AID4SME will facilitate SMEs in developing combined AI and data solutions for large scale resource optimisation challenges for industries that have significant impact on the objectives of the Green Deal. Minimum 20 SMEs, selected through 2 open calls, will receive FSTP to develop these solutions with the support of a Community of Practice (COP). The ambition is to create a COP that will continue after the project lifetime. AID4SME brings together 9 technology blocks and low-TRL playgrounds from 4 scientific partners, to educate and support the SMEs. Additionally, 4 large industry partners (from automotive, whitegoods, battery and energy sector) provide real-life large scale resource optimization challenges that require combined AI and data solutions, and high-TRL playgrounds to integrate and demonstrate the solutions.AID4SME offers an open platform that is flexible to bring in challenges from outside the consortium. AID4SME provides the infrastructure and learning environment that enable the SMEs to solve the challenges, demonstrate solutions and grow into impactful enterprises. The technology blocks cover a wide area of AI & data technologies for the full cycle of data collection, creation of insights, decision support and automation. These technologies have the potential to have significant impact on the Green Transition and boost EU competitiveness for industries. AID4SME will collaborate with the AI-on-Demand platform to enrich its repository with the AID4SME tools and framework, while it is open to deploy the tools/frameworks already available on the AI-on-Demand platform for new use cases. AID4SME will assess the impact of the developed technologies on Green Deal objectives and on social and human aspects. AID4SME brings along partners who are experienced in re-skilling and up-skilling of SMEs and applying standardization as enabler for exploitation. The wide geographical coverage, with partners and DIHs from all across Europe, ensures maximum impact.

A multi-KET (key enabling technologies) approach is most beneficiary for SME in regard to increase in productivitiy, efficiency and market shares. To enable a Pan-European Access for SME on technology services for clean production, a network of premier KET Technology Centres with facilitated one stop shop access, offering SME multi-ket infrastructures and services across borders on pan-european level is generated, involving innovation consultants from the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) being local = at the doorstep of EU`s manufacturing SMEs. Due to the disparity of KET TC in EU28, KET4CleanProduction (KET4CP) enables also a discourse with policy makers on RIS3 and the potential of cross-border collaboration to cover specific SME needs for clean production technologies. KET4CP starts with 12-premier KET TC and 7 EEN as an open innovation ecosystem, with a one stop shop access. KET facilitators support the SME in identifying their specific technology challenge for clean production, propose services and technologies based on innovation potential + need analysis. The fast, flexible services focus on the SME´s business case. After a pilot phase with 20 SME innovation projects/micro grants, the network is scaled up adding 17 KET TC and 21 EEN members, to reach a critical mass of CP technology deployment in SME. Targeted actions stimulate initial requests of >120 SME from > 10 EU MS and a total of 70 SME micro grant projects with min. 140 KET TC. 2 MEUR third party financing go to SME in total. 50 % are targeted for low to modest innovator regions. KET4CP delivers standard procedures / tools for KET TC transnational collaboration and joint service/shared infrastructure, based on business model scenarios stimulating KET TC to collaborate and share clients. KET4CP creates a sustainable platform, a win-win situation for all stakeholders with a high potential for scale up. The aim for 2022 is to have 100 KET TC and 180 EEN members with 1000 SME inquiries p.a.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to smart growth in the European Union by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of investments in research, development and innovation and by contributing to a better and more efficient connection of actors along the innovation chain. To achieve this objective the following measures are foreseen: • To support SMEs, as the beneficiaries of the SME Instrument to identify bottlenecks to the creation of economic impact in companies benefitting from grants by Horizon2020's SME instrument and address these bottlenecks with the help of capable coaches; • To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation processes in small and medium sized enterprises with significant innovation activities that could potentially become beneficiaries of European support to research and innovation but would not have effective access to consulting services for innovation management. In practice at least six (6) specialised 7-day service packages will be delivered to SMEs to assist them in successful participation in the SME Instrument programme under Horizon 2020 and increase their innovation management capacity beyond this programme. The new services addressed by the current proposal will be integrated in already existing Enterprise Europe Network services.