The four STEP calls published on 30 September 2026 have a combined indicative allocation of €358.95 million. The published deadline is 4 January 2027 at 17:00, mainland Portugal time. For a business preparing an investment, the first step is to distinguish the instruments and assess the project's fit.
What does STEP finance in Portugal?
STEP supports technologies considered critical to Europe and their value chains. These calls cover digital and deep-tech innovation, biotechnology, and clean and resource-efficient technologies. Eligible investments may involve final products, specific components and machinery, relevant critical raw materials or specialised critical services.
A sector label is insufficient. The application must demonstrate the call's criticality conditions: innovation with economic potential in the European internal market, or a contribution to reducing or preventing EU strategic dependencies. Each condition requires specific supporting factors. Investment planning should start from that assessment and a clearly identified business need.
Four calls, two project structures
- MPr-2026-10: Digital and Biotechnology Productive Innovation, with €107.95m. - COMPETE2030-2026-12: Energy Productive Innovation, with €100m. - MPr-2026-9: Digital and Biotechnology R&D&I, with €76m. - COMPETE2030-2026-11: Energy R&D&I, with €75m.
Productive Innovation supports individual applications associated with manufacturing critical technologies or strengthening their eligible value chains. R&D&I requires a consortium and combines research and development with productive investment bringing results to market. Projects consisting solely of R&D or solely of productive investment are not accepted under the R&D&I calls.
What scale of investment is required?
The reference eligible-expenditure range for Productive Innovation is at least €3m and less than €25m, subject to duly justified exceptions. These thresholds do not apply to Digital and Biotechnology Productive Innovation in Algarve. For R&D&I, the range is at least €5m and less than €25m, with the stated exceptions; corrected eligible expenditure below €5m following appraisal is not supported.
Eligible expenditure differs from total investment. Non-eligible costs, working capital and cash-flow needs may require additional funding. An initial assessment should distinguish total investment, the eligible cost base and the estimated grant.
How should support rates be interpreted?
Productive Innovation has a maximum rate of 70%, with a 50% maximum under the Algarve programme for Digital and Biotechnology. Under R&D&I, the 80% ceiling concerns business R&D; eligible research organisations may reach 85% under the relevant conditions. Productive investment follows separate rules. Actual rates depend on beneficiary, location, activity and State aid framework.
What should businesses prepare now?
- Identify the technology, products and position in the value chain. - Substantiate differentiation, demand and European market relevance. - Estimate eligible costs, total investment and funding requirements. - Check location, company size, permits and timetable. - For R&D&I, define partners, responsibilities and commercial adoption of results.
Preparation should precede irreversible commitments. The incentive effect generally requires an application before work starts, except permitted preparatory activities. All four calls require an English technical annex following the official template, with a 45-page limit.
The Fenix Capital perspective
A credible application connects technical merit with financial execution. We assess the call alongside the market case, funding sources and liquidity during implementation. Sharing the technology, location and estimated investment provides a useful starting point for discussing project fit and feasibility.