EIC Accelerator - European Innovation Council - European Commission
EU blended finance program supporting high-risk, high-impact innovation by startups and SMEs.
What is the EIC Accelerator ? The EIC Accelerator is a funding programme under Horizon Europe that offers support to start-ups and SMEs that: • have a innovative, game changing product, service or business model that could create new markets or disrupt existing ones in Europe and even worldwide, • have the ambition and commitment to scale up, • are looking for substantial funding, but the risks involved are too high for private investors alone to invest • Grant funding Lump sum contribution below € 2.5 million, for innovation activities (TRL 6-8), to be completed within 24 months.Grant only - for start-ups and SMEs with capacity to scale-up. To be provided only once during the implementation period of the Horizon Europe programme (2021-2027) Lump sum contribution below € 2.5 million, for innovation activities (TRL 6-8), to be completed within 24 months. • Grant only - for start-ups and SMEs with capacity to scale-up. To be provided only once during the implementation period of the Horizon Europe programme (2021-2027) • Investment componentTo fill the gap for high - risk innovation to a stage where they can be fully financed by other investments. €1 - €10 million. Higher amounts available in STEP ScaleUP.Blended finance: a grant component & direct equity or quasi-equity such as convertible loans.Investment only: for companies looking to scale-up rapidly and don’t need a grant To fill the gap for high - risk innovation to a stage where they can be fully financed by other investments. €1 - €10 million. Higher amounts available in STEP ScaleUP. • Blended finance: a grant component & direct equity or quasi-equity such as convertible loans. • Investment only: for companies looking to scale-up rapidly and don’t need a grant • EIC Accelerator ChallengesFor projects that match any of the pre-defined topics of the EIC Accelerator Challenges. The overall budget in 2026 is €220 million.Accelerator Challenges For projects that match any of the pre-defined topics of the EIC Accelerator Challenges. The overall budget in 2026 is €220 million. Accelerator Challenges • EIC Accelerator OpenFor projects that don’t match the EIC Accelerator topics, the EIC Accelerator Open is open to proposals in any field of technology. The overall budget for the EIC Accelerator Open in 2026 is €414 million.Accelerator Open For projects that don’t match the EIC Accelerator topics, the EIC Accelerator Open is open to proposals in any field of technology. The overall budget for the EIC Accelerator Open in 2026 is €414 million. Accelerator Open • Extensive supportAccess to a range of tailor-made Business Acceleration Services (BAS) for beneficiaries to leverage investments:Access to global partnersAccess to coaches, mentors, expertise and trainingAccess to innovation ecosystem and peers Access to a range of tailor-made Business Acceleration Services (BAS) for beneficiaries to leverage investments: • Access to global partners • Access to coaches, mentors, expertise and training • Access to innovation ecosystem and peers • Streamlined application processEIC Accelerator selection process comprises 3 steps. Each step passed successfully give access to the next step:Writing a short proposalSubmission of a full proposalFace to face interview with the EIC Jury EIC Accelerator selection process comprises 3 steps. Each step passed successfully give access to the next step: • Writing a short proposal • Submission of a full proposal • Face to face interview with the EIC Jury • General publications • 5 November 2025 This document presents the 2026 European Innovation Council (EIC) Work Programme funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. It sets out how the EIC will allocate its funding of for the year 2026 and has been prepared following the advice of the EIC Board. Who can apply? Applicants from EU Member States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme: • Single start-up or SME (including spin-outs) • Small mid-caps (up to 499 employees) in need of rapid scale up of the TRL 9 activity. Mid-caps can apply for investment only. • Natural persons or legal entities willing to set up an SMEs or a mid-cap. Applicants from third countries: • Applicants from third countries may relocate their company in order to become eligible. This must be done before submitting the full application (Step 2). • Applicants from the United Kingdom can only apply for the “grant only” scheme Concurrent applications: • Applicants may submit only one application to the EIC Accelerator. Additional applications can be submitted after receiving the results of the original submission. The EIC welcomes applications from innovators in all EU Member States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme. It particularly welcomes applications from startups and SMEs with female CEOs. How to apply for the EIC Accelerator? The application process consists of 4 steps: • Step 1Write your short proposalShort proposals may be submitted at any time and will be batched for evaluation every first Tuesday of the month at 5pm Brussels time. The proposal will be evaluated remotely by 4 EIC expert evaluators ;A short 12-page form where you must summarise your proposal and respond to a set of questions on your innovation, your potential market and your team;A pitch-deck of up to ten slides in PDF format;A video pitch of up to three minutes where the core members of your team (up to three people) should provide the motivation for your proposal.You will normally receive feedback within approximately 4-6 weeks. If your application meets the basic criteria for EIC Accelerator funding, you will be invited to prepare a full proposal to submit to one of the periodic batching dates for Accelerator Open or Accelerator Challenge funding. Short proposals may be submitted at any time and will be batched for evaluation every first Tuesday of the month at 5pm Brussels time. The proposal will be evaluated remotely by 4 EIC expert evaluators ; • A short 12-page form where you must summarise your proposal and respond to a set of questions on your innovation, your potential market and your team; • A pitch-deck of up to ten slides in PDF format; • A