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Grant below €2.5M + up to €10M equity
Grant funds up to 70% of eligible innovation costs. Investment requires due diligence.Grant below €2.5M and €0.5M–€10M investment to scale breakthrough innovation
AI-generated cover illustration. Programme details are sourced separately below.
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Dates come from the official programme and portal records shown below.
Recorded editorial check · 2 days ago (9 Nov 2026)
The EIC Accelerator is the European Innovation Council's flagship funding for high-risk, high-potential startups and SMEs working on deep tech. It backs a single company, never a consortium, which sets it apart from most Horizon Europe calls, and it targets technologies sitting at Technology Readiness Levels 6 to 8: demonstrated in a relevant environment, but too risky for private investors to scale alone.
The offer is blended finance: a non-dilutive grant of up to 2.5 million euros plus equity from the EIC Fund, typically 0.5 to 10 million euros and more through the STEP Scale-Up route. You can ask for grant-only, equity-only, or both. For 2026 the Commission allocated roughly 414 million euros to the Open call and 220 million to thematic Challenges, around 634 million in total.
The funded look concrete, not abstract. Companies like Alvus, building a full biomethane value chain from farm residues, fight-dm1, developing a first-in-class therapy for myotonic dystrophy, and PAH-Advance, advancing a drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension, each took this route and secured the full 2.5 million euro grant. The catch is competition: end-to-end success runs near 3 percent, so a sharp, evidence-backed application is not optional.
The June 2026 announcement reports 38 selections from 87 interviews: 43.7% at the interview stage.
Small mid-caps (250–499 employees) are eligible for the investment component only (up to €10M equity), not the grant. From 17 June 2026, dual-use applications (civilian + defence market demand) are also eligible — tick the dual-use box in Part A of the submission form.
| Cohort | Interviewed proposals | Selected | Calculated ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June 2026 announcement | 87 | 38 | 43.7% |
The June 2026 announcement reports 38 selections from 87 interviews: 43.7% at the interview stage. This is not an end-to-end application success rate. Proposed support was €90M in grants plus €202M provisioned for potential equity; these are cohort totals, not average awards or cash already disbursed.
You apply alone: one start-up or SME (small or medium-sized enterprise, per the EU definition — under 250 staff and either ≤€50m turnover or ≤€43m balance sheet) established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country. No consortia. 'Small mid-caps' of up to 499 employees may apply too, but only for the investment or blended route at TRL 9 (technology readiness level — full commercial deployment); they are explicitly barred from grant-only support. Lose SME status mid-project through an acquisition and the Commission can reassess — an ownership change that undermines the award decision is grounds for terminating the grant agreement.
UK applicants can apply but may only request the grant component — no EIC Fund equity. Switzerland signed its Horizon Europe association agreement on 10 November 2025 and Swiss companies participate on equal terms for calls funded from the 2025 budget onwards, equity included. Founders from non-associated third countries may submit a short proposal, but must have established or relocated their SME to a member state or associated country — with proof of 'effective establishment' — by the time the full proposal is submitted; the Commission can also write Union-interest milestones into the contract.
After three unsuccessful submissions at any stage (short proposal, full proposal remote evaluation or jury interview) and for any support form (Open, Challenge, grant-only, blended, equity-only), you cannot apply to the EIC Accelerator again under the entire Horizon Europe framework programme. Two softeners: rejections before 2024 do not count towards the limit, and withdrawing a proposal before receiving its evaluation result does not consume a strike. A successful short proposal never counts as a rejection.
You may have only one proposal under evaluation across the Accelerator and the STEP Scale-up call; submit two and only the last one filed is admissible. You also cannot apply while a previous EIC Accelerator or SME Instrument project is still running — a project only counts as finished once its final report is submitted (exception: ongoing grant-only beneficiaries may apply for the investment component). And grant-only support is awarded once per beneficiary across all of Horizon Europe, capped at €2.5m.
