (EC) to receive nearly EUR 45 million in funding. This grant is part of the EDF 2024 funding round that allocated nearly EUR 1 billion to collaborative European defence research and development. Spinverse helped prepare the successful proposal and will support Patria and the consortium in the project’s day-to-day management.

Securing public funding for large-scale innovative projects can be a daunting task. At Spinverse, we understand the challenges that our customers face when navigating the complex world of funding proposals. As part of our Advisory services, we offer a comprehensive viability assessment designed to evaluate and enhance the potential of your projects, ensuring they meet the stringent requirements of funding instruments — such as the Innovation Fund. 

Resand Ltd, a Finnish technology company specialising in the regeneration and recycling of foundry sand, has collaborated with Spinverse funding experts to identify and apply for suitable funding to accelerate the international expansion of their services. Consequently, Resand is now able to meet the growing demand for sand recycling and contribute to the preservation of the world’s limited sand resources and biodiversity.

Spinverse’s customer ANDRITZ, an international technology group, is launching a comprehensive research and development programme called BioCircleToZero, which aims to double the value derived from wood without harvesting more trees. Business Finland has granted ANDRITZ EUR 10 million in funding for the BioCircleToZero programme for leading companies. An additional EUR 20 million will be provided by Business Finland to partners contributing to the programme. Spinverse experts supported ANDRITZ in the funding proposal phase with a successful outcome. 

Gradyent, a Dutch technology provider within district heating, recently secured project funding of EUR1.7 million from the EU’s LIFE programme.  In the project, energy utilities will develop solid investment plans to modernise and decarbonise district heating networks. The successful project proposal was supported by Spinverse’s experts. 

The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for environment and climate action, contributing to the objectives of the European Green Deal. It provides grants for implementing best practices and developing, demonstrating and promoting innovating techniques to fight climate change, biodiversity loss and protect our environment. Spinverse can offer expertise on how your project could be fitted to the LIFE programmes leading to significant environmental and climate impacts.

The 3D Fibre project aiming to commercialise a new Muoto™ packaging business for Metsä Group was highly scored in the European Commission's competitive evaluation process during 2024. Metsä Group has now completed the grant negotiations with the European Union on the co-financing for the first commercial Muoto™ mill planned for construction in Rauma, Finland. Spinverse funding experts provided Metsä Group with support during both the project proposal phase and the Grant Agreement negotiations that followed the positive evaluation.

Novel moulded fibre packaging to replace fossil-based packaging 

Hystar, a Norwegian manufacturer of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers for the large-scale production of green hydrogen, has been granted EUR 26 million by the Innovation Fund. The grant will be used to install and operate Hystar’s automated gigawatt (GW) production line for its PEM electrolyser stacks in Norway. The project is set to radically increase the PEM electrolyser capacity in the EU by introducing a novel mass-manufactured high-efficiency PEM stack to the market. Spinverse experts supported Hystar in their successful funding proposal.