European Innovation Council (EIC) Proposal Support

Europe’s flagship deep-tech funding programme for innovators ready to advance breakthrough technologies towards market leadership

The European Innovation Council is the EU’s flagship instrument for breakthrough and market-creating innovation. In the 2026 work programme, it covers the full innovation journey through Pathfinder, Transition, Advanced Innovation Challenges, Accelerator and STEP Scale Up, backed by Business Acceleration Services that connect innovators with expertise, corporates and investors. Its role is not simply to fund promising ideas, but to identify, develop and scale the high-risk technologies and companies that can shape new markets and strengthen Europe’s position in critical areas of innovation.

The five main EIC funding routes

EIC Pathfinder

for high-risk, science-to-technology research at early TRLs, building the scientific basis for future breakthrough technologies; grants typically up to EUR 4 million through both Open and Challenge calls

EIC Transition

for maturing results from eligible EU-funded projects, combining technology validation with business modelling and market preparation; grants of EUR 0.5-2.5 million, typically moving from TRL 3/4 towards TRL 5/6

EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges

a new, ARPA-inspired pilot for urgent, demand-led deep-tech problems; Stage 1 provides EUR 300 000 to validate and benchmark solutions, with the strongest projects expected to move to a restricted Stage 2 call for real-world development and user testing

EIC Accelerator

the flagship instrument for start-ups and SMEs bringing game-changing innovations to market and scale; support can combine grants below EUR 2.5 million with EUR 1-10 million equity, or investment-only for rapid scale-up

EIC STEP Scale Up

a major equity instrument for companies in critical technologies, offering EUR 10-30 million per company to crowd in very large rounds – typically EUR 50-150 million – in digital and deep tech, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotech.

Across the programme: Open calls welcome bottom-up ideas in any field, while Challenge calls steer investment into strategic EU priorities; successful applicants also gain access to EIC Business Acceleration Services, coaching, investors, corporates and portfolio management.