FFI Cirkularitet, Hösten 2025

With the Circularity sub-programme, FFI wants to contribute to increasing expertise and finding concrete solutions for challenges linked to circularity. These challenges include climate and energy, changing product and system requirements, and regulations and standards. Funded project should address one of the following focus areas: 

The product - Design for circularity and reduced environmental impact 

Future product development should enable circular flows to achieve maximum use of resources throughout the value chain. This can be achieved through, among other things, new methods and processes for modularization, traceability, remanufacturing and upgrading. 

Human - Competence, cognitive and physical support, work environment and safety 

The role of people needs to be strengthened, by focusing on skills, cognitive support, physical support, work environment and safety. These tools are important for resource-efficient and circular products, processes and business models. Work throughout the value chain should be attractive and sustainable. 

The production system - Climate-neutral manufacturing, maintenance and decommissioning 

The production system needs to become more circular, for example through smart operation and maintenance and production and logistics systems that promote circularity. Circularity in the automotive industry requires a development towards robust and sustainable value chains and ecosystems.
Read more about circularity here 

Result target 

Project that is granted is expected to result in all performance goals within the project period: 

Pre-studies:

• Well-founded project ideas with the possibility of implementing these in a possible upcoming full-scale research and innovation project. 

• Increased knowledge and understanding of the context of the proposed solution. 

• Strengthened collaboration between actors in the consortium and discussions with potential future collaboration partners. 

• Development of the scientific or technical base through, for example, proof of concept studies. 

Full-scale project 

• Developed, tested or demonstrated technologies and processes that significantly contribute to increased circularity and reduce climate emissions and energy consumption from vehicle production and disposal. 

• Innovative solutions with potential to contribute to sustainable transformation with a focus on FFI's goals.

• Strong actor constellations with the potential to realize the solution.

• A clear plan for how the project results will be taken forward and utilized nationally and internationally. 

FFI's objectives 

FFI's mission is to drive road transport research and innovations for a sustainable society. The program has a roadmap that sets the direction towards 2030. The long-term vision is for Sweden to lead the global transition to sustainable road transport. Three goals guide the work: 

• FFI demonstrates solutions that make society's road transport fossil-free, safe, equitable and efficient. 

• FFI develops sustainable solutions that are implemented and accepted by users and society. 

• FFI contributes, through innovation, partnership and collaboration, to developing expertise, infrastructure, new technology, regulations and business models within the road transport system. 

For the full content of the sub-programme, see FFI's roadmap 

Contribute to a sustainable system transition 

Vinnova is tasked with promoting sustainable growth and system transformation. To implement sustainable system transformation, we have chosen to base ourselves on the UN's global sustainability goals, defined in the 2030 Agenda. There, Vinnova prioritizes two perspectives: gender equality and climate change. All initiatives and project we finance are assessed based on how they contribute to these perspectives. 

We therefore always follow up and assess: 

• whether women and men participate in the project on an equal footing, receive contributions and have influence and power over the project 

• how well the project analyses and takes a position on whether there are sex or gender aspects that are relevant to the project's problem formulation, solutions and effects 

• how well the project contributes to the climate transition with a focus on increased circularity.

Gender-equal innovation – what it means for those seeking funding from us

Agenda 2030 as a driver for innovation 

Making scientific publications and results available 

When results from research and innovation are made freely available, more people can contribute to solving societal challenges. This the call for proposals will help make results available to everyone. Therefore, all scientific publishing should be open access. 

This the offer is aimed at groups of actors who intend to develop solutions to minimize the climate and environmental impact from the production and disposal of vehicles.

The owner of the end result (product/process/system owner) needs to be actively involved and have a central role in the project to ensure that the solution, if the project is successful, is taken forward to a full-scale project (applies to feasibility studies) or implementation (applies to full-scale project).

Foreign actors may be relevant and possibly necessary to include as project partners in the project. In order for such actors to be able to receive support from Vinnova, they need to have a branch or operating location in Sweden.

