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Overview
EIC Pathfinder Open financiert visionair onderzoek met een hoog risico naar de wetenschap achter toekomstige baanbrekende technologieën. Het is een van de weinige regelingen in Europa die werkelijk bereid is om werk te steunen dat nog geen product, geen markt en nog geen enkel bewijs heeft dat het kan werken. Er zijn geen vooraf bepaalde thema's, dus elk radicaal idee is welkom, en de regeling richt zich op de allereerste onderzoeksfasen, ongeveer TRL 1 tot 4, waar de echte vraag is of een technologie überhaupt mogelijk is. Het aanbod is een zuivere subsidie van tot € 4 miljoen per project (verhoogd van € 3 miljoen in het Werkprogramma 2026), die 100% van de subsidiabele kosten dekt, zonder aandelenbelang en zonder terugbetaling. De standaardroute is een consortium van ten minste 3 onafhankelijke entiteiten uit 3 verschillende EU- of geassocieerde landen, al kan een afzonderlijke entiteit ook aanvragen. De oproep van 2026 had een budget van € 166 miljoen en trok een recordaantal van 2.103 voorstellen aan voordat ze op 12 mei 2026 sloot; de evaluatieresultaten worden rond oktober 2026 verwacht. De volgende jaarlijkse oproep wordt begin 2027 verwacht, al zijn de precieze data nog niet gepubliceerd. Wat het financiert is concreet, niet abstract. Bedrijven en teams zoals CEREBRIS, dat werkt aan multi-agent-AI voor neurologische aandoeningen, HeartVision, dat nieuwe wegen opent in de therapie van hartfalen, en EUROPA, een laser-aangedreven versneller voor medische radio-isotopen, kozen allemaal voor deze route. Winnaars kunnen later via EIC Transition en Accelerator richting de markt bewegen.
Wees eerlijk tegen uzelf over de kansen.
Is this for you?
- Radically new technology idea — not incremental
- TRL 1–4 (technology readiness level) — no product, prototype or revenue needed
- Consortium: 3+ legal entities from 3+ EU/associated countries
- Universities, research organisations, startups and SMEs can all lead
- Any field of science or technology — no predefined topics
- Scaling an existing product → EIC Accelerator
- Lone startup wanting non-dilutive cash → EIC Accelerator (single-company, TRL 5+)
- Lab result ready to spin out (TRL 4–6) → EIC Transition
- Your idea fits a defined strategic topic → EIC Pathfinder Challenges (€96M, smaller consortia allowed)
At least one consortium partner must be established in an EU member state. Individual researchers may join if they plan to set up a legal entity; single applicants and two-partner teams are only possible under Pathfinder Challenges, not Open.
Success rates — the honest picture
Roughly 1 in 50 applications gets funded. A sharp, evidence-backed proposal is what separates the funded from the rejected.
| Call | Submitted | Funded | Success rate | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 868 | 61 | 7.0% | €168M |
| 2022 | 858 | 57 | ~6.6% | €183M |
| 2023 | 783 | 53 | ~6.8% | €169.5M |
| 2024 | 1,119 | 45 | 4.0% | €138M |
| 2025 | 2,087 | 44 | 2.1% | €142M |
| 2026 | 2,103 | ~40–50 expected | results Oct 2026 | €166M |
The 2026 call closed on 12 May 2026 with 2,103 proposals from 76 countries requesting over €8.2B against a €166M budget. There is no resubmission limit — the EIC does not penalise rejected Pathfinder proposals, so a revised application next year is standard practice.
Eligibility
- 1De standaardroute is een consortium van ten minste 3 onafhankelijke rechtspersonen gevestigd in 3 verschillende EU-lidstaten of met Horizon Europe geassocieerde landen, en ze moeten werkelijk onafhankelijk van elkaar zijn.
- 2Een afzonderlijke rechtspersoon (een startup, kmo, universiteit of onderzoeksorganisatie) kan op eigen titel aanvragen, maar dat is de uitzondering: in de ronde van 2025 was 48% van de deelnemers universiteit, 27% bedrijf en 25% onderzoeksorganisatie, en de meeste gefinancierde projecten waren multidisciplinaire teams.
