Eurostars 2026: Subsidy for International R&D Collaboration

Eurostars is a European subsidy for innovative SMEs that develop new, market-oriented technologies together with foreign partners. It is the scheme to know if your innovation has an international character. This article covers the conditions, rates and amounts for 2026. Looking for the foundation for Dutch R&D first? Read our guide to applying for WBSO.

What is Eurostars?

Eurostars is part of the Eureka network and stimulates faster development and growth of small companies through international R&D collaboration. You work with partners — SMEs, larger companies and/or knowledge institutions — from other participating countries.

Budget and rates

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs makes €22 million available each year for the Dutch part of Eurostars, split over 2 calls per year.

The subsidy rates on the eligible R&D project costs are:

SME: 50%
Knowledge institution: 50%
Large company and other participants: 40%

The maximum subsidy is €500,000 per project for the Dutch project share. Only costs directly related to research and development qualify; you finance other costs with your own contribution.

Key conditions

You form an international consortium with partners from several participating countries.
For Dutch subsidy, there must be at least one Dutch company in the consortium.
The project is market-oriented: there is a prospect of commercialisation.
National applications are submitted digitally with eHerkenning level eH3.

How does the application work?

Eurostars uses a two-step application:

International application — your consortium submits a joint application to the Eureka secretariat.
National application — after approval by the international jury, RVO invites you to submit the national subsidy application.

Note: Eurostars works with fixed calls that have their own deadlines, which change yearly. Check the Eurostars page on RVO for the current windows.

Eurostars and the WBSO

Eurostars and the WBSO are not mutually exclusive. The WBSO lowers your R&D wage costs in the Netherlands; Eurostars funds a specific international R&D project. Many innovative companies use the WBSO as a foundation and deploy Eurostars for cross-border collaboration. Note that the same costs may not be funded twice.

Get started

Source: RVO, Eurostars (checked June 2026). See RVO.nl/eurostars for the current conditions and deadlines.

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