Mandatory project outline before applying for Green Platform 2023

• About this year's Green Platform call
• About the mandatory project outline (now closed)
• General guidelines for Green Platform projects in 2023
• Summary

About this year's Green Platform call

This year's call for proposals (the text call is now published) is the third call from the Green Platform Initiative. The application deadline for the main call is Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 23:59. As in 2022, this year there will be a requirement to submit an outline prior to the main call for proposals. Submission of an outline is mandatory and constitutes the first phase of the application process for this year's Green Platform call. Applications for the main call that are not based on an outline submitted by the deadline, will be rejected.

We reserve the right to adopt Stortinget's budget resolutions for the years 2024 and 2025. The total need for support per project must be between NOK 30–80 million. Funding is awarded in accordance with Article 25 of the state aid rules – support for research and development projects. The decision for the allocations is expected in December 2023.

About the mandatory project outline (now closed)

Application deadline for mandatory outline was March 8, 2023, 13:00.

The purpose of the project outline call

The aim of the mandatory outline call is to mobilise project ideas and consortia that can become competitive project applications for the Green Platform Initiative. Through the outlines, we want to help ensure that potential applicants are linked together in larger and more effective consortia in connection with the main call for proposals. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with the purpose of the Green Platform before submitting an outline.

Who can submit an outline?

It is primarily Norwegian companies and Norwegian research institutes that are the target group for the Green Platform. Other types of organisations and businesses with activity in Norway can also submit an outline, provided that they have a Norwegian organisation number. However, only Norwegian companies or Norwegian research institutes may submit an application for the main call for proposals. For which research institutes this applies to, see the information page Approved (Norwegian) research organisations and  the heading "Research institutes" and "Other approved research organisations". Sole proprietorships cannot submit an outline or a grant application.

Who can participate?

The green platform is open to all technology areas, industries, sectors and industries. Trade and industry, research institutes, the public sector and other organisations may be participants in a Green Platform project.

How to fill out and submit a project outline?

• Log in to Innovation Norway, and find a link to the Green Platform Outline Form below the field "Kom igang her". This link will not be in place until week 5.
• All fields in the form are mandatory and must be filled in.
• A project outline that has not been submitted by the deadline or incompletely completed will not be considered and will therefore not qualify to submit an application for the main call for proposals.
• The project outline must be written in Norwegian or English. Feel free to use Norwegian if you can.
• The outline must be strategically anchored in the company or research organisation that submits the outline (i.e. Project Owner).
• It is not possible to edit submitted outlines. Therefore, do not press the "submit button" until the outline is ready to be submitted. You will automatically receive confirmation from the portal that the outline has been received. It is your own responsibility to check that you receive such confirmation.

How will we assess the project outline?

Submitted project outlines will be assessed administratively by Innovation Norway, the Research Council of Norway and Siva. You will receive a written response to the outline where we primarily give you feedback on the relevance of the outlined project. You will also receive recommendations based on the guidelines and criteria that apply to the Green Platform, see the seven points at the bottom of this page. The feedback will thus not be a professional assessment of how the main challenge in the outlined project should be solved. If the outlined project fits better within other schemes and instruments, you will receive a clear recommendation to do so.

Feedback on project outlines will be given continuously and no later than Friday 14 April 2023.

We encourage collaboration

The title of the project outlines, names of contact persons and associated organisations will be published on the Green Platform website. This makes it possible to exchange and collaborate on project ideas and project proposals across alle the submitted outlines. Contact us at Green Platform for advice and guidance. 

General guidelines for Green Platform projects in 2023

The Green Platform will help accelerate the green transition in the business sector in order to reach the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 on the road to a low-emission society in 2050. Projects are to ensure a socio-economically profitable and internationally competitive Norwegian business sector.

Projects may include a green restructuring of existing trade and industry or lay the foundation for the emergence of new sustainable trade and industry and new green value chains. It is both about changing existing production methods and processes through increased use of enabling technologies, improvement of current or development of new technology, processes, products, services or business models. The purpose is to shift Norwegian business and industry towards zero emissions, with increased resource utilisation, maintenance of biodiversity and reduced negative environmental impact.

