Grants for digitalisation, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity

Basic Digitalisation supports the implementation of established business technologies such as e-commerce, ERP, Business Intelligence, CRM, management systems, MES, SCADA, GMAO, logistics and supply-chain systems, PLM and BIM solutions, industrial automation, IoT and operational data integration.

Certain cybersecurity technologies can also be included, including network segmentation, identity and access protection, encryption, secure remote access, intrusion detection and incident-response solutions.

The 2026 line is aimed at companies with registered and tax offices in Bizkaia, an eligible business activity and between 5 and 50 full-time equivalent employees.

The project must involve actual implementation of the digital technology within the company. Preliminary technology assessments, digitalisation plans or supplier-selection work are not themselves the funded project.

Eligible expenditure can include external services directly linked to implementation and investment in hardware and software required for the project.

Under the 2026 call, external expenditure receives 50% support and eligible investment 10%, with a maximum grant of €25,000 per project.

We assess the technology and project scope, structure the implementation plan and eligible budget, prepare the application and coordinate the documentation required during execution and justification.

Basic Digitalisation is awarded according to the order in which complete and correct applications are registered, until the available budget is exhausted.

Eligible technologies include artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning, distributed and quantum computing, blockchain, advanced simulation and digital twins, extended reality, collaborative robotics, cyber-physical systems, advanced IoT and machine vision.

Projects can also include advanced integration and exchange of data with customers, suppliers and other participants in the value chain.

Advanced Digitalisation is not aimed at simply installing more sophisticated software. Advanced technology must form a significant part of the project and generate measurable improvements in areas such as flexibility, lead time, product quality, servitisation, decision-making, automation, productivity, maintenance or resource efficiency.

Eligible expenditure may include external services, investment in software, technical installations, machinery and IT equipment and internal personnel directly dedicated to the project.

In 2026, external expenditure and internal personnel receive up to 50% support and investment up to 15%, with a maximum grant of €120,000. The grant attributable to internal personnel is capped at €25,000.

Unlike Basic Digitalisation, Advanced Digitalisation is assessed under a competitive procedure. We therefore structure the proposal to explain clearly the technological novelty, expected transformation, impact, implementation plan, resources and economic coherence of the project.

Bavion also supports administrative follow-up, project changes and subsequent technical and financial justification.

We structure the company's starting point, AI maturity, available data and potential use cases to define where artificial intelligence can generate measurable business value.

Projects can include specialist consulting to identify opportunities, define an AI roadmap and establish a data strategy that prepares the company for subsequent implementation.

The programme can support the development of governance frameworks for AI and data, risk and compliance requirements and preparation of the technological infrastructure required to capture, store, process, share and exploit quality data.

This can include databases, interoperability, IoT and sensing, data-processing environments, Business Intelligence and preparation for frameworks such as the AI Act and Data Act.

Eligible projects include the implementation of commercial AI solutions and the development of applied artificial intelligence for prediction, optimisation, automation, quality control and support for business processes.

Examples include RPA, NLP, machine vision, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, generative AI, AI-enabled planning systems, advanced simulation and digital twins.

The 2026 programme provides a non-repayable grant covering 60% of eligible expenditure, up to €100,000 per company, for projects with a maximum ordinary duration of 12 months.

We assess eligibility, structure the AI project and data roadmap, prepare the technical-economic documentation and budget and support the application, monitoring and justification.

Projects can begin with an assessment of the company's cybersecurity posture, including audits, review of existing controls and policies, risk analysis and evaluation of employee awareness.

The programme can then support cybersecurity master plans, governance frameworks, policies, action plans and initiatives aimed at structured compliance with recognised regulations and standards.

Projects can implement organisational and technical measures covering asset and risk management, identity and access control, network segmentation, IT/OT protection, secure remote access, firewalls, vulnerability management and detection and response technologies.

The programme also supports incident response, monitoring, business continuity, disaster recovery and other measures designed to improve operational resilience.

The 2026 programme also supports cybersecurity throughout the product lifecycle, including secure-by-design approaches, threat analysis, code review, secure architectures, encryption, authentication and vulnerability management.

Evaluation, verification and certification of products against recognised cybersecurity standards and regulations can also form part of the project.

The 2026 programme provides non-repayable grants covering up to 60% of eligible project expenditure and up to €100,000 per company and year.

Specialist consulting and engineering normally must represent at least 20% of the eligible project base. Bavion can structure the cybersecurity project, eligible expenditure and technical documentation and support application, execution and justification.