General terms and conditions for EUopSTART – European Defence Fund (EDF) Call 2026
The purpose of EUopSTART is to strengthen the participation of Danish companies and Approved Technological Service Institutes (GTS) in European research and innovation. EUopSTART therefore provides funding for the preparatory work carried out by Danish companies and GTS institutes when preparing applications to the European Defence Fund (EDF).
There are four application deadlines/cut‑offs in 2026:
For these deadlines, you may only apply for EUopSTART funding for EDF calls with deadlines in 2026. You may apply for EUopSTART funding only after the EDF Work Programme has been published.
After each cut‑off, the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science will assess all applications received since the previous cut‑off.
The Agency conducts an individual, qualitative assessment of all applications, cf. the evaluation criteria in section 2.2. Funding is awarded to the applications that best meet the criteria. Other applicants are encouraged to reapply in a subsequent cut‑off.
To be eligible for funding, an application must meet the requirements described below.
EUopSTART supports coordinators and partners in project consortia preparing an application to EDF.
Companies and GTS institutes may apply for EUopSTART funding. It is not possible to apply on behalf of another organisation.
The organisation applying for EUopSTART funding must be domiciled in Denmark. Funding is awarded to the organisation, not to individual researchers or employees.
Only employees of potential beneficiaries may act as contact persons and submit applications. Applications submitted by a third party, or where a third party is listed as contact person, will not be considered.
Private companies receive EUopSTART funding under the rules on de minimis aid (“Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid”).
De minimis means that a company may receive a maximum of EUR 300,000 in de minimis aid over a three‑year period. Note that special de minimis regulations apply to companies in the agriculture sector (*) and the fisheries and aquaculture sector (**).
The company must document that this maximum has not been exceeded at the time of application. This is done by signing a de minimis declaration. The declaration is available below and in the electronic application form. It must be signed and attached to the application. The company is responsible for informing the Agency of any changes to the declaration between the time of application and the time of award.
Template for the de minimis declaration:
EUopSTART: De minimis-declaration
EDF Work Programmes include specific calls targeted at SMEs. Consortia may receive a funding bonus if an SME participates.
Only companies that meet the EU definition of an SME may receive EUopSTART funding for SME‑targeted calls.
The SME definition can be found on the European Commission’s website.
Applicants must:
Please note: Companies may submit a maximum of one EUopSTART application per cut‑off.
You may apply for EUopSTART funding for any call in the EDF Work Programme.
The application must target EDF calls that award competitive funding and require participation from at least three partners from three different EU countries (including Norway). For EDF calls on disruptive technologies, the requirement is two partners from two different EU countries (including Norway).
The size of the grant depends on the activity for which funding is requested:
You cannot apply for additional funding later, and the Agency does not award funding retroactively. You cannot receive funding for activities carried out before the EUopSTART application was submitted.
The grant period must be at least 30 calendar days. It begins on the date the EUopSTART application is submitted and ends no later than the EDF application deadline.
Costs incurred outside the grant period are not eligible.
Please note: Your EUopSTART application must be submitted no later than 30 calendar days before the EDF deadline.
You may apply for funding to cover eligible costs incurred during the grant period that are relevant, necessary, and directly related to preparing the EDF application.
Eligible costs include:
Please note: Funding cannot be used for research or development activities.
You may receive funding for up to 50% of your costs. Maximum amounts are listed in section 1.6. Salary costs are calculated using a fixed hourly rate of DKK 600/hour. Overheads are not eligible. Costs must be stated excluding VAT.
As part of the final reporting, invoices for external assistance must be submitted.
Co‑financing may consist of cash contributions or the value of employee hours contributed (calculated at DKK 600/hour).
Restrictions:
The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Sciences “Terms and conditions for grants” apply to the disbursement, use and administration of all grants. You can always find the current version on the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science’s website:
The Agency’s terms and conditions for grants
To be eligible for funding, the project must fall within the scope of the EDF call.
The applicant must be eligible (see section 1.3), and the grant period must be at least 30 days (see section 1.7). Funding may be requested only for EDF calls with deadlines in 2026.
Applications must reflect the consortium requirements set out in EDF.
For calls requiring support from the Ministry of Defence / Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation, applicants must attach documentation of support (e.g., a letter of intent/support).
Companies must attach a signed de minimis declaration (see section 1.4).
Funding is conditional upon submitting an application to the relevant EDF programme and not making significant changes to the project compared to the EUopSTART application. The EDF application must meet all formal requirements to be evaluated.
The Agency assesses your application based on all material submitted on time. Material submitted after the deadline will generally not be considered. The project is therefore assessed solely on the basis of the application. However, the Agency reserves the right to request additional documentation.
Applications that do not meet the general formal requirements will not be evaluated.
Eligible applications are assessed on a scale from 1–5 for each of the following evaluation criteria:
Applications are assessed according to the above criteria using the following scale:
Eligible applications must achieve a total score of at least 6 to be considered for funding.
If the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science receives more applications than the available budget can support, funding will be awarded to the applications that best meet the criteria.
In cases where a large number of applications receive the same score and there are insufficient funds to support all applications with that score, the Agency may apply the following sub‑criteria, in order of priority, to rank them:
The evaluation criteria form the basis for the Agency’s assessment of applications and its decisions on the allocation of funding. There is competition between applications, and therefore it is not guaranteed that an application will receive EUopSTART funding even if all criteria are met.
Applicants are encouraged to use the electronic EUopSTART application form. The application form can be found on E-grant:
The electronic application system of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, e-grant
*)Find the Agriculture de minimis Regulation on the European Commission’s website:
Agriculture de minimis Regulation
**)Find the Fisheries and Aquaculture de minimis Regulation on the European Commission’s website:
Fisheries and Aquaculture de minimis Regulation
Contact the Grants Unit
Weekdays: 09:00–12:00
Tel.: +45 33 92 92 00
Email: bevilling@ufm.dk
Contact E‑grant Support
Weekdays: 09:00–12:00
Tel.: +45 33 92 91 90
Email: support.e-grant@ufm.dk
Contact Emma Emilie Højer Lindgreen‑Winther,
Special Adviser
Tel.: +45 72 31 78 99
Email: ehw@ufm.dk
