Author: Ruxandra Miuți, Innovation Manager, Green eDIH
Europe is relying on small and medium-sized enterprises to turn digitalization and the green transition into tangible results. In this context, the AID4SME project, funded through the Horizon Europe programme, was launched to offer concrete support to SMEs: grants of up to 200,000 euros, access to testing infrastructures, and mentoring from academic and industry partners. The objective is both clear and timely, to develop AI and data-based solutions for real-world industrial challenges with a direct impact on European competitiveness.
The project’s first open call took place this summer, giving companies the opportunity to submit proposals to access the support offered. The interest was high, and to address applicants’ questions and clarify the selection process, Green eDIH hosted two webinars that brought together potential beneficiaries, consortium partners and innovation experts. These events created a space for dialogue around how ideas can be transformed into tangible, industry-ready solutions and how SMEs can benefit from participating in project activities.
A Difficult Context for the Digitalisation of SMEs in Romania
Romania has made tangible progress in digitalisation, but the gap compared to the European average remains significant. For example, only 2.78% of Romanian SMEs use artificial intelligence, compared to 13.5% at the EU level. Advanced digital technologies are also still rare: only 3.1% of Romanian companies used such technologies in 2024, while the EU average is well over 10%. At the same time, basic digital skills are still slightly below the EU average: 69.1% of Romanian SMEs report having them, compared to 72.9% across the EU.
The situation isn’t much better when it comes to general digitalisation. Only 22% of Romanian SMEs have broadly integrated digital solutions, although more than half of them already measure the impact of these solutions on turnover. In 2024, just 26.8% of SMEs met the basic digital intensity criteria, though this was an increase from 22.2% in 2023. For about a quarter of companies, digitalisation contributes more than 30% to turnover.
From national funding programmes, a concrete example: under the “Digitalisation of SMEs” call through the NRRP, 7,188 applications were submitted, and 1,163 companies were included on an intermediate list, benefiting from a total of approximately 46.3 million euros, with an average of around 39,800 euros per project.
These figures suggest there is progress, as the share of companies with minimal digitalisation is growing and the interest in funding is high. However, most SMEs are still far from advanced digital technologies such as data analytics or AI and remain at the stage of basic digital adoption. Lack of expertise, limited financial resources and the absence of appropriate infrastructures remain obvious barriers, preventing companies from moving beyond sporadic or minimal use to more integrated forms of digital and AI adoption.
At the same time, Romania is under increasing pressure to modernise its industries and contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal. Sectors such as energy, transport and manufacturing are at the core of this transformation. Increasing energy efficiency, reducing resource use and adopting sustainable production models are no longer optional, but conditions for competitiveness in a fast-changing global market.
In this context, Romanian SMEs find themselves in a paradoxical position. On the one hand, they are highly vulnerable to external shocks and resource constraints. On the other hand, thanks to their agility and capacity to innovate, they can become key players in the digital and green transition, provided they gain access to financial and technical support, as well as knowledge networks that enable them to develop and test advanced solutions.
Why AID4SME Is Relevant for Romania
The AID4SME project was created precisely to respond to these challenges. Funded through the Horizon Europe programme (European Health and Digital Executive Agency – HaDEA), the project runs for three years and has a total budget of 10 million euros, 40% of which is allocated to direct support for SMEs through the cascade funding mechanism. At least 20 SMEs will be selected through two open calls and will each receive up to 150,000 euros to develop and demonstrate AI and data-based solutions addressing real-world challenges in resource optimisation. These solutions will be tested in “playgrounds” at different levels of technological maturity: research facilities for lower TRLs (universities and institutes), as well as industrial infrastructures provided by large partners in the consortium (companies in automotive, appliances, batteries, and energy).
The consortium brings together 16 partners from 9 European countries, covering academia, industry, and regional digital hubs. KU Leuven (Belgium) coordinates the project, providing academic expertise and low-TRL testing infrastructure. Alongside it, research institutes such as Joanneum Research (Austria), INESC TEC (Portugal), and the University of Lorraine (France) provide experimental environments for data collection and processing, algorithm development, and AI solution validation.