- 3Uw idee moet zich op TRL 1 tot 4 bevinden, de wetenschappelijke fase waarin u nog bewijst dat een principe werkt, niet een product bouwt of opschaalt. Alles met een bestaand prototype of een duidelijk pad naar de markt hoort thuis bij EIC Transition of Accelerator.
- 4Er is geen lijst met thema's. Pathfinder Open steunt elk vakgebied van baanbrekende technologie, dus u concurreert niet binnen een thema, u concurreert tegen elk radicaal idee in Europa voor die ronde.
- 5De wetenschap moet risicovol, met een hoge potentiële opbrengst en werkelijk nieuw zijn. Incrementele verbeteringen van bestaand werk, toegepaste ontwikkeling en voorstellen van het type 'we optimaliseren X met 20%' worden snel uitgesorteerd.
- 6Geassocieerde landen (zoals het VK, Noorwegen, Zwitserland onder de huidige voorwaarden, Israël en andere) tellen mee voor de regel van 3 landen; controleer de precieze associatiestatus van uw land voor de oproep van 2026 voordat u het consortium eromheen bouwt.
The consortium floor is stricter than it looks: at least three legal entities, independent of each other, each established in a different country — with at least one in an EU Member State and at least two others each in a different Member State or Horizon Europe associated country. Affiliated entities (parent, subsidiary, sister companies) do not count as independent, so a group with offices in three countries still fails. Universities, research organisations, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), startups, industrial partners and even natural persons all qualify as entities — but single applicants are only allowed under Pathfinder Challenges, never Pathfinder Open.
Both the United Kingdom (associated since January 2024) and Switzerland (associated since January 2025) are full Horizon Europe associated countries for Pathfinder: their entities can participate, receive funding and coordinate. The trap is the anchor rule — at least one consortium member must sit in an EU Member State, so a UK–Swiss–Norwegian trio is ineligible no matter how strong the science.
Pathfinder Open 2026 runs on the Horizon Europe Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement (HORIZON-AG-LS). You propose a lump-sum amount built from estimated costs per work package; evaluators scrutinise it and the figure is fixed during grant preparation. Funding covers 100% of costs, with contributions between €1 million and €4 million (more only if duly justified). Payment then depends on completing work packages, not on submitting cost statements — simpler administration, but no topping up later.
Under the Horizon Europe rules on legal entity validation and financial capacity assessment referenced in the call conditions, the coordinator's financial viability is assessed where the requested EU funding is €500,000 or more — public bodies, higher-education establishments and entities whose viability is guaranteed by a Member State are exempt. A newly created spin-out can still coordinate, but expect scrutiny of accounts (or a self-declaration plus supporting evidence where accounts do not yet exist), and standard EU exclusion grounds (bankruptcy, fraud, unpaid taxes) apply to every beneficiary.
Admissibility is mechanical: sections 1–3 of Part B (covering Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of Implementation) are capped at 22 A4 pages. Anything beyond the limit is automatically blanked out and never reaches the evaluators — a routine way for otherwise fundable proposals to lose their methodology section.
As a Horizon Europe action, every proposal selected for funding passes an ethics review and, where flagged, a security scrutiny before grant signature — the call documents include the standard Horizon Europe security-section guidance and clinical-studies information requirements. Projects involving human participants, personal data, animals or dual-use potential should budget time for ethics requirements becoming contractual deliverables.
Where you need to be
Your project should sit at TRL 1–4 when you apply. The eligible band is highlighted below.
- 1Basic principles observedYou've observed something interesting in the lab or on paper
- 2Technology concept formulatedYou have a hypothesis for how this could become a technology
- 3Experimental proof of conceptYou've shown the basic idea works in a controlled setting
- 4Technology validated in labYou've validated key components work together in lab conditions
- 5Validated in relevant environmentTested in conditions close to real-world
- 6Demonstrated in relevant environmentPrototype demonstrated in near-real conditions
- 7System prototype in operational environmentWorking prototype in actual operating conditions
- 8System complete and qualifiedFinal product tested and proven to work
- 9Actual system proven in operationProduct is live and working in the real world
The money — 100% grant, paid as a lump sum
Pathfinder uses the lump-sum model: you agree a fixed amount per work package up front, then declare each work package completed or not completed. No timesheets, no receipts, no detailed cost statements — the heaviest bureaucracy in EU funding simply does not apply here.
