Loading page...
Log inCreate account
Loading page...
Up to €50K per grant
Normally up to 3 grants per Pathfinder project or 1 per Transition project; invitation required.Up to €50K for complementary innovation and portfolio work by eligible invited EIC projects
AI-generated cover illustration. Programme details are sourced separately below.
Recorded editorial check · 19 days ago (7 Oct 2026)
EIC Booster grants provide up to €50,000 for complementary commercialisation or portfolio work linked to eligible Pathfinder or Transition results. They are not a first research grant for an unrelated startup. A normal Pathfinder project may receive up to three Boosters; a Transition project normally receives one, with exceptions only when justified. Invitation can follow an EIC Programme Manager recommendation, project review or qualifying Tech2Market activity. BOOST implements a restricted call with scheduled cut-offs for invited applicants. Its June 2026 report records 25 selected proposals from 31 submissions across cut-offs 7–10; this is a selected, invited cohort rather than a general startup success rate.
This is complementary funding for an already eligible EIC project or invited related beneficiary.
Invitation is required following a Programme Manager recommendation, project review or qualifying Tech2Market activity. BOOST uses restricted cut-offs; the invitation gives the submission route.
| Metric | Figure | Where it's stated |
|---|---|---|
| Total BOOST budget (2025–2027) | €5,999,932.50 | CORDIS fact sheet, project 101192038 |
| Share cascaded to grantees | ≥83% (≈€5M) | CORDIS fact sheet |
| Target grantees by end-2027 | 100+ | CORDIS project objective |
| Maximum per grant | €50,000 | EIC Booster Grant Scheme rules |
| Cap per Pathfinder project | 3 grants / €150,000 | EIC Booster Grant Scheme rules |
| Cap per Transition project | 1 grant | EIC Booster Grant Scheme rules |
| Votes needed to win | 2 of 3 GO | EIC Booster Grant Scheme rules |
Published results exist: BOOST reported 25 selections from 31 submissions in cut-offs 7–10, with 28 eligible proposals and €1,249,601.75 awarded. This is an invited cohort; it does not measure the chance for a startup without an invitation.
Booster grants are awarded outside any call for proposals (under Article 47(2) of the Horizon Europe Regulation). You must first be invited, and the invitation only follows one of three triggers: a positive recommendation from your EIC (European Innovation Council) Programme Manager, the outcome of a project review, or participation in the EIC Tech2Market Business Acceleration Services — specifically the Business Validation or Venture Building programmes. Cold applications do not exist in this scheme; cultivate your Programme Manager relationship early.
The applicant pool is wider than most assume: EIC Awardees themselves, their Technology Transfer Offices, EIC Inventors, and other third parties — provided they hold the necessary access rights or have been formally entrusted with the task by the awardee. Affiliated entities participating in the Pathfinder or Transition project also count. Legacy projects qualify too: grants resulting from certain EIC pilot Pathfinder, FET-Open and FET-Proactive calls (Future and Emerging Technologies, the Horizon 2020 predecessor) are explicitly in scope.
A maximum of three Booster grants per EIC Pathfinder project, and a maximum of one per EIC Transition project. More can be awarded only in exceptional and duly justified cases. A Booster can go to an individual awardee or a group of awardees — but the quota attaches to the parent project, so consortium partners are effectively competing for the same allocation.
Booster grants do not fund research, activities already foreseen in the original project's description of action, or anything already funded by other EIC instruments. Eligible uses are commercialisation exploration (market analysis, IP consolidation, freedom-to-operate, business case development, testing with customers, spin-off preparation, incubator hosting) or portfolio activities across EIC projects. Double-dipping is the classic rejection ground.
Each proposal is assessed by a mixed committee of three: an EIC Programme Manager, an external expert from a trained pool, and either an EIC Project Officer or a second external expert. Each gives a GO or NO GO against the award criteria; at least two GOs are needed for selection. Rejected applicants may be invited to resubmit an adjusted proposal — but only at the committee's invitation, not as of right.
Innovation-activity Boosters are not paid by EISMEA (the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency) directly but by the BOOST consortium — a Coordination and Support Action coordinated by FundingBox Accelerator (Poland), selected under call HORIZON-EIC-2024-BOOSTER and running 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027. It serves at least 100 EIC awardees on a first-come, first-served basis, so the practical constraint is budget exhaustion, not a deadline.
The work programme normally permits three Boosters per Pathfinder project and one per Transition project. Exceptional additional awards require justification; eligibility does not guarantee selection or payment.
The award is a lump sum of up to €50,000. Follow the BOOST agreement for payment conditions, evidence of completed activities and reporting; an invitation or selection is not proof that money has been disbursed.
BOOST uses restricted cut-offs for EIC-invited applicants. A mixed committee assesses proposals; funding, payment milestones and reporting follow the invitation and grant agreement.
