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The proposal submission will take place in two stages, with a DRAFT proposal and a FINAL proposal. Both submissions will be evaluated. It is therefore imperative that the DRAFT proposals contain sufficient information for a comprehensive evaluation.

The DRAFT proposals submitted in Stage 1 should not exceed 5 pages and should contain:

• Executive summary, with objectives, outcomes and final results expected (1/2 page)
• Short description of the consortium with role of each partner (1/2 page) 
• Detailed information (4 pages) addressing the following topics:
  • Project alignment with the EIT RawMaterials Strategic Agenda 2021-27
  • Planned achievements (EIT Core KPIs)
  • Composition of the consortium
  • project alignment with the thematic orientation
  • Planned revenue sharing model 

• Upscaling projects are innovation projects based on validated technologies that need additional step(s) for up-scaling, demonstration or implementation. The objective is to bring the technology to market, as a product, service or process. 
• Upscaling projects must aim for market introduction and/or a commercial use within 3 years (or less) after the end of project. 
• The technology must be at Technology Readiness Level (TRL1) of at least 5 at the beginning of the project, corresponding to a “technology validated in relevant environment”. Documented evidence must be provided in the application to substantiate this claim. 
• At the end of the project, the technology is expected to have reached a TRL of at least 7, corresponding to a “system prototype demonstration in operational environment”. 
• The co-funding contributed by the project consortium should be minimum 30% of the total funding (NOT 30% of the EIT funding). This is the minimum amount set by the EIT for innovation projects. Projects that provide a higher co-funding will be evaluated positively. 
• Projects that have the potential to become investment cases for the European Raw Materials Alliance within the funding period will be evaluated positively and will be given a priority over other projects that have achieved a similar score in the quality criteria. 
• All projects must contribute to the long-term financial sustainability targets of the KIC by aiming at generating backflow in the event of success. The amount of backflow can be capped to an amount equalling the EIT funding received by the consortium plus a project-specific, risk-related mark-up to be defined for each individual case. The backflow shall only apply for the event of the successful commercialisation of the project. The amount, time and conditions for the backflow will be crucial criteria for the selection of the funded projects. 
• In the case of a resubmission, it is mandatory to highlight the improvement performed 
• If a proposal has already been supported with previous funds, please indicate them with the name of the project as well as the source of funding 
• A detailed work plan must be provided for each year of the project duration at the time of proposal submission. The work plan must contain major milestones to be achieved during each of the year(s) of the funding period, including main deliverables and description of the envisaged project status. 
• It is possible to add other partners to the consortium after the project selection, but without changes to the total KAVA budget allocated to the project. 
• Regardless of the funding source, if an entity incurs costs as part of a KAVA they need to become KIC partners (with the exception of the RIS task partners). In other words, non-members who receive funding, or who incur costs as a result of a KAVA (even if the funding is brought in by them) need to become partners, supply all documents and pay fees; they need to report their costs, be subject to eligibility, etc. like any regular partner. 
• Innovation projects need to be based on a solid market analysis, covering important aspects such as the business environment (e.g., technical, regulatory, social, environmental and political aspects, user needs and targeted applications, customer value proposition, target market(s) (e.g., size, structure, growth potential, segmentation), risk assessment, design or market studies, and intellectual property exploration. A preliminary market analysis must be included in the proposal and will be the basis for the Go-to-market strategy that will be developed in Work Package 0 (WP0) during the project.