mFUND

The mFUND, in full Modernitätsfonds, is the federal innovation initiative for data-based mobility. The funding is awarded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport; the programme has existed since 2016. It funds application-oriented research and development projects on digital, data-based applications for the mobility of the future. You receive the money as a grant.

Unlike many funding programmes, the mFUND does not only give money. Access to data portals and networking with other projects are added to the funding. This combination of funding, data and collaboration sets the mFUND apart from a pure grant programme.

For you, the size of the funding counts above all. Small companies receive up to 80% of their costs. In the larger of the two funding strands, up to €3 million per project is possible.

Single and joint projects with application-oriented research and development work on data-based innovations in mobility, logistics and infrastructure are eligible to apply. The programme expressly names small and medium-sized enterprises. Research institutions can apply as well, among them Helmholtz and Fraunhofer institutes. Whether you apply on your own or join partners in a consortium is up to you. The mFUND funds both formats.

Projects without a direct link to open data are not eligible. That is the hard entry condition, and you can check it yourself. Ask yourself two questions: does my project work with openly available data? Will the project generate data that I can then make openly available? If the answer is no twice, the mFUND is not the right programme for you.

Research and development projects on digital, data-based applications for the mobility of the future are funded. Your topic can lie in mobility itself, in logistics or in infrastructure. What matters is the application focus: at the end there should be a result that can be used in practice.

There are two funding strands for this. Funding strand 1 is intended for small research projects and preliminary studies with which you first test an idea. Funding strand 2 is for applied research and experimental development, that is, for the fully worked-out project. For a first preliminary study you choose funding strand 1, for the development itself funding strand 2.

You receive a grant towards your project, not a loan. The funding rate depends on who applies. Small companies receive up to 80% of the eligible costs, medium-sized companies up to 70%. Up to 70% is also possible for Helmholtz and Fraunhofer institutes.

The amount depends on the funding strand. In funding strand 1, up to €200,000 per project is possible; in funding strand 2, up to €3 million per project. These figures come from the 2024 funding call.

The funding is awarded through funding calls. You first submit a project outline through the easy-Online portal. If the assessment is positive, you are invited to submit a formal funding application. No funding call is currently open.