Aid for research and development projects – Provincial Law 6/2023

The incentive scheme supports businesses’ research and development projects, to be carried outafter the date of submission of the application.

The subsidy scheme, implemented under Provincial Law No. 6/2023 ‘Measures to support the Trentino economy’, is governed by the specific provisions of the individual schemes relating to the subsidy scheme‘Aid to finance industrial research, experimental development and feasibility studies’and by the general provisions common to all schemes.

What is funded

Support is provided for research and development projects – including those carried out in collaboration with other entities – relating to the following activities:

• industrial research;
• experimental development.

Industrial research and experimental development activities must be aimed at creating new products, processes or services, or at significantly improving existing products, processes or services.

The funding scheme is divided into the following sub-measures:

• research and experimental development projects carried out by small, medium and large enterprises (sub-measure A1);
• research and experimental development programmes carried out by enterprise research centres (sub-measure A2).

Projects are assessed through an evaluation procedure.

Incentives

For projects submitted under sub-measure A1 - Experimental research and development projects: the incentive is calculated on the basis of eligible expenditure and is determined according to the type of activity and whether or not the project falls within the priority areas of interest/strategic projects defined by the Multi-annual Research Programme (P.P.R.) referred to in Article 18 of Provincial Law No. 14/2005.

A bonus is granted if the beneficiary is a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME bonus) and a further bonus if the project involves collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises, or provides for the widespread dissemination of results or access to them at market prices and on non-exclusive or non-discriminatory terms (other bonuses).

View the details of the incentive scheme for sub-measure A1 here.

For projects submitted under sub-measure A2 – Research and development programmes of research centres, the incentive amounts to 25 per cent of eligible expenditure. 

The incentive is granted under an exemption scheme pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014.

Minimum and maximum expenditure limits

For projects submitted under sub-measure A1 – Research and experimental development projects, the minimum eligible expenditure must exceed 200,000 euros.

For projects submitted under sub-measure A2 – Research and development programmes of research centres, the minimum eligible expenditure must exceed 1 million euros.

Applications with expenditure exceeding 10 million euros are not eligible for funding.

Eligible projects must:

• be carried out within an operational unit located within the Province of Trento, which meetsspecific requirements (see point 3, paragraph 8, of the general provisions applicable to all projects);
• commence within 3 months of the date on which the grant is awarded;
• for sub-measure A1 – Experimental research and development projects, be completed within 3 years of the project start date; for sub-measure A2 – Research and development programmes of research centres, be completed within 5 years of the project start date;
• be commenced after the date of submission of the application for funding.

Further obligations are set out in the general provisions common to all projects and in the specific provisions for individual projects relating to the aid scheme ‘Aid to finance industrial research, experimental development and feasibility studies’. These include the obligation to maintain the operational unit within the province, employment and financial obligations, and the obligation to use the project’s results for productive purposes within the province.

Projects with eligible expenditure exceeding 1 million euros are also subject, for the purposes of granting the incentive, to the signing of an Agreement between the Province and the company applying for the incentive. The Agreement sets out shared objectives and obligations regarding the development of the territory.

Enterprises of any size (including research centres) that meet the requirements set out in the specific provisions of the individual schemes relating to the aid measure ‘Aid to finance industrial research, experimental development and feasibility studies’, or in the general provisions common to all schemes.

The requirements include: 

• An insurance policy covering damage directly caused by natural disasters and catastrophic events occurring within the national territory, to the assets specified in paragraph 1 of Article 2424 of the Civil Code (Assets section, item B-II, numbers 1), 2) and 3)), pursuant to Law No. 213/2023 (Article 1, paragraphs 101 et seq., as amended by Article 13 of Decree-Law No. 202/2024 and by Article 1 of Decree-Law No. 39/2025), in accordance with the general provisions common to all measures under Provincial Law No. 6/2023 (point 3, paragraph 5, letter r)).

  An insurance policy is required asa condition of eligibility for applications submitted from:

  • 30 June 2025, forlarge enterprises;
  • 2 October 2025, formedium-sized enterprises;
  • 1 January 2026, forsmall enterprises.

  Compliance with the obligation to take out an insurance policy is also requiredfor incentive applications submitted before the aforementioned deadlines but for which approval is granted after those dates.
  Please refer to theFAQsunder‘Further information’.

• A collective agreement covering its employees, with one of the providers identified byProvincial Council Resolution No. 1758 of 31 October 2024

• Up-to-date payment of contributions to social security and welfare bodies.

The application may be submitted by:

• The owner or legal representative of the company
• An authorised representative

Applications may be submitted from 1 January to 31 December each year.

If an application has already been submitted under the ‘Aid to finance industrial research, experimental development and feasibility studies’ scheme, a new application may only be submitted once the previous funded project has been completed.

In any case, when submitting a new application:

• for sub-measure A1 – Research and experimental development projects, at least two years must have elapsed since the date of submission of the previous application;
• for sub-measure A2 – Research and development programmes of research centres, at least six years must have elapsed since the date of submission of the previous application.

From 30 September 2025, applications must be submitted via theS.I. PatPlatformusingthe service ‘Aid for research and development projects – Provincial Law 6/2023’.

Applications relating to joint initiatives (Joint Applications) must be submitted to the assessing body – APIAE – Research Office – via certified email (PEC) to the following address:apiae.incentivi@pec.provincia.tn.it.

SUPPORT CONTACTS

In the event of platform malfunctions that prevent the application from being submitted correctly, these must be reported promptly to the support service by calling the freephone number 800 196 977 from Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 5.00 pm. If the issues remain unresolved, they must be reported to the case officer – APIAE Research Office – via certified email (PEC) at apiae.incentivi@pec.provincia.tn.it. Once the situation and the timeframe for resolution have been assessed, the case officer may authorise the submission or rectification of the application via certified email (PEC).

Inclusion of the Unique Project Code (CUP) on invoices issued from 1 June 2023 and relating to incentive applications submitted from 22 April 2023. 

Please refer to the operational guidelines set out under the heading‘Provisions regarding the Unique Project Code (CUP)’

-