Unlike the EIC Accelerator (European Innovation Council's scale-up instrument, which mixes grant with equity), Pathfinder is a plain grant. The EU takes no shares and no board seat. A startup in the consortium keeps full ownership.
Pre-financing of typically 40–60% lands within 30 days of signature. Interim payments follow the periodic reports, and the final roughly 10% is released when the project closes. Projects run 36–48 months.
The €4M is for the whole consortium, not per partner. A typical 3–5 partner team budgets per work package; the coordinator distributes payments. Plan the split before you write the proposal — renegotiating shares after award strains a young consortium.
How to apply — step by step
- 1Create EU Login account10 min
Go to the EU Authentication Service and create an account. This is your gateway to all EU portals.
Create EU Login → - 2Register your organisation1–2 hours
Register your organisation in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC (Participant Identification Code).
Participant Register → - 3Build your consortiumWeeks–months
Assemble a consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU/associated countries. At least one must be from an EU Member State. Small consortia of 3–5 partners are typical.
Partner Search → - 4Write your proposal8–16 weeks
Part B is your technical proposal. Section 1: Excellence — the science, the breakthrough vision, the methodology. Section 2: Impact — the potential for radical transformation. Section 3: Implementation — work plan, consortium, budget. Max ~25 pages.
- 5Submit electronicallyBefore deadline
Submit via the Funding & Tenders Portal before the annual cut-off. The 2026 cut-off (12 May 2026, 17:00 Brussels time) has now closed — the next EIC Pathfinder Open cut-off is expected in spring 2027, to be confirmed in the EIC Work Programme 2027.
- 6Remote expert evaluation~4 months
At least 4 independent experts evaluate your proposal. Scored on Excellence (threshold 4/5), Impact (threshold 3.5/5), Implementation (threshold 3/5). Overall threshold: 70%. Top proposals invited to a rebuttal phase.
- 7Grant agreement + project start~January 2027
If selected, the Grant Agreement is signed ~6 months after the deadline. Pre-financing paid within 30 days of signing. Project typically runs 3–4 years.
What evaluators look for
Excellence
A long-term vision of a radically new technology. Scientific foundations, novelty, ambition, and high-risk/high-gain nature.
- Visionary, breakthrough research objective — not incremental improvement
- Sound scientific basis and plausible methodology
- Novelty — going well beyond the state of the art
- High-risk/high-gain — potential for radical transformation
- Interdisciplinary approach
Impact
Potential for transformative positive effects on economy, society, or environment. Credible pathways to impact.
- Potential for radical transformation in the field
- Credible pathways from research to real-world impact
- Contribution to European competitiveness and strategic autonomy
- Clear communication and dissemination plan
Quality & Efficiency of Implementation
Quality of the work plan, consortium competence, resource allocation.
- Well-structured work plan with clear milestones
- Appropriate consortium with complementary expertise
- Effective resource allocation
- Risk management strategy
Documents you'll need
The master document — pages 5–28 cover EIC Pathfinder.
- Contains:
- Defines EIC Pathfinder Open scope, €166M budget, eligibility, consortium rules, and evaluation process.
- Length:
- ~188 pages (pp. 5–28 for Pathfinder)
- Why:
- Source of truth for Pathfinder Open.
- When:
- Read first
Official Part B template for Pathfinder Open proposals.
- Contains:
- The template structure for your technical proposal.
- Length:
- ~25 pages
- Why:
- This is where your actual proposal lives.
- When:
- When writing your proposal
The exact form evaluators use to score proposals.
- Contains:
- Scoring criteria for Excellence, Impact, and Implementation.
- Length:
- ~8 pages
- Why:
- Structure your proposal to match this form.
- When:
- Before and during writing
Unofficial annotated version of the proposal template with guidance notes and tips.
- Contains:
- Section-by-section guidance for writing your Pathfinder proposal.
- Length:
- ~30 pages
- Why:
- Helps you understand what evaluators expect in each section.
- When:
- When writing your proposal
Comprehensive guide to the Horizon Europe grant contract.
- Contains:
- Every clause explained with examples.
- Length:
- ~300 pages
- Why:
- Reference for legal questions.
- When:
- After selection
Cross-cutting eligibility, evaluation, and funding rules.
- Contains:
- Eligible countries, entity types, ethics requirements.
