Companies falling under OiM often do not qualify for support. Under current rules, a company can already be classified as ‘in difficulty’ if, for example, more than half of its share capital has disappeared due to losses. According to Techleap, this definition leads to a structural problem: financially healthy deep-tech startups and scale-ups are wrongly labeled as risky. This hinders their access to crucial financing, precisely in the phase where scaling up is central.
Six recommendations for Deeptech
In response to the consultation, Techleap makes six concrete proposals, including:
Replace the equity capital ratio with a positive sum test that reflects actual financial resilience.
Recognise quasi-equity instruments (convertible loans, subordinated debt, public financing like EIB/Invest-NL financing) in the UiD assessment.
Extend the innovative enterprise exemption from 10 to at least 15 years, because scaling deeptech takes time.
Open up aid for the scaling phase as well, not just for R&D.
Introduce a €1M safe harbour threshold to reduce the administrative burden.
Enable flexibility for Member States ahead of implementation in January 2027.
Submit your response
The consultation offers stakeholders the opportunity to influence future state aid rules. You can respond to the consultation until 29 April 2026 via GBER-REVISION-PUBLIC-CONSULTATION@ec.europa.eu with reference to HT.6365.