This offer funds research and development activities, aim which is to contribute to one or more of the above-mentioned focus areas. 

Activities for which funding can be applied for 

Examples of activities for which funding can be sought include developing, testing and evaluating solutions and preparing for implementation and utilization. 

The types of project activities approved within the framework of this call for proposals must be covered by one of the funding bases: 

• Feasibility study 

• Industrial research 

• Experimental development 

See more information about the grounds for support in section 4 below. 

The development and innovation project will aim to develop and validate technology, methods, processes and business models. But also the conditions and strategy for dissemination, scaling up and utilization of the project's results. 

What costs can we finance? 

Our funding is subject to state aid rules. The rules govern what types of costs we can finance. These are called eligible costs. 

In this the call for proposals these types of costs are eligible: 

• Personnel costs:Salaries, social security contributions and other non-wage costs. 

• Equipment, land and buildings:Instruments, equipment and rent for premises other than regular business premises 

• Consulting and licensing costs:Consulting services, knowledge and patents purchased or used under license from a third party. Costs for consulting services may constitute a maximum of 20% of a project party's budget. 

• Other direct costs:For example, materials, supplies and travel necessary to carry out the project 

• Indirect costs (overhead):Costs that are not incurred as a direct result of but can be related to the project, for example regular premises and cleaning. Indirect costs may constitute a maximum of 30% of personnel costs. Universities, university colleges and certain research organisations and government agencies have higher maximum limits depending on the type of activities. 

For more detailed information about which costs we can finance, seeour instructions for eligible costs. 

What eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance? 

For a cost to be eligible, it must be: 

• necessary for the activities of the project 

• recorded correctly and separately from the organization's other costs. 

An organization may also not claim someone else's costs as its own. 

For more detailed information on which eligibility requirements, limitations and exceptions apply, seeour guide to eligible costs . 

The state aid rules also govern how large a proportion of the costs we can finance. This is determined individually for each organisation. We therefore differentiate between how much funding the project can receive, and how much each participant can receive. Of the total funding within the entire FFI programme, Vinnova intends to grant funding of a maximum of 50 percent, which is also a guideline for this offer.The total budget for the call for proposals is approximately SEK 45 million.

How much funding can the project receive? 

Each individual project must have at least 25 percent business funding. Maximum funding for feasibility studies is SEK 500,000.

How much funding can a participant receive? 

How much funding each participant can receive depends mainly on: 

• what activities the party will carry out in the project 

• party size and activities 

In this the call for proposals we provide support for industrial research, experimental development and feasibility studies. 

Industrial researchcan be simply described as seeking new knowledge through planned research or critical analysis to develop or significantly improve products, processes or services. 

Experimental developmentcan be simply described as combining, shaping and using existing knowledge to develop new or improved products, processes or services. 

Feasibility studiescan be simply described as an evaluation and analysis of: 

• strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks in an upcoming research and development project 

• what resources are required to carry out the project 

• how likely it is that the project will succeed. 

For full definition, seefunding bases and levels 

How much of the costs can we finance? 

The size of the organization and type of activity determine how large a proportion of the costs we can finance, i.e. the maximum level of support. 

Bonus basics  

If the project is covered by any of these bonus bases, we can finance a higher proportion of the costs according to the table: 

• Actual cooperation: Some level of cooperation between small and larger companies, between companies in two different European countries or between research organisations and companies 

• Dissemination of results: Wide dissemination through, for example, conferences or open databases. 

• Other bonus basis 

For full information on these bonus bases, seefunding bases and support levels 

We grant funding in accordance with Article 25 of the EU Commission's General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). 

Non- state aid

In this the call for proposals we also provide support to organisations that do not engage in economic activities ( not state aid). This usually includes universities and university colleges, research institutes and other organisations. 

We can finance up to 100 percent of such an organization's eligible costs. 

