STEP II EDITION - Public Notice - Aid for the development and manufacture of critical technologies

Published on BURC No 83 of 17/11/2025 lPublic Notice on AID FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURE OF CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES – STEP II EDITION.

By supporting high-tech investments, promoted by SMEs and large enterprises, the Notice promotes the development of digital technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies and biotechnologies, safeguarding and strengthening their respective value chains.

The Notice is financed under Action 1.6.1 – Supporting the development and manufacture of critical technologies, Specific Objective 1.6 – Supporting investments contributing to the objectives of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) referred to in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2024/795.

Objectives, beneficiaries and policy areas

The financial envelope of the Notice is € 50,000,000 from RP Campania ERDF 2021-2027, Priority 1a “Digital, clean and biotechnologies: Contribution to the Step Platform – Action 1.6.1. “Supporting the development and manufacturing of critical technologies”.

The resources allocated may, by means of a specific measure, be supplemented with additional allocations, relating to European and national funds, in accordance with the characteristics and size of the aid referred to in this Notice, in order to increase the effectiveness of the intervention.

Potential beneficiaries
Enterprises of any size, in single or aggregate form (in a stable form), which are established on the date of submission of the application, and which have their operational headquarters, active or to be activated in Campania, are eligible for support.

Areas of intervention

The proposed actions must cover at least one of the following technology areas (STEP):

Digital technologies and deep-tech innovation
Clean and resource-efficient technologies
Biotechnology

Technologies that meet at least one of the following conditions will be considered critical:
Below:
A. Bringing an innovative, emerging and cutting-edge element to the internal market
with significant economic potential
B. Contribute to reducing or preventing Europe’s strategic dependencies

Eligible interventions must provide for the implementation of:

Productive investments, necessary for the development or manufacturing of the proposed strategic technology or for safeguarding and strengthening the value chain of the proposed strategic technology
Possible “industrial research” and “experimental development” activities related to productive investments

Eligible expenditure

Productive investment

Corporate soil and its accommodations
Masonry and related works and company-specific infrastructures
Factory new miscellaneous machinery, plants and equipment
Intangible assets

Research and experimental development activities

Costs of personnel engaged in experimental research and development activities
Instrumentation and equipment costs, to the extent and for the period in which they are
used for the project
Costs relating to buildings, to the extent and for the period in which they are used
for the project
Costs for contract research, patents and consultancy services used exclusively
for the purposes of the project;
Other operating costs (raw materials, components, semi-finished products, commercial materials)
and specific consumables)

The amount of eligible expenditure must not be less than € 1,000,000

The proposed action must be the subject of Sworn technical expertise drawn up by a technician with an appropriate qualification and proven experience (at least ten years) in the field of reference – who fully describes the characteristics of the project, highlighting the costs necessary for the implementation of the intervention and the technical specifications of the same, as well as the existence of the conditions laid down for the attribution of the project under the STEP Regulation.

Type of aid
Projects will be selected on a ranked basis. The aid is granted in the form of a grant, for productive investments under the conditions laid down in Article 14 of the GBER and in accordance with the intensities laid down in the 2021-2027 Regional State Aid Charter, with the increases provided for investments under Regulation (EU) 2024/795 ‘STEP’, for research and development activities, under the conditions and on the basis of the intensities laid down in Article 25(5)(c) of the GBER.

Submission of applications

The application for access to the facilitation, under penalty of exclusion, must be completed and submitted exclusively through the dedicated digital service, called ‘AID APPLICATION FOR CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES (STEP) – II EDITION’, which will be made available on the Catalogue of Digital Services of the Campania Region, accessible at the link https://servizi-digitali.regione.campania.it/AiutiStepBis from 00:00 on 4 February 2026 to 16:00 on 26 February 2026, unless extended by the Regional Administration.

Support and questions

The proposing entity can request support and submit questions using the appropriate FAQ form (Frequently Asked Questions), available on the descriptive page of the digital service at the following link: https://servizi-digitali.regione.campania.it/Home/ListaFaq?NomeServizio=AiutiStepBis