The money covers market analysis, intellectual-property strategy and freedom-to-operate checks, business-case work, customer discovery and technology-transfer planning. It does not pay for core research, equipment, or anything your Pathfinder grant already covers.
The European Commission funds the BOOST project — a Coordination and Support Action led by FundingBox (Poland) with FundingBox Communities, Splorotech, Barcelona Mobile World Capital Foundation and 3URA — which administers invitations, evaluation and payouts on the Commission's behalf.
Continue your funded Pathfinder (or Transition) research. The Booster is designed for projects that have generated promising results with potential commercial value.
An invitation may follow a Programme Manager recommendation, project review or qualifying Tech2Market activity. Use the relevant BOOST cut-off in the invitation.
Once recommended, the BOOST consortium (led by FundingBox) sends you a formal invitation to submit a Booster proposal through their dedicated platform — not through the standard EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
BOOST platform →Write a concise proposal outlining the commercial potential of your research results, your planned activities (market analysis, IP strategy, business case development), and expected outcomes. This is much lighter than a full Pathfinder or Transition application.
Your proposal is assessed by a mixed committee of 3 reviewers — typically an EIC Programme Manager, an external expert, and a Project Officer or second expert. You need at least 2 out of 3 'GO' votes to be selected. The evaluation focuses on commercialisation potential and quality of the proposed activities.
Upon selection, you receive the €50K lump sum grant. Carry out your commercialisation exploration activities: market sizing, IP consolidation, business planning, stakeholder engagement.
At the end of your Booster activities, submit a concise final report (~10 pages) describing your findings, market assessment, and recommended next steps. This informs your path to EIC Transition or Accelerator.
The research results show clear potential for commercialisation or societal impact. There's an identifiable market or application domain.
The proposed Booster activities are well-designed to explore and validate the commercial opportunity. Activities are realistic for the €50K budget.
The applicant has the right skills and motivation to carry out the commercialisation exploration, or has identified external support (TTO, advisors).
Invitation triggers, eligible complementary activities, normal project quotas and mixed-committee assessment.
Official description of the BOOST Coordination and Support Action (project 101192038) that administers Booster grants — coordinator FundingBox, ~€6M, 2025–2027, 100+ target grantees.
View documentOfficial EIC page covering the full Pathfinder pipeline, including the €50,000 Booster grants for testing commercialisation potential.
View documentHow lump sum grants work in Horizon Europe — applies to the €50K Booster payment.
View documentOperator application structure, ethics self-assessment and declaration of honour; invited applicants must use the current platform version.
2026 restricted-call results and beneficiary list; historical outcomes, not a current invitation.
March 2025–January 2026 cohort: 41 submissions, 39 selections and €1.94M awarded.
A positive recommendation from your EIC Programme Manager, a project-review outcome, or participation in the Tech2Market Business Validation/Venture Building programmes flags you for a Booster.
The BOOST CSA sends an invitation through its constantly open call, run on its own IT platform — submission is impossible without it.
Short proposal for commercialisation-exploration or portfolio activities, fixed amount up to €50,000 as a lump sum.
Three evaluators (Programme Manager + external expert + Project Officer or second expert); at least two GOs selects you. Horizon Europe's standard 5-month inform / 8-month grant clocks do not formally apply, as this sits outside any call.
Signed with the BOOST CSA (FundingBox-coordinated consortium), not with EISMEA.
The CSA pays 70% of the total lump sum upfront.
A final report of around 10 pages presenting results; the remaining balance is paid after its approval.
The CSA runs an impact survey six months after the Booster ends — feeding EIC monitoring data, not a payment condition.
Booster activities are short — designed to answer one question: does this research have a commercial path? You run market analysis, customer discovery and IP groundwork, then decide.
Because the grant is a lump sum, the only deliverable is a final report of roughly 10 pages covering findings, market assessment and next steps. The BOOST consortium's final payment from the Commission hinges on report approval, so they will chase you for it.
BOOST follows up half a year after your grant ends to record what happened — spin-off, licence, follow-on application or shelf. Results feed a dashboard the Commission uses to judge the scheme.
The intended exits: EIC Transition (up to €2.5M to validate and demonstrate, TRL 4–6), EIC Accelerator (€2.5M grant plus equity if you're further along), licensing via your Technology Transfer Office, a spin-off — or an honest decision to park it.
The same EIC Programme Manager who recommended you manages the portfolio your project sits in. A good Booster outcome strengthens your hand for the next recommendation or portfolio activity.
The Pathfinder Booster is not a competitive open call you can enter on your own. Only EIC awardees who receive an EIC-endorsed invitation to submit are eligible, and that invitation follows a positive recommendation from your EIC Programme Manager or an EIC project review. Practically: the lever you control is your relationship with your Programme Manager, not a proposal deadline.
Day-to-day the scheme is operated as cascade (third-party) funding by the BOOST project (Bringing financial support to innovation and portfolio activities), which supports EISMEA in implementing EIC Booster Grants. Once invited, you submit via the official form provided under the invitation through BOOST's own IT system at one of the periodic cut-offs, not the standard Funding & Tenders Portal call page.