Industry is represented by companies such as Infineon (Austria), Arçelik (Turkey), and AVL Slovenia, which offer access to production infrastructures and concrete industrial challenges, enabling the testing of solutions at higher technological maturity levels (TRL 6–7). This allows selected SMEs to validate project results directly on production lines and in real-world scenarios.
In parallel, organisations specialising in innovation ecosystems, such as F6S (Ireland/EU) and the regional digital hubs, manage the open calls, participant selection, and support for business plan development. Green eDIH represents Romania in the consortium and plays a dual role: on the one hand, it facilitates the connection of local and regional SMEs to the project’s European ecosystem; on the other, it contributes to communication and skills-building activities, translating project results into language accessible to businesses and local communities.
This balanced structure, with universities and research centres for low-TRL testing, large companies for industrial validation, and digital hubs for SME support, ensures that AID4SME is not just a research project but a mechanism for applied innovation with direct impact on European competitiveness.
For Romania, this model is extremely valuable. Local companies do not have to bear the high costs of developing prototypes on their own. Instead, they benefit from testing infrastructures, mentoring from European partners, and a support framework that can help them overcome the “valley of death” of innovation, that critical stage where many promising ideas are lost due to lack of resources or market validation.
A European Mechanism with Tangible Impact
The AID4SME project goes beyond financial support. It creates a Community of Practice (CoP), a collaborative ecosystem where leading universities, research centres, large industrial companies and digital innovation hubs work together with SMEs to develop applicable and scalable solutions.
The four major technological directions — data collection, insight generation, decision support and automation — cover the entire cycle of digital transformation. Whether it’s intelligent sensors for optimising production lines, predictive maintenance models for energy infrastructure, digital twins for reducing material consumption or decision-support algorithms, selected companies will have the opportunity to develop solutions directly connected to the real needs of European industry.
In addition, the project focuses on the impact on the European Green Deal. Funded solutions will be evaluated not only for economic efficiency, but also for their contribution to sustainability, emission reduction and efficient use of resources. AID4SME does not fund isolated innovations, but projects with direct impact on the climate and industrial objectives of the European Union.
AID4SME is designed to generate impact beyond the project’s lifespan. One of its key goals is to create a sustainable Community of Practice that will continue to function after European funding ends. In this way, the investment does not stop at the 20 supported SMEs, but creates a multiplying effect in regional and European innovation ecosystems.
The results will also be integrated into the AI-on-Demand platform, a European digital hub that brings together resources, tools and best practices in the field of artificial intelligence. This means that the solutions developed by participating SMEs will also be accessible to other organisations, accelerating the adoption of AI and data-based technologies across Europe.
The Role of Green eDIH in the Consortium
Romania is represented in the AID4SME consortium by Green eDIH, alongside 15 other partners from Belgium, Austria, Spain, Slovenia, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey, and Latvia. Green eDIH’s contribution focuses on several complementary areas.
First, the hub facilitates access for SMEs from Romania and Eastern Europe to the open calls and infrastructures provided by the consortium. Green eDIH acts as an interface between the local innovation ecosystem and European partners, supporting companies in identifying opportunities and adapting their projects to AID4SME requirements.
Second, it plays an active role in communication and dissemination activities, ensuring that project results are translated into language accessible to the business environment, decision-makers, and the general public. This includes creating information materials, organising events, and building bridges for dialogue between research, industry, and society.
Last but not least, Green eDIH contributes to skills development and the application of a sustainable model for intellectual property protection. Through its networks and experience gained in previous projects, the hub supports SMEs in developing the digital and sustainability skills needed to successfully implement innovative solutions.
An Opportunity for Romania
For Romania, AID4SME is a concrete opportunity to connect its SMEs to European innovation ecosystems and to stimulate the development of solutions that respond to both local and continental needs. Participation in the consortium through Green eDIH confirms the hub’s recognition as a relevant actor in the digital and green transition, capable of representing the interests of the Romanian ecosystem and translating them into tangible results.
At a time when the global economy is undergoing accelerated transformation, access to financial support, infrastructures, and international expertise can make the difference between stagnation and progress. AID4SME shows how a well-structured European project can bring concrete and long-term benefits for Romanian SMEs, while also strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of the European economy.
