Horizon Europe 2025: European Innovation Council

Pathfinder Challenges offer grants of up to €4m to support early stage development of future technologies (e.g. various activities at low TRL 1-3), up to proof of concept.

The challenges for 2025 are:

• Biotech for Climate Resilient Crops and Plant-Based Biomanufacturing
• Generative-AI based Agents to Revolutionize Medical Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer
• Towards autonomous robot collectives delivering collaborative tasks in dynamic unstructured construction environments
• Waste-to-value devices: Circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials

EIC Pathfinder programme

Full details of 2025 Pathfinder challenges

Pathfinder Challenges info day recording

Pathfinder challenges are open to single applicants (from any member state or associated country including the UK), small and larger consortia (two partners), and to consortia of 3+ partners representing 3+ member states or associated countries, which must have at least one partner based in a member state. If you would like help to determine your eligibility or to form or join a consortium, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Horizon Europe team.

The EIC Transition is a funding programme under Horizon Europe targeting innovation activities that goes beyond the experimental proof of principle in laboratory. It supports both the maturation and validation of novel technologies from the lab to the relevant application environments.

The EIC Transition offers support to SMEs, start-ups and organisations that:

• have identified EU-funded project result(s) with promising commercial potential that could be the basis for innovation and promising new businesses (see the EIC Transition page for a complete list of the eligible EU funding schemes)
• envision novel promising technology that is ready for the next steps towards its maturation and validation, to be further developed and validated for some specific, high potential, commercial applications
• have conducted a preliminary market research to identify potential markets for their innovation and explored potential competitors
• envisage building a motivated and entrepreneurial team with a mix of skills, including researchers, business people, marketers etc. to develop and drive the idea towards commercial success

It offers:

• Grants of up to EUR 2.5 million to validate and demonstrate technology in application-relevant environment (starting at TRL 3/ 4 aiming to achieve TRL 5/ 6) and develop business and market readiness.
• Booster grants of a fixed amount not exceeding EUR 50 000 to undertake complementary activities to explore potential pathways to commercialisation or for portfolio activities

The EIC Transition Open has no predefined thematic priorities and is open to proposals in any field of science, technology or application. The overall budget for the EIC Transition Open in 2025 is EUR 98 million.

EIC Transition is open to single applicants (from any member state or associated country including the UK), small and larger consortia (two partners from different member states or associated countries), and to consortia of 3 to 5 partners representing 3+ member states or associated countries, which must have at least one partner based in a member state. If you would like help to determine your eligibility or to form or join a consortium, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Horizon Europe team.

The EIC Accelerator is a funding programme under Horizon Europe that offers support to start-ups and SMEs that:

• have a innovative, game changing product, service or business model that could create new markets or disrupt existing ones in Europe and even worldwide,
• have the ambition and commitment to scale up,
• are looking for substantial funding, but the risks involved are too high for private investors alone to invest

UK companies (single start-up or SME, including spin-outs) can apply for grant funding only. This will be a lump sum contribution below € 2.5 million, for innovation activities (TRL 6-8), to be completed within 24 months.

Find out more about the EIC Accelerator and apply. In order to apply, you must submit a short proposal and will receive feedback on this within 4-6 weeks: if successful, a full proposal can be submitted, with a final stage interview to follow.

There is also an EIC Pre-Accelerator programme: this is only open to applicants from the 13 Widening Participation countries, which does not include the UK. Single SMEs established in the widening countries can apply.

The EIC STEP Scale Up scheme is part of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), offering financial support in the form of investments to startups, SMEs, and small mid-caps, between EUR 10 to 30 million.

Its goal is to scale-up  innovation in Europe’s strategic technology sectors, particularly in quantum technologies and semiconductors, thereby enhancing the EU´s economic and technological competitiveness. The EIC Step Up scheme will catalyze larger funding rounds, amplifying the impact of the initial investment.

Scope of innovation

• Digital and Deep Tech: Includes semiconductor, AI, quantum, advanced connectivity, sensing, robotics, and autonomous systems.
• Clean Technologies: Focus on net-zero solutions like solar, wind, battery storage, geothermal, hydrogen, biogas, carbon capture, nuclear, and circular economy.
• Biotechnologies: Includes critical medicines, DNA/RNA, proteins, cell engineering, gene vectors, bioinformatics, and nanobiotechnology.
• For details see the Guidance Note on STEP

Who can apply?

• A single SME or small mid-cap (up to 499 employees) established within a Member State or an Associated Country.
• An investor submitting a proposal on behalf of an eligible SME or small mid-cap as defined above.

If your application meets the eligibility requirements, you will hear back in 4-6 weeks and may be invited to attend a jury interview.

Find out more about STEP Scale-up and apply.

Recordings and the slides of the EIC Accelerator Challenges Online Info Day are now available.