The European Innovation Council (EIC) serves as the EU's one-stop shop for European innovators, both researchers and private companies, especially SMEs. Its aim is to support mainly venture-backed breakthrough and disruptive innovations (technological and non-technological) with the potential to create new markets and to bridge funding gaps by offering more risk finance instruments. This should, among other things, help innovative companies to move faster from idea to market. EIC support is open to individual applicants and multidisciplinary consortia of researchers. It is mainly guided by the bottom-up rule, i.e. a minimum thematic definition in terms of scientific and technological fields. Exceptions will be made for special thematic calls to support innovations with significant economic or societal impact. The main EIC instruments are:
- EIC Pathfinder - advanced research on breakthrough technologies
- EIC Transition - transforming research outputs into innovation
- EIC Accelerator - further development and market application of innovations
For more information on the EIC programme, see e.g. here: information | Horizon Europe Portal
The EIC Accelerator - Open and Challenges opened on 8 December 2022.
The Open Call is for full applications (Step 2) without thematic definition. It will have 4 interim cut-offs in 2023:
- 11 January
- 22 March
- 7 June
- 4 October
The Challenges call is divided into 7 thematic areas and foresees 3 intermediate cut-offs:
- 22 March
- 7 June
- 4 October
Applicants can submit project proposals in 7 thematic areas:
- Novel biomarker-based assays to guide personalised cancer treatment
- Aerosol and surface decontamination for pandemic management
- Energy storage
- New European Bauhaus and Architecture, Engineering and Construction digitalisation for decarbonisation
- Emerging semiconductor or quantum technology components
- Novel technologies for resilient agriculture
- Customer-driven, innovative space technologies and services
For more information on the EIC Accelerator calls, see EIC Accelerator 2023 calls | Horizon Europe Portal
Source: the Prague Technology Centre