F.A.S.T.: Launch of the funding guidelines for transfer hubs

With the publication of the new funding guidelines for transfer hubs, the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is providing a significant impetus to strengthen the transfer of research findings into economic and societal applications. The transfer hubs form a central pillar of the F.A.S.T. transfer initiative (in German only). The letters F.A.S.T. stand for research, spin-offs, scaling and transfer. The transfer hubs are intended to help translate scientific findings into market-ready innovations more quickly, with minimal red tape and effectively.

The funded transfer hubs are intended to become nationally recognised points of contact for technology transfer within the respective thematic areas of one or more key technologies of the High-Tech Agenda Germany (HTAD). Their role is to match the needs of industry with suitable ideas from the scientific community via a technology transfer marketplace, and to support the most promising innovation teams through the phases of orientation, validation and market preparation. Selection takes place via a two-stage selection process. Following a concept phase, the approximately six most convincing hub candidates will be selected. Applications for the concept phase may be submitted until 31 August 2026.

A new feature of this BMFTR funding guideline is the consistent shift in perspective towards demand-driven funding. F.A.S.T. specifically matches concrete challenges and needs from the business sector with research projects that have strong potential for transfer. In this way, the aim is to generate technological, organisational, service-related, business model-related and socio-technical innovations with high value-added potential. The objective is to sustainably strengthen Germany’s economic strength and competitiveness.

F.A.S.T. is thus pursuing a new approach within the innovation system: the focus is not solely on existing research results, but on matching them precisely with specific practical needs. The funding for transfer hubs, which has now been launched, is a key component of this strategy. In parallel, pilot projects are being funded to test new approaches to the transfer of research results.

Information session on the funding guidelines

To present the funding guidelines and explain the funding conditions, the BMFTR is hosting a digital information session on 1 July 2026. Those interested can register via the following link: Information session: “Transfer Hubs of the F.A.S.T. Transfer Initiative”

Further information:

• F.A.S.T. Transfer Initiative (in German only)
• Preliminary version of the F.A.S.T. funding guidelines for transfer hubs (in German only)
• FAQs on the F.A.S.T. funding guidelines for transfer hubs (in German only)
• Pilot projects of the F.A.S.T. Transfer Initiative