Funding instruments for you innovation projects

Catalisti facilitates groundbreaking innovation in the chemistry and plastics sector by acting as a bridge between ambitious companies, knowledge institutions, and robust funding. Through our partnership with Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO), we guide you toward the right funding instrument to de-risk your collaborative innovation projects. Explore the innovation instruments utilized within the Catalisti network below.

Catalisti projects

ICON (Interdisciplinary Cooperative Research)

ICON projects are the bedrock of collaborative innovation. They bridge the gap between academic research and industrial application by bringing together a balanced consortium of companies and knowledge institutions.

  • Goal: Tangible economic valorization in Flanders within a foreseeable timeframe.
  • Catalisti Portfolio Example: MATTER — A project focused on developing optimal plastic waste management schemes by combining sorting and mechanical/thermochemical recycling technologies for complex fractions like P+MD.
  • Learn More: VLAIO ICON Projects

cSBO (Strategic Basic Research for Clusters)

cSBO projects push the boundaries of current knowledge. These are forward-looking, high-risk research initiatives driven by knowledge institutions but heavily steered by an industrial advisory board to ensure future market relevance.

  • Goal: Building a strong scientific foundation that will seed future industrial innovations and spin-offs.
  • Catalisti Portfolio Example: WATCH — A four-year project exploring the chemical recycling of various types of plastic waste into basic raw materials and high-quality chemicals via catalytic pyrolysis.
  • Learn More: VLAIO SBO Projects

COOCK (Collective Knowledge Dissemination)

Innovation only creates impact when it is adopted. COOCK projects focus on translating existing, mature research results into actionable knowledge for a broad group of companies, particularly SMEs.

  • Goal: Accelerating the adoption of new technologies across an entire value chain.
  • Catalisti Portfolio Example: REVALUE — A project translating research on recycling Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) from wind turbines and marine vessels into practical, circular valorization routes for industry.
  • Learn More: VLAIO COOCK Projects

Moonshot Flanders projects

Early Stage innovation (ESI)

Early Stage Innovation (ESI) projects involve innovative research that is unique with regards to the state-of-the-art, has a clear differentiating factor, and tests disruptive ideas at low TRL levels. In the event of scientific success, the research offers a prospect for future economic applications. Each ESI project proposal is submitted by a consortium of at least three research groups from at least two Flemish research organisations. ESI projects have a max. duration of 48 months with a max. budget of 3 million euro at a funding percentage of 100%.

Later Stage innovation (LSI)

Later Stage Innovation (LSI) projects aim to further support and accelerate research that has already proven its feasibility at low TRL. LSI projects provide support to research and knowledge institutes for funding infrastructure, knowledge build-up and de-risking of the intended technology. LSI projects have a max. duration of 36 months with a max. budget of 2 million euro at a funding percentage of 100%. As of the 2025 call, LSI projects are given priority over ESI projects, with a dedicated yearly budget of €5 million.

Learn More: Moonshot Flanders

Intercluster Innovation Projects

Not all challenges fit neatly into a single sector. When an innovation challenge crosses traditional industry boundaries, Catalisti partners with other Flemish spearhead clusters such as Flux50, Flanders' FOOD, biovia, VIL, ENT.A and De Blauwe Cluster to launch Intercluster Projects.

  • What they are: Cross-sector consortia that blend the expertise of multiple ecosystems (e.g., combining energy grid knowledge from Flux50 with chemical process knowledge from Catalisti).
  • Why we do them: To solve complex systemic challenges that require integrated solutions, such as agricultural waste valorization or electrifying heavy industry.
  • How they work: They typically utilize standard VLAIO instruments — most commonly ICON or cSBO formats — but are co-managed and co-funded across the participating clusters.
  • Examples:
  • SHERPA: An intercluster cSBO with Flux50 and De Blauwe Cluster developing an electrified, energy-efficient ammonia decomposition process to produce hydrogen.
  • EnzyMares: An intercluster project with Blue Cluster and Flanders' FOOD developing a toolbox to accelerate the discovery of marine enzymes for industrial biocatalysts.

European innovation projects

While VLAIO instruments are the core of our local innovation engine, Catalisti also acts as a partner and broker for specialized international funding frameworks:

  • Horizon Europe (Clean Industrial Deal): We support large-scale, multi-million-euro industrial pilots that demonstrate credible routes to industrial decarbonization and clean-tech deployment on a European scale.
  • Interreg Projects: Cross-border regional collaborations. A prime example is the OBIWAN project (Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen), where Catalisti acts as an associated partner to help convert organic agricultural waste into chemical building blocks like hydrogen and methanol.