FFplus Business Experiments Open Call: Empowering SMEs with HPC Solutions

The FFplus project has announced its first open call for proposals, inviting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to explore high-performance computing (HPC) solutions to tackle their business challenges. This initiative aims to demonstrate the benefits of HPC in improving business processes and enhancing competitiveness within the European SME ecosystem.

Key Details

• Submission Deadline: September 4th, 2024, 17:00 Brussels local time
• Funding: Up to €200,000 per experiment, with a total budget of €4M
• Experiment Duration: Up to 15 months, starting January 1st, 2025

Eligibility and Focus

The call is specifically targeted at SMEs with no prior experience in HPC. The proposals should focus on solving concrete business challenges that can significantly impact the enterprise's operations and contribute to the overall European SME ecosystem. The experiments should showcase how HPC can be effectively integrated into business processes, providing tangible benefits.

Submission Requirements

• Proposals must be submitted electronically in English.
• The submission should include two PDF documents: Part A and Part B, following the specified content, structure, and formatting guidelines.
• Proposals should align with the objectives of FFplus, detailing the work plan, resources, and data protection measures.

Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation process will consider the following aspects:

• Business Impact: The potential of the experiment to address significant business challenges and deliver measurable benefits.
• Concept Quality: The soundness and innovativeness of the proposed solution and the work plan.
• Consortium Qualification: The expertise and balance of the consortium members.
• Resource Deployment: The justification and effectiveness of the resources allocated to the experiment.

Additional Information

• SMEs with an academic focus are not eligible for this call.
• Participation in this call is mutually exclusive with the Generative AI Models development call.

For detailed guidelines and instructions on how to apply, visit the FFplus Business Experiments Open Call page.