The green transition will lay the foundation for strengthened competitiveness, for example through increased export potential, in a way that ensures lasting value creation and employment.

Ambitious projects where collaboration is crucial

Through the Green Platform Initiative we want to mobilise ambitious projects with several partners who want to develop new and more climate and environmentally friendly products and solutions in effective cooperation. Effective collaboration is characterised by the fact that all participants in the projects are necessary to trigger added value. Both real risks and results should be shared between the partners. A balanced effort is required between the partners and between the business sector and R&D actors, and where the scope of grants is regulated in accordance with the state aid rules.

In the initiative, projects are to be carried out by a consortium comprising a minimum of three partners, of which at least two are companies. All partners must enter into binding agreements on joint implementation of the project. Both companies and research institutes may act as Project Owner and submit an application on behalf of the consortium. In addition to the minimum requirement for participation from the business sector, research groups, the public sector and other organisations may also participate in the project.

Siva's funding for the Green Platform projects is awarded through the Norwegian Catapult scheme  and goes to participating catapult centres. Through testing and verification in industrial facilities, the catapult centres help to make the path from concept stage to market introduction/implementation faster and easier.

In 2023, we want to highlight the importance of public-private partnerships both in terms of implementation and financing – where this may be relevant.

Strengthened emphasis on society, climate and the environment

Projects awarded support from the Green Platform Initiative are to generate benefits in the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and better resource utilisation in a way that safeguards and improves nature and biodiversity. For Green Platform 2023, greater emphasis will be placed on the application describing how the efforts contribute to a green restructuring of Norwegian business and industry. In addition, greater emphasis is placed on expected climate and environmental benefits through the use of life cycle analysis or another suitable method/tool.

The principles of the EU taxonomy will form the basis for assessing climate and environmental perspectives. The taxonomy contains six environmental objectives. To be classified as a sustainable economic activity, the activity must contribute to the fulfilment of at least one of the six environmental objectives in the taxonomy, and must not cause significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives. The six environmental objectives of the EU taxonomy:

1. Climate change mitigation
2. Climate change adaptation
3. The sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources 
4. The transition to a circular economy 
5. Pollution prevention and control 
6. The protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems 

Emphasis will also be placed on projects demonstrating that they are socio-economically profitable and contribute to increasing overall value creation by creating value for more people than those carrying out the project, for example by referring to positive ripple effects and effects on employment and for society in general.

Goal of having a balanced portfolio of Green Platform projects

We aim to achieve a balanced portfolio of restructuring projects involving a breadth of Norwegian trade and industry. The Green Platform portfolio can be strengthened with low-emission efforts in value chains and industries that have not been awarded funding in 2021 or 2022. In the 2023 call for proposals, we also want the projects to focus on the use of digital and enabling technology in the work on the green transition.

Summary

In the Green Platform project, you should have

• a goal to solve specific challenges and issues that will accelerate the green transition of Norwegian business and industry towards 2030 and 2050;
• concrete targets and high ambitions for value creation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved state of biodiversity and the environment;
• a high degree of innovation that challenges the established, and that thinks new and innovative about technology and the market;
• ambitions for results that can be disseminated and scaled and that will also provide lasting value creation and increased competitiveness, in addition to impacts and impacts both nationally and internationally;
• the need for a breadth of activities from research and technology development, through testing and verification, to implementation, scaling and commercialisation/industrialisation;
• goal to build strong value chains that require broad collaboration across disciplines, technology areas, competence environments, industries and sectors;
• a scope and level of ambition that entails a need for risk mitigation beyond that covered by ordinary schemes and instruments.

We recommend potential applicants to familiarise themselves with the purpose of the Green Platform before submitting a project outline. If the project outline does not address all of the points above, you should consider the possibilities of other funding schemes (organisations that award funding for research and innovation in Norway).