In Europe’s industrial transformation, scale is everything. Companies and regions must internationalise partnerships, combine investments and bring technologies to market faster than any single territory could achieve alone.

This is precisely where VInnovate operates.

VInnovate is the Vanguard Initiative’s funding mechanism that provides practical solutions for regions to align funding instruments and enable innovation projects across borders. It connects territorial strengths, industrial ecosystems and financial resources so that collaboration translates into implementation.

The results of the VInnovate 2025 Call show the growth of this programme.

VInnovate Call 2025 in numbers

The VInnovate Call 2025 call delivered a clear expansion in activity and commitment:

• 17 international projects have been selected for funding.
• 113 organisations submitted applications.
• More than €5 million in grants have been mobilised.
• The applications’ success rate exceeded 50% in phase 2, compared with 30% the year before.

Over the coming weeks, 54 participants, primarily SMEs, will begin work in cooperation with partners across Europe.

The supported projects reflect common investment priorities shared by participating regions. They focus on three domains that are central to Europe’s competitiveness and resilience:

• Digital and AI-driven industries, new applications will accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, extended reality, digital twins, and advanced manufacturing solutions. Activities range from safer construction environments and adaptive factory operations to infrastructure monitoring and traceability across industrial value chains.
• Clean, circular and resource-efficient economy, projects address sustainable materials, energy autonomy, resilient renewable systems and technologies that reduce dependence on critical resources, while opening opportunities in emerging sectors such as advanced manufacturing for the space industry.
• Digital health, consortia will develop data-driven and AI-enabled tools supporting clinical decision-making, remote monitoring, rehabilitation and personalised recovery pathways, reinforcing access to care.

From regional instruments to European impact

VInnovate provides a framework for regions to align resources and know-how in support of shared projects, giving innovation actors the stability needed to invest jointly.

Embedded in the Vanguard Initiative’s pilot activities, the mechanism supports the full cooperation cycle, from identifying complementary capacities to building consortia and accelerating deployment.