For Pathfinder Challenges, the Programme Manager builds a common roadmap across portfolio projects (shared data, joint market analysis, investor contacts) and brokers commercialisation routes including Booster grants. Boosters explicitly fund both commercialisation-pathway exploration AND portfolio activities — so framing your need in those terms during portfolio meetings and project reviews is what triggers the invitation.
Each Booster grant is a fixed amount not exceeding €50,000, awarded as a lump sum. Evaluation is by a 3-person committee (an EIC Programme Manager plus external experts); a proposal needs at least two GO votes to be selected, then passes admissibility and legal validation. It is deliberately fast and complementary funding — not a second research grant.
The operator publishes evaluation summaries with cut-off dates, eligible proposals and funded beneficiaries. They are useful for understanding what has been supported, but they do not open the call to the public.
The intermediary that runs the Pathfinder Booster scheme on the EIC's behalf, channelling roughly 83% of its budget straight to innovators as up to €50,000 grants to at least 100 EIC awardees on a first-come, first-served basis.
Coordinated by France's CNRS, this Pathfinder project oxidises biomass-derived molecules to produce green hydrogen at a lower energy cost than splitting water; the type of awardee a Booster grant pushes toward commercialisation.
Run by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, it builds a solar-powered device that turns waste nitrates and carbon dioxide into useful chemicals such as urea, the kind of deep-tech result a Booster grant helps move to market.
Led by the University of Trento, this Pathfinder Open project builds a platform letting musicians in different places perform together in real time without perceptible lag, an awardee eligible for Booster top-up funding.
Coordinated by Spain's CSIC research council, it develops programmable photonic chips that fold tiny mechanical switches into silicon photonics for data centres and brain-inspired computing, a research result a Booster grant helps commercialise.
An EIC invitation is required. It can follow a Programme Manager recommendation, project review or relevant Tech2Market activity. Invited applicants use the BOOST platform and its restricted cut-off schedule; this is not a public first-grant route.
A lump sum of up to €50,000 per grant. Because it is a lump sum, there is no expense tracking, no timesheets and no budget breakdown — payment follows the BOOST grant agreement and submit a final report (roughly 10 pages) on what you achieved, not what you spent. An EIC Pathfinder project can receive up to three Booster grants (€150K total) where duly justified; EIC Transition projects are capped at one grant (€50K total).
Commercialisation exploration only: market analysis and sizing, IP strategy and freedom-to-operate assessments, business case development, customer discovery and validation, stakeholder engagement, and technology transfer planning. It cannot fund core research, equipment or infrastructure, permanent hires, or activities already covered by your Pathfinder grant.
BOOST published 31 submissions, 28 eligible proposals and 25 selections across cut-offs 7–10 in February–May 2026. These figures describe invited applicants only. At least two GO decisions from the mixed committee are required; use the invitation’s conditions.
It is a bridge, not a destination. The Booster sits between Pathfinder research (TRL 1–4) and Transition validation (TRL 4–6); the work programme sets no TRL of its own. After your Booster activities you should know whether to apply for EIC Transition (up to €2.5M to validate the technology), aim for the EIC Accelerator's blended finance if you are further along (TRL 5+), pursue licensing through your technology transfer office, spin off a company, or park commercialisation if the market is not ready.
No fixed deadlines — the scheme runs on a rolling, invitation-only basis from 2025 through 2027, until the roughly €6M BOOST pot (targeting at least 100 grantees) is exhausted. The practical implication: respond promptly when invited rather than waiting for a cut-off that does not exist.
Past as well as current EIC Pathfinder grantees are in scope, as are EIC Transition grantees, legacy FET-Open and FET-Proactive beneficiaries, and technology transfer offices linked to an EIC project. Eligibility still flows through the Programme Manager recommendation, so the practical route for a completed project is to contact your Programme Manager about exploitable results.
Verified invitation routes, normal Pathfinder/Transition quotas, mixed evaluation committee and published restricted-call results; corrected fixed-payment and no-cut-off claims. Existing rich content is retained; verification covers the named corrections and newly added source references, not every historical statistic or paragraph.
Research updated: 2026-10-12
Official call documents take precedence. A listed reference is not necessarily indexed in full by the AI.
Read the complete text reference →Choose your AI and follow the walkthrough. Your free EUACC account connects the two.
Illustrated walkthrough
https://www.euacc.ai/api/mcpWorks on every Claude plan, including Free (one custom connector). On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds it.
On a phone, add it at claude.ai in your browser. It then shows up in the Claude app the next time you sign in.
Use EUACC to explore “Pathfinder booster” (https://www.euacc.ai/programmes/pathfinder-booster). Does this programme fit my startup, and what should I check before applying? Cite the available sources and flag missing or outdated information.