HUN-REN Launches 1.3 Billion HUF Grants to Support the Societal and Economic Utilization of Basic Research

HUN-REN and its technology transfer company, HunrenTech, consider it a strategic mission to ensure that valuable research ideas do not remain untapped, but are transformed into viable, applicable solutions contributing to Hungary’s social and economic development. Whether a project is based on a novel scientific discovery or an emerging prototype, the organization provides support in identifying and taking the next steps toward implementation.

The objective of the HUN-REN Innovate 2026 programme is to provide promising early-stage research results with the feedback and support needed to initiate their path toward practical utilization. The programme supports basic research activities from the identification of underlying principles through concept development to the generation of supporting results.

Two funding categories are available, both with 100% funding intensity (no co-financing required). In the first category, applicants may request between 5–20 million HUF for projects of up to 12 months’ duration. In the second category, funding ranges from 20–50 million HUF, with a maximum project duration of 24 months. The call is expected to support 9–14 projects in the first category and 2–3 projects in the second.

Projects are expected to result in clearly identifiable intellectual property, and applicants must hold the relevant rights. Business and/or scientific collaborations will be considered an advantage in the evaluation process.

The call for proposals and all application documents are available at hunrentech.hu/palyazatok/ and hun-ren.hu/palyazatok. Applications must be submitted through the EPAR electronic system.

HUN-REN Innovate 2026 is funded by the “Proof of Concept” programme (identifier: 2024-2.1.3-POC-2025-00002) of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund. The beneficiary of this programme is HunrenTech Ltd., which, as a quality pre-screening technology transfer organization, distributes funding to research institutions. The total budget amounts to 350 million HUF, enabling support for 11–17 basic research projects between 2026 and 2028.

This grant is complemented by the forthcoming HUN-REN PROOF+ programme, which supports the further development of projects that have already reached the prototype stage.

The programme aims to enable projects that have reached at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 to progress toward higher levels of maturity. (TRL is a measure of technological maturity; level 4 corresponds to laboratory validation, typically followed by validation in a relevant environment.) Accordingly, the programme specifically targets the critical phase between early-stage research and market entry—a stage often constrained by limited funding opportunities. HUN-REN PROOF+ is designed to bridge this “funding gap,” enabling the most promising research results to evolve into tangible products and market-ready technologies.

The significance of the initiative is reflected in its substantial total budget of 1 billion HUF. The programme will be available exclusively to HUN-REN research institutions and supported research groups, closely linked to the HUN-REN Innovate 2026 programme, thereby strengthening a coherent, stepwise innovation support system.

These funding plans are fully aligned with HUN-REN’s long-term strategic objectives. Successful commercialization not only generates economic and societal benefits but also provides sustainable revenue streams for research institutions. Following leading international examples, HUN-REN aims to increasingly complement public funding with revenues derived from market-based utilization in the future.