Spin-in calls focus on migrating innovation from the civil to the defence sector.
These are thematic research or development calls published under the annual European Defence Fund (EDF) calls for proposals.
The objective is to spin-in results generated in other civil EU-funded programmes to the defence sector. The aim is to encourage cross-fertilisation of the civil-defence innovation landscape. Furthermore, it encourages proposals to drive forward and integrate results from other sectors, combining them with defence-specific solutions. This will enhance the overall EU R&D efficiency, avoid unnecessary duplication of R&D efforts, improve defence industrial innovation capacity and make sure the armed forces will have access to the most performant solutions.
The proposals need to build upon or integrate results that have been achieved within one or several projects funded under an EU programme call with a focus on civil applications. This (these) previous project(s) may be completed or may still be active. The submitting consortium does not necessarily need to include the participants or result owners of the previous project(s). However, applicants must provide a confirmation that they have or will have the necessary rights to use and commercialise the results of the previous project(s).
Rewards and Benefits
Spin-in calls offer the opportunity to further develop the results from civil EU-funded R&D programs and bring them to a higher technological readiness level or market maturity.
- Untap the dual-use potential of civil innovations for defence
- Expand to new markets
- Opportunities to sell solutions in multiple sectors
- Additional sources of funding
- Enable cross-sector cooperation
- Take advantage of synergies between civil, defence and space
How does it work?
The specific calls are announced in the yearly EDF Work Programme.
When submitting a proposal, applicants need to provide evidence that they have the necessary rights to access and commercialise the generated results of the precursor project in a civil EU-funded R&D programme.
Information on the 2024 Spin-in Call:
There is one spin-in call in Materials & Components category on the topic Electronic components.
Electronic components - EDF-2024-RA-SI-MATCOMP-EC-STEP
Information on the 2023 EUDIS Spin-In Calls:
For 2023, the topics covered were:
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT: Innovative propulsion systems for defence applications
MATERIALS & COMPONENTS: High performance materials for defence applications
CYBER: Automation of security penetration tests
The EDF 2023 round of call for proposals is now closed. The results of the evaluation are expected to be announced by the end of the second quarter of 2024.
Spin-in calls build on results from civil EU-funded R&D programmes that can be further developed and utilized in the context of the defence sector under the EDF programme. To this effect, the EDF publishes open or thematic R&D calls, which focus on migrating innovation funded by the EU from the civil to the defence sector.
The 2023 Work Programme of the EDF allocates an indicative budget of EUR 59 million to several calls.
Any proposal that addresses the topic description can be funded, as long as it spins the results generated in a civil EU-funded R&D programmes into the defence sector. It is necessary to have the rights to these results to be integrated in a EDF action, or to obtain the necessary agreement from the owners/rightsholders.
The Work Programme publishes open or thematic research or development calls. The only requirement is that results from other EU R&D programmes are used and to have or obtain the rights to these results. Any EU civil research projects that are relevant for a spin-in into defence can be supported under this measure.
No. The spin-in calls are limited to civil EU-funded R&D programmes.
The general principles of the EDF apply, as well as international law. Certain topics are subject to ethical screening and assessment.
The eligibility criteria in the Admissibility and Eligibility Form of the 2023 Work Programme of the EDF specifies that applicants should be in a position to have the rights to the results to integrate in the action for the purposes of its implementation (before the GA signature). If this criterion is fulfilled, on-going projects are in principle accepted.