How do you determine whether an organization is engaged in economic activities?

An organization that offers any kind of service or product on a market is considered to be carrying out economic activities and cannot be granted this form of support. It does not matter how the organization is financed, whether it is public or private, or whether it has a profit motive. It also does not matter what legal form the business has. For example, whether it is a limited liability company, a trading company, an economic association, a non-profit association or a foundation. 

If you are unsure whether an organization in your project is conducting economic activities, contact call manager. However, the organization is responsible for assessing whether it is conducting economic activities. 

In order for us to take a position on and assess your proposal, it must meet certain formal eligibility requirements. If the requirements are not met, proposal will be rejected immediately. 

Eligibility requirements on organizational form of project partners 

• All project partners must be legal entities. Natural persons or individual companies cannot participate as project partners. 

• The coordinating party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden. In this respect, a Swedish legal entity is considered to be a foreign organization that has a branch or establishment in Sweden. In that case, the costs in the project must be attributable to activities of the branch or establishment. 

Eligibility requirements on the project 

• The project manager must be employed by the coordinating party in the project. 

• The project may not be started before proposal is submitted. 

• Costs for consulting services may constitute a maximum of 20 percent of a project party's budget. 

• The actor constellation consists of at least twoparties. 

• Co-financing from the business community must amount to at least 25 percent of the project's total budget. 

Eligibility requirements on proposal 

• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English. 

• Proposal must follow the instructions given in section 8. 

• Proposal must contain all requested attachments. Please note that no attachments other than those specifically stated may be attached to proposal. 

• Proposal must be submitted no later than 2:00 p.m.on the last day of application via Vinnova's e-services. 

What do we assess? 

The project proposal must be in line with aim and vision of FFI's Roadmap and the Circularity sub-programme. Applications will be assessed based on the main criteria potential, implementation, gender equality and actors, see below.
Read more about FFI's Roadmap 

Criteria for full-scale project 

Potential (weighted 40 percent)

• potential of the project proposal to contribute to FFI's objectives. 

• potential of the project proposal to contribute to the call's results objectives. 

• potential of the project proposal to develop new innovative solutions, rather than incremental improvements to existing solutions. 

Implementation (weighted 30 percent)

• To what extent does the project proposal have a well-thought-out strategy for realizing the potential and disseminating and utilizing results. 

• The project proposal is based on thorough external monitoring and state-of-the-art description.

• The effectiveness of the project plan:
  - Reasonable project time and budget for the problems to be solved.
  - Adequate project plan with activities, work packages, milestones, division of responsibilities, specific project goals and plans for how goal achievement will be measured. 

Actors (weighted 20 percent) 

• Active participation from need owners, users/customers, product/process/system owners and actor(s) with the intention of taking forward expected results. 

• Composition, competence and ability as well as commitment of the actor constellation in relation to project goals and implementation. 

• The project manager's ability and commitment to lead the project. 

Gender equality (weighted 10 percent)

• How well equality aspects such as sex or gender perspectives that may be important to take into account in connection with the project's problem area, solutions and effects are taken into account. 

• The composition of the team with regard to gender distribution, as well as the distribution of power and influence between men and women. 

• How well gender equality aspects have been integrated into the project plan. 

Criteria for feasibility studies 

Potential (weighted 50 percent)

• potential of the project proposal to contribute to the focus of the call. 

Implementation (weighted 20 percent)

• The project proposal's positioning in relation to the state of knowledge nationally and internationally. 

• The appropriateness of the project proposal in terms of a reasonable project time and budget for the work to be carried out. 

Actors (weighted 20 percent)

• Composition, competence and ability as well as commitment of the actor constellation in relation to project goals and implementation. 

Gender equality (weighted 10 percent)

• How well equality aspects such as sex or gender perspectives that may be important to take into account in connection with the project's problem area, solutions and effects are taken into account. 