The lump-sum grant (maximum €2,499,999 for grant-only) covers up to 70% of eligible TRL 6–8 costs; evaluators expect evidence — revenue, shareholders, committed investors — that you can finance the remaining ~30% plus the later deployment phase. Simultaneously you must demonstrate the opposite of bankability: that private markets will not fully fund the venture at its current risk level, the 'need for EU support' test. A standard Horizon Europe financial-capacity check applies where the requested grant is €500,000 or more, scrutinising your accounts; a weak result can mean extra guarantees, no pre-financing or rejection.
Every full proposal answers security questions; projects touching classified or security-sensitive information pass through a formal Security Appraisal before funding is authorised and may be subjected to specific security rules. For grant-only applications under the Critical Raw Materials challenge (or Open proposals falling within its scope), an ownership-and-control declaration is mandatory and successful applicants undergo a check on whether the company is controlled — directly or indirectly — from a non-associated third country. A failed control assessment makes the proposal ineligible regardless of evaluation merit.
The standard grant finances TRL 6–8 innovation activities; the investment component can finance deployment and scale-up. The fusion-power Accelerator Challenge has specific starting-TRL provisions, so check its topic rules rather than applying the standard readiness range mechanically.
Your project should sit at TRL 6–9 when you apply. The eligible band is highlighted below.
The grant reimburses 70% of eligible costs for innovation activities (TRL 6–8). You fund the remaining 30% yourself — from revenue, investors, or the equity component. Budget for it from day one; it surprises founders at grant-agreement stage.
The EIC Fund (the venture arm, with the European Investment Bank as adviser) takes a minority stake — typically 10–20%, capped at 25% — valued under IPEV guidelines (International Private Equity and Venture Capital valuation standards). It co-invests alongside private investors on pari-passu terms (same price, same rights), and founders get buyback options at market conditions once EIC support is no longer needed.
If your company is too young to price fairly, you can take the grant now and defer the equity negotiation until a later raise — avoiding heavy dilution at a low valuation. The flip side: the investment decision is then taken later, against your traction at that point.
At the October 2025 cut-off, 923 companies requested almost €7 billion — against a 2026 annual pot of €634M. The instrument funds roughly one company in fifteen at full-proposal stage; plan a 12-month runway that does not depend on winning.
Register on the Funding & Tenders Portal and obtain a 9-digit Participant Identification Code. Natural persons planning to set up a company also need a PIC.
Who: Applicant
12-page form, up to 10-slide deck, up to 3-minute video, indicative funding request. Open all year. Proposals are batched on the first Tuesday of each month at 17:00 Brussels time.
Who: Applicant
Four remote experts each give GO or NO GO on Excellence, Impact, and Level of risk, implementation and need for Union support. At least 3 GO out of 4 means you are invited to Step 2. Two or more NO GO means rejection. You receive the four experts' feedback either way.
Who: 4 remote expert evaluators
Up to 3 days of free remote coaching from an EIC Business Acceleration Services coach to sharpen the business case and pitch. Available once per proposal.
Who: EIC BAS coach chosen by the applicant
20-page form, pitch deck, video, financial plan and cap table, IP strategy and FTO, implementation plan and lump sum budget (if grant requested), letters of intent, links to key CVs. Choose grant only, blended finance or investment only.
Who: Applicant
One technology expert fact-checks your claims against third-party sources and holds a 1-hour online interview (Webex, inside SEP). Maximum 3 participants from your company, no consultants. You may show prototypes or demos. The expert gives preliminary scores and a report.
Who: 1 technology expert, EISMEA moderator
A thematic panel of at least 3 experts reads all proposals in its batch with the technology expert report and agrees final scores (0 to 5 per criterion). Thresholds: 4/5 on each criterion and 13/15 overall. Top-ranked proposals requesting about 2.5 times the available grant budget are invited to interview. Proposals above threshold but not invited get a Seal of Excellence.
Who: Evaluation panel, 3 or more experts
Up to 45 minutes: maximum 10-minute pitch using the Step 2 deck, then up to 35 minutes of Q&A with no pre-set questions, in English. Up to 3 company representatives (employees, board members or investors; no consultants). Jury sees the full proposal and panel report, not your short proposal or past submissions. Jury decides GO or NO GO by consensus, may cut the grant if activities above TRL 8 are found, but does not change the investment amount or the form of support.
