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Overview
STEP — the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform — is not a grant you apply to. It is the EU's umbrella for steering money toward four strategic sectors: digital and deep-tech, clean and resource-efficient tech, biotech, and (since December 2025) defence. Launched in March 2024, STEP coordinates eleven existing EU funding streams — Horizon Europe (which includes the European Innovation Council), the Innovation Fund, the Digital Europe Programme, the European Defence Fund, EU4Health, plus the big cohesion funds (ERDF, ESF+, Just Transition Fund, Cohesion Fund), the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and InvestEU — rather than creating a fourteenth pot. By its second anniversary in March 2026, STEP had mobilised €29 billion: close to €14 billion from Commission-managed programmes and over €15 billion redirected by 20 Member States from their cohesion allocations. Its signature instrument for companies is the STEP Seal (formerly the Sovereignty Seal): a quality label awarded automatically to projects that clear the excellence threshold in a STEP-relevant call but cannot be funded, opening doors to alternative public and private money. The one genuinely new cash instrument under STEP is the EIC STEP Scale Up — equity tickets of €10-30 million for deep-tech scale-ups, with a €300 million budget in 2026.
Is this for you?
Success rates — the honest picture
Roughly 1 in 6 applications gets funded. A sharp, evidence-backed proposal is what separates the funded from the rejected.
Eligibility
- 1For the STEP Seal, the applicant organisation or at least one consortium member must be established in an EU Member State or an associated programme country.
- 2The project must have been submitted to and evaluated under a designated STEP-relevant call run by one of the five awarding programmes: Horizon Europe (which contains the EIC), the Digital Europe Programme, the Innovation Fund, the European Defence Fund or EU4Health.
- 3To earn the Seal, the project must score above the evaluation thresholds for eligibility, exclusion and all award criteria — meaning it is judged excellent even when there is no budget left to fund it.
- 4There is no separate application for the Seal: it is awarded automatically to qualifying projects, and it remains valid for the project's duration, lapsing if the project moves outside the EU or fails to start within five years.
- 5For the EIC STEP Scale Up, eligibility narrows to a single SME or small mid-cap with fewer than 500 employees, established in an EU Member State or eligible Associated Country (the United Kingdom is excluded).
- 6EIC STEP Scale Up applicants must provide proof of initial market interest from a qualified investor covering at least 20% of the total target funding round, which is expected to sit in the €50-150 million range.
- 7EIC STEP Scale Up technology must fall within digital and deep-tech (including semiconductors and quantum), clean and resource-efficient technologies, or biotechnology.
How to Apply
- 1
For the STEP Seal, apply to a STEP-relevant call under one of the five awarding programmes (Horizon Europe — which includes the EIC — the Innovation Fund, the Digital Europe Programme, the European Defence Fund or EU4Health) via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal — there is no separate Seal application.
- 2
Clear all evaluation thresholds: if your project is rated excellent but cannot be funded for lack of budget, the Commission awards the STEP Seal automatically.
- 3
Leverage the Seal with downstream funders — regional cohesion authorities (ERDF, JTF, ESF+), the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Modernisation Fund and InvestEU investors — where Seal holders receive priority consideration and dedicated visibility on the InvestEU and STEP Portals.
- 4
For EIC STEP Scale Up, first confirm you are an EU-based SME or small mid-cap under 500 employees in digital/deep-tech, clean-tech or biotech, raising a €50-150m round.
- 5
Secure and document a qualified investor pre-commitment covering at least 20% of your target funding round before you submit — this is a hard prerequisite.
- 6
Assemble the dossier: business plan (max 50 pages), pitch deck (max 15 pages), investor pre-commitment, financial plan, freedom-to-operate (FTO) analysis and key personnel CVs, then submit anytime via the Funding & Tenders Portal for the next cut-off.
- 7
If shortlisted, attend the interview with independent high-level experts; successful companies enter due diligence with the EIC Fund before equity of €10-30m is committed.
Typical Budget Breakdown
2026 Deadlines
Key Features
Frequently Asked Questions
No. STEP is a coordinating platform layered on top of eleven existing EU funding programmes (Horizon Europe — which includes the EIC — the Innovation Fund, the Digital Europe Programme, the European Defence Fund, EU4Health, plus cohesion funds, the RRF and InvestEU). You apply to those underlying calls; STEP steers money toward strategic sectors and awards the STEP Seal to excellent projects.
No cash directly. It is a quality label certifying your project was rated excellent in a STEP-relevant call. Its value is access: priority or simplified consideration from cohesion funds (ERDF, JTF, ESF+), the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Modernisation Fund, and dedicated visibility to InvestEU-backed investors on the InvestEU and STEP Portals.
No. The STEP Seal is awarded automatically when your project clears the eligibility, exclusion and award thresholds in a STEP-relevant call but cannot be funded for lack of budget. There is no extra application form.
STEP is the umbrella platform and the Seal. EIC STEP Scale Up is one specific, genuinely new cash instrument launched under STEP — equity-only investments of €10-30 million for deep-tech, clean-tech and biotech scale-ups, with a €300 million budget in 2026, managed by the EIC Fund.
Four strategic sectors: digital and deep-tech innovation, clean and resource-efficient technologies, biotechnology, and — added by the December 2025 defence mini-omnibus Regulation — defence technologies.
Very. In its first cohort, 44 companies applied, 28 were invited to interview, and only 8 met all eligibility and evaluation criteria — roughly an 18% success rate, and that is still before due diligence, which can end a deal even after selection.
For the duration of the project. It lapses if the project relocates outside the EU or does not start within five years of the award.
Related Programmes
EIC Accelerator
Up to €12.5M blended (up to €30M equity-only via STEP Scale-Up)
View programme →Innovation Fund
€1.8M to €216M per project
View programme →Horizon Cluster 4
€2M–5M per project
View programme →Chips JU
€10M-50M per call (project shares vary by consortium)
View programme →InvestEU
Up to €372bn mobilised across the EU economy (2021-2027)
View programme →AI-powered EU funding guidance
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