EU projects
From research results to market use – with a plan if a partner fails.
STI joins EU consortia to work on exploitation, IP and market validation. We also help consortia prepare for the financial failure of a partner, so that funded results keep a route to use.
Roles in a consortium
Concrete work with concrete outputs
Each role produces deliverables an evaluator can assess: a credible pathway to exploitation, an owner for each key exploitable result, and a consortium able to deliver.
01
Exploitation and IP
A register of key exploitable results, owners, background, access rights and constraints; the plan for exploitation and dissemination; business plans for key results.
02
Market validation
Interviews with industrial users, application priorities and a pilot or validation roadmap with decision points.
03
Investment readiness
Preparing results for investment, licensing or a spin-off – and, where a result fits our criteria, a separately agreed investment or licence by STI.
04
Continuity of results
A continuity register linking each key result to its owner, access rights, dependencies and the approvals a transfer would need.
05
Engineering and pilots
Industrial pilots, instrumentation, AI and IoT work through our group companies, under an eligible and documented arrangement.
06
Open calls
STI can apply to cascade-funding open calls as an SME. Where STI also has investment interests, roles and conflicts are disclosed and kept separate from any third-party selection.
Continuity of results
If a partner becomes insolvent: two decisions, two processes
Who continues the project work and who can use the results are separate questions. STI can contribute to both, as a potential partner – not as an automatic successor.
- Project tasks and budget
Who continues the work?
The consortium and the granting authority decide on changes to participation, tasks and budget under the grant agreement. An amendment and the accession of a new partner may be needed.
STI can be proposed as a new partner, subject to the granting authority's approval.
- IP and assets
Who can use the results?
The owner of the results, or its authorised seller such as an insolvency practitioner, decides on transfers and licences – with the grant obligations, access rights and required approvals.
STI can acquire or license results, taking over the obligations attached to them.
Buying IP does not make the buyer a beneficiary or transfer the project budget.
Sample continuity register
An illustrative working template. Each consortium completes it with the parties concerned; it does not create any right of succession and is not legal advice.
| Key result | Owner | Background and access rights | Dependencies | Deadlines and triggers | Who decides | Approvals needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 – for example, control software | Beneficiary A | Background of A and B; access rights of C for implementation | Sensor data from B; open-source libraries | Periodic report; insolvency of A | A, or its insolvency practitioner | Notice to partners with access rights; granting authority where required |
| R2 – for example, pilot line design | Beneficiaries B and C (joint) | Background of B; joint ownership agreement | Equipment at B's site | End of the action; exploitation obligations | B and C together | Joint owners' consent; granting authority where required |
What the Horizon Europe model agreement says
The rules we work with
- Beneficiaries must report relevant changes in their legal, financial or ownership situation (Article 19).
- The granting authority may terminate the participation of a beneficiary in bankruptcy or similar proceedings (Article 32). After termination, the coordinator must submit reports and a request for amendment within 60 days of the effective date. Approval of any replacement remains a separate decision.
- Results stay with their owner. A transfer is possible if the obligations pass to the new owner; partners with access rights must be notified and may object (Annex 5).
- Funded beneficiaries must use best efforts to exploit their results for up to four years after the end of the action. Results not exploited one year after the end of the action, despite those efforts, must be offered on the Horizon Results Platform unless the granting authority agrees otherwise in writing (Annex 5).
- Taking over a business unit, rather than buying single assets, can bring additional grant liabilities.
Sources: Horizon Europe General Model Grant Agreement v1.2 (1 June 2026), Articles 19, 32, 39–40 and Annex 5; Annotated Grant Agreement v2.0 (1 April 2025). Rules differ between programmes and calls: the signed grant agreement and its amendments govern each project.
After the project
Results nobody is using
Many results belong to SMEs that no longer have the money or people to continue. STI looks for such results, talks to their owners and – where the technology justifies it – acquires, licenses or finances them, taking on the obligations that come with them. An EU-based buyer helps keep the results within the Union.
Our method
- Market intelligenceIdentify and prioritise applications and use cases.
- Industrial validationTest demand and problem–solution fit with users.
- PositioningCompetition, requirements, adoption barriers, freedom to operate.
- Exploitation routeLicence, spin-off, sale or follow-on project – with an owner and a budget.
Why a Widening partner matters
Slovakia, Poland and Hungary receive a fraction of the EU average per inhabitant from Horizon Europe.
Per inhabitant, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary receive roughly a quarter of the EU-average EU contribution under signed Horizon Europe grants. Their innovation scores are also below the EU average. Consortia that bring in capable partners from these countries can strengthen both impact and geographic balance.
Calculated from CORDIS Horizon Europe project data (28 Sept 2026) and Eurostat population on 1 January 2025.
Source: European Commission, European Innovation Scoreboard 2026 (9 July 2026).
What STI brings
Why consortia work with us
Widening country
A private partner based in Slovakia, a Widening country under Horizon Europe. Eligibility is checked call by call.
Private capital
Where a result fits, a separately agreed investment or licence option can complement the exploitation work.
R&D capacity
A group company certified by the Slovak Ministry of Education as an R&D entity.
Risk planning
A concrete answer to partner-failure risk for the risk table and the consortium agreement.
Current status. In June 2026 STI submitted, as sole applicant, a proposal to an EU-funded open call to validate its NaturePack EO technology; it was under evaluation in October 2026. We list a project as funded only once the agreement is signed.
Building a consortium?
Send us the call reference, the draft concept and the role you see for STI.