Who: EIC Jury of 4 to 6 members; EIC Programme Managers and EIC Fund may ask questions but do not vote
Grant component: grant agreement preparation, then signature and a first pre-financing payment. Investment component: EIC Fund and EIB due diligence, co-investor syndication, tranches and milestones. Investment amount can go up to EUR 2 million above the request if justified. If no round is foreseen within 6 months you leave the investment process and can re-enter later.
Who: EISMEA, EIC Fund, EIB as investment adviser
Step 1: each of 4 experts gives GO or NO GO; at least 3 GO needed. Step 2: 0 to 5 per criterion set by the evaluation panel. Jury: binary GO or NO GO by consensus.
Deep tech from cutting-edge science or technology with a significant cost or performance gain over existing or alternative solutions. Proof that ALL aspects of TRL 5 are complete (validated in a relevant environment); Fusion challenge may be TRL 4 to 6. Adequate IP protection and a sound IP strategy for the target market.
Step 1: size of total market and realistic share, including civil and defence demand where a credible case exists. Step 2 adds: sound business model and revenue strategy, realistic financial projections, contribution to European tech leadership or reduced dependence on other regions, wider environmental or social impact. Challenges only: fit with Challenge outcomes and, for STEP-relevant Challenges, measurable STEP impact.
Team with the skills to develop and scale, adequate governance and incentives, identified skill gaps including gender balance with a credible plan to fill them. Early traction with investors. A financing need significantly higher than market actors can fund alone. Step 2 adds: full risk register (technical, market, financial, regulatory) with mitigation; implementation plan with measurable milestones, work packages and deliverables; reasonable, non-excessive lump sum costs; for blended and equity, whether EIC money will catalyse other investment within 6 months to 2 years; for grant only, proof you can finance commercialisation yourself.
Checked against the call documents, evaluation forms and redress rules on 18 October 2026. EIC Work Programme 2026, C(2026) 4080 (amended, incl. dual-use from 9 July 2026), Accelerator section and Annex on evaluation review (F.2) · EIC Accelerator Guide for Applicants, V6.0, 19 November 2025 · EIC Accelerator FAQs · Application form, HE EIC Accelerator stage 1 short proposal, V2.1 · Application form, HE EIC Accelerator stage 2 full proposal, V2.1, 9 July 2026 · Evaluation form, HE EIC Accelerator stage 1, V3.0, 12 June 2026
The call is permanently open; submissions are batched monthly. Four remote evaluators score each short proposal — at least 3 GOs out of 4 advance you to the full proposal.
Pass and you choose your full-proposal cut-off freely, plus three days of EIC-funded coaching to prepare it.
Final 2026 cut-off; this batch closed on 4 November 2026. The package required: 20-page form, pitch deck, implementation plan, financials, lump-sum budget, freedom-to-operate analysis, letters of intent, 3-minute video. 2027 cut-offs: 20 January, 17 March, 1 September and 4 November 2027 at 17:00 Brussels. Two information days are upcoming: EIC funding opportunities 2027 on 19 November 2026, and Accelerator Challenges 2027 on 20 November 2026.
One hour on Webex, maximum 3 company representatives, no consultants. The expert fact-checks your claims and reports to the evaluation panel of at least 3 experts.
Top-ranked proposals worth 2.5x the available grant budget are invited to the jury; rejected proposals scoring 13/15 or above receive a Seal of Excellence (STEP Seal for Challenges).
Invitation arrives roughly 3 weeks before; up to 3 representatives, travel at your own cost. The jury cannot change your requested form of support, only recommend grant-agreement conditions.
Funded proposals move to grant agreement preparation, where the lump-sum amount is fixed per the evaluators' recommendations and the financial-capacity check is cleared.
Signing the grant agreement triggers the first pre-financing payment. If you requested equity, the EIC Fund opens its own negotiation and due diligence in parallel — a separate, slower track.
