The European Innovation Council (EIC), part of the EU research and innovation programme Horizon Europe, will support European deep tech research and high-potential start-ups with €1.4bn next year.
The EIC Work Programme 2025, which the Commission adopted today, represents an increase of nearly €200m compared to 2024.
In addition to a bigger budget, the 2025 work programme brings several improvements, including better access to scale-up equity funding with the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) scale-up scheme, introduced following the STEP regulation adopted earlier this year. Other improvements based on the recommendations of the EIC Board are also included.
The main highlights are:
New EIC STEP Scale-up scheme, which will work with a budget of €300m in 2025 (and expected to grow to €900m between 2025 and 2027) to provide larger investments in companies aiming to bring strategic technologies to the EU market and avoid strategic dependencies. It will provide investments of between €10 and €30m through the EIC Fund per company to leverage private co-investment, achieving at least €50 to €150m in total. The EIC STEP Scale-up scheme will help address a market gap in deep tech scale-up funding in Europe, targeting digital technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies including net-zero, and biotechnologies.
Updated set of ‘EIC Challenges’:
€120m for emerging technologies including autonomous robots, climate resilient crops, converting waste to input materials and medical diagnosis.
€250m for earlier stage companies in specific target technologies including generative artificial intelligence, new space, agri tech and future mobility solutions.
Increasing access to Business Acceleration Services for emerging companies from ‘widening countries’ (countries with lower levels of research and innovation performance).
Awarding of Seals of Excellence under the Transition and Accelerator calls and the new STEP Seal under the STEP Scale-up scheme and Accelerator Challenge calls: these Seals aim to facilitate access to complementary and alternative funding sources such as Cohesion Policy Funds as well as to EIC Business Acceleration Services.
Funding schemes
The EIC Work Programme 2025 is built around three main funding schemes:
EIC Pathfinder – €262m for multi-disciplinary research teams to undertake visionary early-stage technology research and development with the potential to lead to technology breakthroughs (grants up to €4m).
EIC Transition – €98m to turn research results into innovation opportunities, following up on results generated by EIC Pathfinder, European Research Council Proof of Concept and Horizon Europe Pillar 2 (societal challenges) collaborative projects (grants up to €2.5m).
EIC Accelerator – €634m for start-ups and SMEs to develop, commercialise and scale up innovations with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones (grants below €2.5m, investments from €500,000 to €10m).
In addition, the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Scale-up scheme – €300m – will provide additional equity funding to promising companies driving innovation in critical areas (SMEs, start-ups, spin-offs and small mid-caps) to help them secure larger private co-investment for further scaling their businesses (investments from €10 to €30m).
Direct financial support to innovators is complemented with access to a wide range of business acceleration services and support actions offering leading expertise and linking with corporates, investors and ecosystem actors.
Iliana Ivanova, commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, said: “The European Innovation Council has emerged as a gamechanger in EU support to breakthrough innovation. In 2025, it will boost EU deep tech with even more resources, amounting to €1.4bn from Horizon Europe, our research and innovation programme. The targeted support, especially through the STEP scale-up call, will help bridge critical funding gaps and build a stronger, more resilient innovation ecosystem in Europe.”
Jim Cornall is editor of Deeptech Digest and publisher at Ayr Coastal Media. He is an award-winning writer, editor, photographer, broadcaster, designer and author. Contact Jim here.
