# NRW.BANK.Impuls KI: Up to €25,000 for Your First AI Project | P-CATION Blog > From 17 August 2026, NRW.BANK.Impuls KI funds AI consulting and pilot tests with grants of up to €25,000. What SMEs need to know. > Source: https://p-cation.de/en/blog/nrw-bank-impuls-ai-funding/ > Language: en [Back to blog](https://p-cation.de/en/blog/) # NRW.BANK.Impuls KI: Up to €25,000 for Your First AI Project From 17 August 2026, NRW.BANK.Impuls KI funds AI consulting and pilot tests with grants of up to €25,000. What SMEs need to know. **Published:** August 10, 2026 **Updated:** August 10, 2026 **Author:** P-CATION Redaktion News # KI-Förderung NRW # KI-Zuschuss Mittelstand # Potenzialanalyse Förderung # KI-Beratung Zuschuss NRW ![AI-generated illustration of an SME owner preparing an AI project with two equal shares of funding](https://p-cation.de/_astro/hero.CiA2MNIB_Z22SR3B.webp) AI-generated image Many SMEs recognize the potential of artificial intelligence, yet their plans often remain at the idea stage. They have not answered where AI should create value in their own operations, and investing without a clear answer feels too uncertain for many business owners. From 17 August 2026, companies in North Rhine-Westphalia will have a new option. NRW.BANK.Impuls KI is a grant program designed for this exact point: preparing and testing an AI application before a larger investment is made. ## TL;DR - NRW.BANK.Impuls KI opens on 17 August 2026. - It funds AI concept consulting and the test of a specific AI system. - The grant covers 50 percent of eligible net expenses, up to €25,000 within two years. - Applicants must be SMEs headquartered in North Rhine-Westphalia. - The project must not start before the grant approval notice is issued. ## What the Program Funds The program funds two steps, which can be requested separately or together. **Module A – AI concept consulting:** An external service provider identifies suitable fields of application, defines and prioritizes specific use cases, and develops the structures needed for efficient and responsible AI use. **Module B – testing AI systems:** A functional test version is created for a specific use case and evaluated against criteria defined in advance. This may be a newly developed prototype or the temporary test implementation of an existing AI system. A limited share of software licence fees, rented hardware, and access to test infrastructure may also be eligible. The complete and current conditions are available on the [official NRW.BANK product page](https://www.nrwbank.de/de/foerderung/foerderprodukte/60447/nrwbank-impuls-ki.html). ## How Much Funding Is Available The grant covers 50 percent of eligible net expenses. If a company commissions consulting and testing services worth €50,000, it may receive up to €25,000. This is the maximum grant available within a two-year period. Grants below €5,000 are not awarded. At a 50 percent funding rate, this corresponds to at least €10,000 in eligible net expenses per application. ## Who Is Eligible Applicants must be small or medium-sized enterprises headquartered in North Rhine-Westphalia. Under the EU SME definition, they employ fewer than 250 people and have an annual turnover of no more than €50 million or an annual balance-sheet total of no more than €43 million. Several additional requirements are particularly important: - Applications must be submitted digitally through the NRW.BANK customer portal. - The project must not begin before the grant approval notice is issued. Even signing a related supply or service contract can count as the start of the project. - Consulting, development, and testing services must be delivered by a qualified external provider. - The project should be completed within six months. - The grant is awarded as de minimis aid. ## What This Means for Your Company For your company, this can substantially lower the financial barrier to structured AI consulting or a limited real-world test. Instead of committing immediately to a full rollout, you can first determine which use case makes economic and organizational sense. We already guide companies through this process with our [AI potential analysis](https://p-cation.de/en/ai-potential-check/). We examine processes and information flows, identify and prioritize use cases, and turn the results into a practical roadmap. This is closely aligned with the consulting topics covered by Module A. If requested, we can also conduct the subsequent test of a specific solution in your operations. NRW.BANK alone decides whether an individual project is eligible. Consulting or a proposal from P-CATION does not replace the bank’s application review or funding approval. ## Why It Pays to Prepare Early The initial budget for the program’s first year is €3 million, financed entirely from NRW.BANK’s own funds. There is no legal entitlement to funding; the bank makes its decisions within the funds available. In practice, companies already planning AI consulting should structure the project early, prepare a suitable proposal, and avoid unnecessary delay after applications open. They should not place a binding order before receiving approval. ## When the Program Is Not a Fit The program does not fund general digital consulting without a clear AI use case, stand-alone assessments, training on the EU AI Act, a production rollout after testing, or projects for processes in which AI is already used systematically. The grant also does not eliminate every investment risk. The company still bears the remaining expenses, must comply with the funding conditions, and must document that the money was used for its approved purpose. ## Frequently Asked Questions About NRW.BANK.Impuls KI ### Can a Company Apply for Consulting Only? Yes. Module A and Module B can be requested separately or together. Module B requires prior conceptual work, which may come from Module A or from previously self-funded activities. ### Can the Service Provider Be Commissioned Before the Application? A binding supply or service contract may already count as the start of the project. The project should therefore begin only after the approval notice has been issued. The directive and NRW.BANK’s decision are authoritative. ### Is the Subsequent Full Rollout of the AI System Funded? No. The program funds preparation and a time-limited test. The subsequent implementation and commissioning of a production system are not covered by NRW.BANK.Impuls KI. ## Find Out Whether Your Project Could Qualify In a short conversation, we can clarify whether your company meets the basic conditions and how the planned project can be structured. We provide the consulting and, if requested, the subsequent test. NRW.BANK makes the final funding decision. [Discuss Your Funding Opportunity](https://p-cation.de/#kontakt)