Every winner gets access to EIC coaching and mentoring, facilitated introductions to corporates and investors (20,000+ meetings brokered so far), partnering events through the EIC Community, and the Women Leadership Programme for female founders. This is the part most applicants undervalue — the network is often worth more than the grant.
Each funded project is assigned a Programme Manager from EISMEA (the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency) who follows your project strategically — not just an administrator, but someone who can connect you across the EIC portfolio.
Proposals that pass the jury but cannot be funded receive a Seal of Excellence — a quality label recognised by national and regional funders across Europe. After the October 2024 round alone, 330 companies received one. Challenge-track companies reaching interview can also receive a STEP Seal (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform label).
The grant agreement is signed first (typically within ~3 months of selection) and triggers a pre-financing payment. The equity side is slower: KYC/AML checks (know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering), valuation negotiation, and co-investor syndication, with the investment disbursed in tranches — budget 2–6 months and sometimes longer before equity cash lands.
You sign a Horizon Europe grant agreement governed by the ~300-page Annotated Grant Agreement: periodic technical and financial reporting, IP obligations, possible audits years after the project ends. The grant covers 70% of eligible costs, so your accounts must track the co-funded 30% too.
Unlike most Horizon Europe calls, the EIC Accelerator is a single-applicant scheme: you apply as one SME, start-up, or (in exceptional cases, investment-only) a small mid-cap under 500 employees established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe-associated country. There is no consortium and no need for the Funding & Tenders Portal partner-search or brokerage matchmaking that other calls require — your energy goes entirely into your own company's proposal, deck, and the eventual jury interview.
Every country has a free, government-funded NCP (find yours via the Access2EIC network at access2eic.eu) that offers independent advice on eligibility, the application platform, and the evaluation process, plus info events, workshops and training sessions. The German NCP (nks-eic-accelerator.de) is a strong English-language resource even if you're not based there. NCPs are bound to neutrality, so unlike paid consultants they won't write your proposal — but they will sanity-check your fit and flag fatal eligibility issues for €0.
For 2026 the short proposal and full proposal use different evaluation procedures. The full stage includes a technology-expert interview and a scored panel review; the highest ranked proposals within the invitation budget proceed to jury. Use the current applicant guide and submission-limit rules before choosing a batch.
If you hold an ongoing EIC Pathfinder/Transition grant, an EIC Accelerator grant-only project, an EIT KIC project, or a Eurostars/Eureka project, the Fast Track scheme can take you straight to the full Step 2 application without the competitive short-proposal stage. The Plug-in scheme does the same for companies backed by certified national programmes listed on the EIC website. The first assessment must happen at least 5 months before your existing project ends, so plan the timing early.
After a short-proposal GO, prepare the 2026 20-page form and required annexes, including financial information, implementation plan, pitch material, customer interest and freedom-to-operate evidence. The next full batch is 4 November 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time.
The investment is negotiated after selection and due diligence. Valuation, co-investors, conditions and any staged disbursement are company-specific; there is no guaranteed first equity payment percentage.
The amended 2026 work programme requires at least three GO decisions from four evaluators for a successful short proposal. Two or more NO GO decisions mean rejection; the full stage uses its separate scored assessment.
166 funded projects in our database · €394.2M in EU contribution · sourced from CORDIS.
BraiN20®: A paradigm shift in Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) patient management
First miniaturized universal gas analyzer for all renewable gases in all their extensive and complex composition at all production and consumption phases including Hydrogen purity for fuel cells
HyperPV, the first GPU-Powered Physical Verification Framework with High Performance Computing capabilities.
3D tab cooled Battery pack solution based on an innovative 3D extrusion manufacturing process to better manage thermal regulation of EV batteries
Powder is the only app offering a complete turnkey solution to automatically detect the best gaming moments, earn rewards from quests and challenges, and compete with other gamers.
