The European Innovation Council (EIC) and European Commission (EC) offer various funding programs to Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) and startups, one of which is the EIC Accelerator funding. This program provides a maximum of €2.5 million in grant and €15 million in equity financing per project, with applications typically supported by consultants, writers or freelancers. However, there are alternative funding options available under the EIC framework.
The EIC's funding programs can be complex due to the different funding arms, topics, budget allocations, funding modes, and application systems. To simplify the selection process, one can consider the technology readiness level (TRL) of the innovation, the topic or industry, the number of applicants, and the financing needs and investor availability as core selection criteria.
The EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition, and EIC Accelerator are the flagship grant funding programs. To determine which program to choose, one must first identify the level of their current technology according to the TRL’s. After identifying the TRL, the applicant can decide on the funding program. The EIC Pathfinder starts at TRL1 and ends at TRL4, EIC Transition starts at TRL4 and ends at TRL5-6, and EIC Accelerator starts at TRL5-6 and ends at TRL9.
The EIC Work Programme is renewed each year, and the budgets and thematic topics will change annually. The total budget defines how much funding is available in any given year, and the competitiveness of a funding program depends on the number of total applicants, the number of winning projects, and the overall budget size. Applicants should identify the current topics for each funding program before preparing a submission.
The EIC Accelerator is a single-applicant instrument, which means that only a single entity is receiving the funding and must be located in the EU or a country associated with Horizon Europe. For EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition, the applicants can either apply as a consortium or single applicant. You have chose the EIC Accelerator ? Go have a look on what to consider before applying.
You can send us a message here if you have any questions.