- Length:
- ~50 pages
- Why:
- Check eligibility rules.
- When:
- If unsure about eligibility
How budgets and payments work under the lump sum model.
- Contains:
- Work package-based costing, payment schedule, reporting requirements.
- Length:
- ~20 pages
- Why:
- Understand how lump sum budgets differ from actual cost grants.
- When:
- When preparing your budget
Typical Budget Breakdown
After you're funded
Every funded project is assigned a Programme Manager — a domain expert at the European Innovation Council who steers the portfolio proactively, connects related projects and can shape follow-on funding. Treat them as an asset, not an auditor.
Grantees get access to the EIC's coaching, mentoring, training, global partner networks and investment-readiness support — the same services Accelerator companies use, available even though Pathfinder is research-stage.
Fixed lump-sum top-ups, capped at €50,000, to test the commercialisation potential of your research outputs. Available to Pathfinder grantees during or after the project via a simple application.
Pathfinder results feed the EIC pipeline: Transition (TRL 4–6, up to €2.5M) to mature the technology, and Fast Track, which lets you skip the EIC Accelerator's short-proposal step and apply directly with the full application (up to €2.5M grant plus equity investment).
Lump sum means no timesheets or cost statements, but you still file periodic reports declaring work packages completed, and the final ~10% is held back until project close. Projects run 36–48 months with milestones the Programme Manager actually reads.
Practical notes
Unlike EIC Pathfinder Challenges (which allows a single beneficiary or a 2-partner consortium), Pathfinder Open requires at least 3 independent legal entities each established in a different EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, with at least one in an EU Member State. Affiliated entities don't count as independent, and associated partners (unfunded) don't count toward the minimum — so a startup or single lab must actively recruit genuinely independent partners before it can even submit.
The NCP network Access2EIC publishes a free, call-specific Annotated Proposal Template for EIC Pathfinder Open 2026 (via the Horizon Europe NCP Portal / access2eic.eu). It overlays the official template with colour-coded guidance: blue = the Commission's own instructions, yellow = NCP recommendations, and purple = 'Tips & Tricks' distilled from real evaluator feedback — effectively a marked-up version of exactly what the four remote experts look for.
Every EU/Associated Country has an EIC National Contact Point (NCP) that provides confidential advisory, partner-search help, and proposal-readiness feedback at no cost. Reaching out months before the deadline (not the week before) gets you a human who has seen funded and rejected Pathfinder proposals; the EIC also runs official info days and webinars for each call cycle that NCPs flag.
Pathfinder Open evaluation runs through a remote phase with four independent experts scoring Excellence, Impact and Implementation, then a rebuttal phase: you get ~7 days to respond to evaluator comments in a strictly limited 2-A4-page reply. You cannot add new information or change the proposal — only correct factual errors or misunderstandings — and the panel formally considers your rebuttal, so a sharp, surgical reply can move a borderline proposal. With the 2025 Open success rate at a record-low ~2.1% (44 funded of 2,087), every recoverable point matters.
Open calls
Live from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
EIC Transition Open
16 Sept 2026Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems
28 Oct 2026Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing
28 Oct 2026DeepRAP: Deep Reasoning, Abstraction & Planning towards trustworthy Cognitive AI Systems
28 Oct 2026Who's been funded
44 projects funded · €140.5M in EU contribution · sourced from CORDIS.
CEREBRIS
€8.8MMulti AI-Agents to Revolutionise the Management of Neurological Diseases
SWIRFlex-DT
€4.1MAdvanced Organic Semiconductor Materials for Flexible SWIR Photodetection
HeartVision
€4.0MIlluminating new paths in heart failure therapy
EUROPA
€3.5MlasEr-driven Universal Radio-isOtope Production Accelerator
NEQIOS
€3.3MNeuromorphic Quantum-Inspired Optimization and Simulation
Fiber3D
€3.2MMulti-Process Strategy To Embed Optical Fibers In 3D-Printed Metal Parts
PROPANTHERA
€3.1MRetrograde atrophy induction: a paradigm shift in prostate and pancreatic cancer prevention and therapy.