PAH-ADVANCE: accelerating the clinical path of NTP42, a disease-modifying drug for cardiopulmonary diseases including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
The OVAL trial of VB-111 for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer
The first non-surgical repair for Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Fighting large-scale untreated infectious diseases with innovative treatments
An innovative, minimally invasive device to support the natural motion of the heart in patients with heart failure
The world's first needle-free continuous glucose monitor to prevent and manage diabetes at scale
Edge multisensor for medical and pharma applications
Selected in the June 2026 announcement for fast-charging solid-state battery technology.
COGNIBOTICS was selected for robotic systems for logistics and manufacturing.
Microamp Solutions was selected for a high-speed wireless platform.
You must be a for-profit startup or SME (under 250 employees) legally established in an EU Member State or a country associated to Horizon Europe. Single mid-caps with up to 499 employees can apply, but only for the investment-only (equity) track. UK-based companies can currently apply for the grant-only scheme only, not blended finance. Following a June 2026 amendment to the EIC Work Programme, companies developing dual-use technologies — innovations with both civilian and defence applications such as AI, quantum, advanced materials and robotics — are now also explicitly eligible for both grant and equity.
The grant covers innovation activities up to a maximum of 2.5 million euros as a lump sum, and it is fully non-dilutive. On top of that, the EIC Fund can invest equity of €1 million to €10 million for standard blended finance, with larger tickets possible through the STEP Scale-Up route (up to €30M). Following the June 2026 amendment, dual-use companies can access equity of up to €30M through the Accelerator dual-use track, or apply to the EIC STEP Defence Scale Up call (a dedicated €100M fund; the first call closed 28 October 2026 with nine applications received). Combined as blended finance, most companies in recent rounds (around 85 percent of winners) received both grant and equity together.
No. The EIC Accelerator funds a single company, not a consortium, which is the opposite of most Horizon Europe collaborative calls. You apply on your own, and you can request grant-only, investment-only, or blended finance depending on what you need to scale.
From 2026 the EIC moved to a bimonthly schedule with six full-proposal cut-offs a year: 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September, and 4 November 2026. All six 2026 batches have now closed; the last one was 4 November 2026. Short proposals (Step 1) can be submitted at any time, but there is no upcoming 2026 batch to target. For dual-use applications via the standard Accelerator, both the September and November 2026 batches accepted them. The separate EIC STEP Defence Scale Up call -- a EUR 100M fund for primarily-defence-focused companies -- closed on 28 October 2026 with nine applications received; check the EIC website for a future call. No 2027 batch dates have been set yet; they will be published in the EIC Work Programme 2027. An online information day for EIC 2027 is scheduled for 19 November 2026.
The June 2026 announcement reports 38 selections from 87 interviews: 43.7% at the interview stage. This is not an end-to-end application success rate. Proposed support was €90M in grants plus €202M provisioned for potential equity; these are cohort totals, not average awards or cash already disbursed.
The full journey usually runs 6 to 12 months. Short proposals (Step 1) get a result in about 4 to 6 weeks, full proposals (Step 2) take roughly 2 to 3 months to evaluate, and the jury interview (Step 3) follows for those shortlisted. After a GO at interview, grant agreement signing and the first payment typically take a further 2 to 3 months, while the equity component is negotiated separately and can take longer.
Winners show a genuine technological breakthrough at TRL 6–8, a large and credible market, a clear path to scaling internationally, and a strong team able to execute. The 2026 process rewards tight, evidence-backed writing: the full proposal is now capped at 20 pages (down from 50), and the short proposal is 12 pages plus a 10-slide deck and a 3-minute video. Concrete traction, defensible IP, and a realistic financial plan separate the funded from the rejected far more than ambition alone.
Verified 2026 package, evaluation procedure, investment guidance, final batch, and grant-versus-STEP separation. Existing rich content is retained; verification covers the named corrections and newly added source references, not every historical statistic or paragraph. Replaced unsourced aggregate selection claims with dated official cohort results, explicit denominators and source-linked project examples; removed unverified historical chart rows.
Research updated: 2026-10-12
Official call documents take precedence. A listed reference is not necessarily indexed in full by the AI.
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