Promotion of cyber security

01.12.2025

The Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy (StMWi) in Munich has published a preliminary announcement for an upcoming call in the field of cyber security.

Funding is to be provided for technology-oriented projects with innovative approaches - from AI-supported security solutions to procedures for IT emergency operations. Joint projects with at least two partners, one of which must be a company, can be submitted. Funding will be provided for research and development expenditure in pre-competitive, industry-driven collaborative projects that contain significant innovations in the field of cyber security. The focus is on services such as the development of hardware or software demonstrators.
Focus areas:

• AI to increase cyber security - e.g. by improving source code quality, early warning systems for threats or support with the configuration of security software.
• Measures to implement regulatory requirements - for example through automated checks to meet compliance requirements, management of the software supply chain (e.g. SBOM/CBOM) or migration to post-quantum cryptography.
• Improving data quality - for example by detecting forgeries, validating data or ensuring traceability when generating data.
• Ensuring emergency operation and fallback positions in the event of local to large-scale crises - for example through identity and access management in emergency operation, backup systems or partial operation of essential processes.

Conditions of participation and exploitation requirements:

A project consortium must consist of at least two partners, at least one of which must be a company. Companies from all sectors of the economy are invited to participate - small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are particularly encouraged to submit projects. The focus is on projects whose results are economically exploitable - for example by securing or expanding the market position in Bavaria. In addition, the work must be carried out entirely in Bavaria.

Further information:

The final announcement will be published as soon as a new version of the guidelines for the implementation of the "Bavarian Collaborative Research Program (BayVFP)" is available. Further details will be made available on the website of the "Information and Communication Technology" funding area: https://www.iuk-bayern.de/

Project sponsor: VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH
Source: Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy
Note: As with all funding information, please check the above website for the latest information on the funding program.

Do you have any questions about funding in the field of mechatronics & automation? Please feel free to contact us!