• The composition of the team with regard to gender distribution, as well as the distribution of power and influence between men and women. 

• How well gender equality aspects have been integrated into the project plan. 

How do we assess? 

Applications that meet the formal requirements will be evaluated against the assessment criteria by specially appointed external independent evaluator, who are appointed by Vinnova. Proposal are assessed in competition with other submitted applications. 

Read more about FFI's call for proposals process 

We also assess financial status 

Before we decide on funding, we also make a comprehensive assessment of the organizational and financial status of those receiving funding. We use information we obtain from credit reports, currently from Dun & Bradstreet. 

In order for us to grant funding this applies: 

• Organizations seeking funding for personnel costs must be registered as employers with the Swedish Tax Agency. 

• Organizations must not be insolvent, or undergoing liquidation or corporate restructuring. They must also not have any significant unpaid debts with the Swedish Enforcement Authority. 

• Limited liability companies must not have used up half or more of their share capital. 

• If requested, SMEs must be able to demonstrate that they have the financial means to implement the project according to their budget in proposal. They cannot use public funding or their own funds intended for other project to cover project costs in this call for proposals. 

Once we have assessed all applications, we will send you a decision in which we either grant or reject your proposal. In the decision, we state how much funding each party in the project will be granted. Our decision cannot be appealed. 

What happens if you are granted funding? 

If we grant your proposal, you must follow our General terms and conditions for funding. The terms and conditions include the following: 

• That you and all other parties sign a special document in which you approve your participation and commit to carrying out the project. 

• That you will report how things are going, your costs and achieved results to us regularly during the project period. 

• If you are multiple parties, you must agree on your mutual rights and obligations in the project in an agreement. It can take time to get a project agreement in place, so please start working on this well in advance of the project starting. 

• How the results will be used and how scientific publication will take place. 

See our General terms and conditions and get help understanding and fulfilling them  

You also need to follow the special conditions that apply to this the call for proposals:   

1. Reporting and follow-up
   - Reporting and follow-up must be carried out in accordance with decisions, templates and special instructions available on FFI's website,www.ffisweden.se(under the templates and guidance tab).
   - The project must be represented at the seminars or program conferences that Vinnova and FFI will organize and convene specifically during the project period. Costs for participation in such a seminar/program conference are eligible for support. Upon request, the project coordinator must provide Vinnova and FFI with image and text material for project catalogs, annual reports, and the like. 

1. Project Agreement
   - If the project concerns feasibility studies, the requirement for a project agreement in § 1.4 of the general terms and conditions is deleted. 

1. Indication that the project was funded by the FFI program
   The following replaces § 7.3 of the General Terms and Conditions:
   - When providing information about the project and when publishing project results, it must be stated that the work was carried out with support from the Fordonsstrategisk Forskning and Innovation programs, FFI. 

1. Publication on the Knowledge Exchange
   - The coordinator must provide information on the project summary, project manager and actor constellation for publication onhttps://kunskapsformedlingen.seInstructions and templates will be announced in close connection with the decision. 

We may also decide to add supplementary special conditions for individual project. In such cases, they will be stated in the decision. 

Can you have to pay back funding? 

If you do not follow our term, you may be liable for a refund. This also applies if you have been granted funding incorrectly or for an amount that is too high. 

When the call for proposals closes, your proposal will be registered. We will then send an email confirmation to the person responsible for the user account, the project manager and the signatory. If you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours of the call for proposals closing, please contact us. 

Once the call for proposals is closed, you cannot change anything in proposal. You can only supplement if we ask you to. 

Who can read your proposal? 

Your proposal will be read by Vinnova employees and the external evaluator participating in this the call for proposals. Everyone works under a duty of confidentiality. 

Applications submitted to us become public documents. This means that we must disclose them if requested. However, we will keep confidential information about business and operational conditions, inventions or research results that we believe could cause financial harm to the individual if disclosed. 

How we handle public documents and confidentiality