Proof of Concept & Technology Validation Call

The project running this call: EITFood BP26-28

EIT Food Business Plan 2026-2028

EIT Food, Europe’s leading agrifood innovation ecosystem, brings together partners from industry, research, education, and entrepreneurship, creating the critical mass needed to drive systemic change. Our model of Knowledge Triangle Integration ensures that education, innovation, and business creation reinforce each other. Our objectives are to strengthen collaboration across Europe, accelerate innovation to impact, diversify revenues, and link education, entrepreneurship, and innovation into seamless pipelines.The thematic clusters deliver a large-scale transformation. Regenerative agriculture will restore soils and ecosystems while improving farm resilience. Biotechnology will enable sustainable, scalable food production through cutting-edge science. Protein diversification will give consumers healthier, climate-friendly choices and open new markets for European innovators. These…

Official project record ↗

Who runs it: the consortium

5 organisations in the project. The coordinator usually manages the open call and its evaluation.

• EIT Food · BelgiumCoordinator
• Agrifoodinvest · Belgium · SMEPartner
• EIT Food Clc Central GmbH · GermanyPartner
• EIT Food Clc North-East Sp Zoo · PolandPartner
• EIT Food Clc South S.l. · Spain · SMEPartner

Other open calls from EITFood BP26-28

• Open Call for Implementing Participants of the Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) Programme 2027-2028EITFood BP26-28 · closes 5 Jan 2027
• Seedbed Venture Catalyst Call for StartupsEITFood BP26-28 · closes 16 Dec 2026

Similar open calls from EU projects

Other cascade calls on related topics that you can apply to now.

• Együttható (Civil-Business) CLD · closes 10 Nov 2026
• SYSTEMEU - Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) What is the aim? To support digital innovations in healthcare, energy and mobility as they progress from the prototype stage (TRL 6) to a market-ready system (TRL 8). Who can take part? Regions: Bavaria (DE), Norte Region (PT), Castile and León (ES), Romania (RO) and Tuzla (BiH) only. Consortia: 2–8 partners from at least 2–5 regions (depending on project size). Type: Triple Helix (academia, business, public authorities). Project sizes & SYSTEMEU · closes 23 Nov 2026
• Innovation Validation Call 2027EIT Health 26-28 · closes 13 Jan 2027
• GETS - Getting Everyone Together for Sustainable food systems: empowered consumers, innovative sustainable products and trusted value chainsFutureFoodS · closes 13 Jan 2027
• Vulcanus in Japan 2027-2028 - A training programme for students in engineering and other scientific fieldsEUJCIC 2026-2028 · closes 20 Jan 2027

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What is cascade funding?

Cascade funding (also called financial support to third parties) is money the European Commission gives to an EU-funded project, which the project then passes on to startups, SMEs, researchers or other organisations through its own open calls. You apply to the project, not to the Commission, and the project's own call rules apply.

Who can apply?

Each call sets its own eligibility in its call document: usually organisations established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country, often startups and SMEs. Check the call's eligibility section and the official guide before you apply.

Do I need a consortium?

Most cascade calls accept single applicants, which makes them one of the easiest ways into EU funding. Some calls ask for small teams; the call document says which.

How large are the grants?

Typically tens of thousands of euros per applicant and rarely more than €200,000, because the EU rules for financial support to third parties keep amounts per recipient modest. The exact maximum is in each call.

Can I combine it with other EU funding?

Yes, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. Many startups use a cascade grant to build evidence before applying to larger programmes such as the EIC Accelerator.

Cascade funding in the glossary · All open cascade calls