CarboNcare
€3.1MCARBON-EFFICIENT BIOPRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS FROM METHANOL
PHINDER
€3.1MPicosecond-scale Photonic Heterogeneous Integrated Neuromorphic Detector
HoloMorPh
€3.1MHolographic surface Morphing for ready-to-use planar Photonic components
MECH-QUBIT
€3.1MMECHanical QUBIT With Enhanced Coherence
ULTRAPURE
€3.1MINTEGRATED SOURCES FOR ULTRAPURE OSCILLATIONS FROM ACOUSTICAL TO LIGHT WAVES
Key Features
Official links & resources
- Official EIC Pathfinder Open 2026 page
- Call topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal
- EIC Work Programme 2026 (master document)
- Official Pathfinder FAQ
- Find your National Contact Point (free expert help)
- Partner search — build your consortium
- Lump sum funding guide (how budgets and payments work)
- Funding & Tenders Portal — apply here
Frequently Asked Questions
Pathfinder Open is gebouwd voor consortia: u heeft ten minste 3 onafhankelijke rechtspersonen nodig uit 3 verschillende EU-lidstaten of met Horizon Europe geassocieerde landen. In aanmerking komende partners zijn onder meer universiteiten, onderzoeksorganisaties, startups, kmo's en grotere bedrijven. De focus ligt op de allereerste onderzoeksfasen, ongeveer TRL 1 tot 4, waar u onderzoekt of een baanbrekende technologie überhaupt mogelijk is.
Het Werkprogramma 2026 verhoogde het subsidieplafond naar € 4 miljoen per project, van € 3 miljoen, met grotere bedragen mogelijk indien naar behoren onderbouwd. De financiering dekt 100% van de subsidiabele kosten, en de gemiddelde toekenning in 2025 lag rond € 3,7 miljoen. Het is een zuivere subsidie zonder aandelenbelang en zonder terugbetaling, dus volledig niet-verwaterend.
Pathfinder Open is een samenwerkingsregeling, dus de standaardroute is een consortium van ten minste 3 partners uit 3 landen. Een afzonderlijke rechtspersoon zoals één startup, universiteit of onderzoeksorganisatie kan op eigen titel aanvragen, maar de evaluatie beloont multidisciplinaire teams, en de meeste gefinancierde projecten zijn consortia. In de ronde van 2025 vormden universiteiten 48% van de deelnemers, bedrijven 27% en onderzoeksorganisaties 25%.
De oproep van EIC Pathfinder Open 2026 is inmiddels gesloten. De deadline was 12 mei 2026 om 17.00 uur Brusselse tijd, en de oproep trok een recordaantal van 2.103 voorstellen aan. De evaluatieresultaten worden rond oktober 2026 verwacht. De deadline voor de oproep van 2027 is nog niet aangekondigd; data worden doorgaans door de EIC gepubliceerd in het najaar van het voorgaande jaar. Houd het EU-portaal voor financiering en aanbestedingen in de gaten voor updates.
Zeer. De oproep van 2026 trok een recordaantal van 2.103 voorstellen aan tegen een budget van € 166 miljoen. De oproep van 2025 financierde slechts 44 van de 2.087 voorstellen — een slaagkans van ongeveer 2,1%, de laagste ooit. Over de laatste vijf jaar lag het gemiddelde rond 5%, dus u moet rekenen op kansen van enkele procenten.
Reken op een doorlooptijd in maanden, niet in weken. Aanvragers worden doorgaans binnen ongeveer 5 maanden na de deadline op de hoogte gebracht van het evaluatieresultaat, en de subsidieovereenkomst wordt vervolgens binnen ongeveer 3 maanden ondertekend, dus rond de 8 maanden in totaal vanaf de meideadline. Voor de oproep van 2026 wijst dat op subsidieondertekeningen en een eerste voorfinanciering rond eind 2026 of begin 2027.
Pathfinder beloont werkelijk nieuwe wetenschap met duidelijk doorbraakpotentieel, geen incrementele verbeteringen van bestaand werk. Omdat het open is, zonder vooraf bepaalde thema's, moet uw voorstel staan op de ambitie en geloofwaardigheid van de langetermijnvisie, de kracht van het multidisciplinaire team en een risicovol, kansrijk onderzoeksplan. Met kansen van bijna 2% verwachten evaluatoren nu ook een duidelijk pad naar toekomstige impact en benutting, niet alleen uitstekende wetenschap op zichzelf.
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