EIC Work Programme 2024

The European Commission adopted the 2024 work programme of the European Innovation Council. It opens funding opportunities worth over €1.2 billion for strategic technologies and scaling up companies.

Over €10 billion in grants-funding is available for SMEs and small midcaps via the European Innovation Council (EIC), the European Commission’s flagship innovation funding programme for the period 2021-2027.

The EIC is a key programme of Horizon Europe, established by the European Commission, that aims to identify, develop and scale-up breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovations.

Funding is provided through three main instruments addressing all stages of the innovation lifecycle:

Pathfinder for advanced research on breakthrough / game-changing technologies;
Transition for transforming research results into innovation opportunities; and
Accelerator for companies to develop and scale up breakthrough innovations.

Each instrument comprises open calls for proposals in any field of science, technology or application and challenge-driven calls targeting specific strategic priorities.

All EIC-funded projects and companies - as well as selected applicants - have access to EIC Business Acceleration Services. Moreover, the EIC also provides additional activities such as prizes.

Funding Programmes in 2024

EIC Accelerator (€675 million)

The EIC Accelerator supports start-ups and SMEs to develop and scale up innovations with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones (grants below €2.5 million, investments from €0.5 to €15 million). €405 million is earmarked for investments to be managed by the EIC Fund, which will receive an additional €180 million to follow on investments in companies selected under previous EIC Accelerator calls.

The grant first is no longer part of the funding types. The three available funding types in 2024 are: Grant only, Blended finance & Equity only.

The funding rate for the grant component remains at 70%. The grant component is up to €2.5 million, while the investment component goes from 0.5 million to €15 million.

The submission of the short application remains open at any time.

The cut-off dates for full applications in 2024 are:

March 13th 2024
October 3rd 2024

EIC Pathfinder (€256 million)

The EIC Pathfinder supports the exploration of bold ideas for radically new technologies. It welcomes the high-risk / high gain and interdisciplinary cutting-edge science collaborations that underpin technological breakthroughs.

Grants of up to €4 million support early-stage development of future technologies (Technology Readiness Levels 1-3), up to proof of concept. Pathfinder projects can also receive additional funding for testing the innovation potential of their research outputs.

Calls will open on:

March 7th 2024 (Pathfinder Open)
October 16th 2024 (Pathfinder Challenges)

Simplification and other novelties in 2024

Lump sum funding in most EIC calls removing financial reporting requirements for beneficiaries.
Updated specific rules on Intellectual Property to empower Technology Transfer Offices.
Consensus meetings for EIC Accelerator applications to improve the robustness of the evaluation process.
Flexibility for the EIC Fund to increase or delay investments in selected companies to better respond to their needs and market developments.
The opening of EIC Transition funding to follow up results from Horizon collaborative projects.

At Winnovart, it is part of our mission to bridge the gap between stakeholders of the grants-funding market space across Europe. We believe in the potential of grants to create ecosystems that drive innovation, and growth and reduce disparities between the regions of Europe. Our aim is to support innovative SMEs, private investors and funding agencies to become part of this ecosystem and make the most of it.

Our presence in Western, Eastern and Northern Europe enables us to create international business cases for our clients, in the context of attractive funding programmes as well as beyond it, by opening up international development opportunities.

For more updates on funding opportunities, please follow us on social media: Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter.

Overview