video pitch of up to three minutes where the core members of your team (up to three people) should provide the motivation for your proposal. You will normally receive feedback within approximately 4-6 weeks. If your application meets the basic criteria for EIC Accelerator funding, you will be invited to prepare a full proposal to submit to one of the periodic batching dates for Accelerator Open or Accelerator Challenge funding. • Step 2Prepare your full proposalIf your short proposal receives a GO, you can submit your full proposal to any of the 2026 batching dates. Prepare your full proposal on Funding and Tenders portal. The full proposal consists of a 20 page form expanding on the short proposal template, pitch deck in PDF, implementation plan, financial information, Letters of Intent, FTO analysis & a 3 minutes video pitch.Proposals will be assessed in parallel by a technology expert and an evaluation panel of at least three experts. Approximately 3-4 weeks after the batching date, you will have an interview with the technology expert online.After the interview the technology expert will submit a report to the evaluation panel who will review and will propose a final score and adopt a report.Based on the scoring of the evaluation panel, the top-ranked proposals corresponding to 2.5 times the available grant budget will be invited to interview with an EIC Jury. You will receive the results of the full proposal remote stage within 8-9 weeks.Proposals will be batched for evaluation at 5pm Brussels time on the following dates: 7/01/202604/03/202606/05/202608/07/202602/09/202604/11/2026 If your short proposal receives a GO, you can submit your full proposal to any of the 2026 batching dates. Prepare your full proposal on Funding and Tenders portal. The full proposal consists of a 20 page form expanding on the short proposal template, pitch deck in PDF, implementation plan, financial information, Letters of Intent, FTO analysis & a 3 minutes video pitch. Proposals will be assessed in parallel by a technology expert and an evaluation panel of at least three experts. Approximately 3-4 weeks after the batching date, you will have an interview with the technology expert online. After the interview the technology expert will submit a report to the evaluation panel who will review and will propose a final score and adopt a report. Based on the scoring of the evaluation panel, the top-ranked proposals corresponding to 2.5 times the available grant budget will be invited to interview with an EIC Jury. You will receive the results of the full proposal remote stage within 8-9 weeks. Proposals will be batched for evaluation at 5pm Brussels time on the following dates: • 7/01/2026 • 04/03/2026 • 06/05/2026 • 08/07/2026 • 02/09/2026 • 04/11/2026 • Step 3Pitch your innovationAfter each second batch, an interview session will be organised. If you are invited to an interview with an EIC jury, you will receive more detailed information on the timing and format of the interview.You will receive the interview results within 2–3 weeks of the end of the interview week.The tentative dates of these interview sessions will be published on the EIC website. After each second batch, an interview session will be organised. If you are invited to an interview with an EIC jury, you will receive more detailed information on the timing and format of the interview. You will receive the interview results within 2–3 weeks of the end of the interview week. The tentative dates of these interview sessions will be published on the EIC website. • Step 4Sign the grant component, start due diligence for investment componentGrant only: you will sign the Grant Agreement and receive first pre-financing paymentBlended finance: you can use the additional flexibility of the investment component and negotiate a raise of maximum € 2 millionRelevant information of the project will be transmitted to the EIC Fund and the investment need will be assessed. BAS will support you in search of other investors. Within 2-6 months the investment component will be decided. If the due diligence outcome concludes you are not mature for investment yet, you will start with the grant component. The case will be re-examined within defined milestones. Grant only: you will sign the Grant Agreement and receive first pre-financing payment Blended finance: you can use the additional flexibility of the investment component and negotiate a raise of maximum € 2 million Relevant information of the project will be transmitted to the EIC Fund and the investment need will be assessed. BAS will support you in search of other investors. Within 2-6 months the investment component will be decided. If the due diligence outcome concludes you are not mature for investment yet, you will start with the grant component. The case will be re-examined within defined milestones. Applications that reach the minimum threshold of 13/15 at the remote evaluation stage but are not invited to interview as well as the proposals which are not recommended selected for funding by the EIC jury will be awarded a Seal of Excellence (and STEP seal if applying to the Challenges) to help them secure funding from other sources. • 20 November 2025 This guide aims to assist potential applicants to the EIC Accelerator • General information • 11 November 2025 These annexes give the opportunity to applicants who received a GO for Short proposal (Step 1) to familiarise themselves with the required information to prepare their full application. Apply for the EIC Accelerator Direct submissions • Fast Track schemeThe Fast Track scheme allows specific treatment of proposals that result from existing Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020 projects. Such projects can submit projects directly to the full application stage of the EIC Accelerator subject to a review of the ongoing project. The Fast Track scheme allows specific treatment of proposals that result from existing Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020 projects. Such projects can submit projects directly to the full application stage of the EIC Accelerator subject to a review of the ongoing project. • Plug-In schemeThe Plug-In scheme is equivalent to the Fast Track, except that it applies to proposals that result from existing national or regional programmes. So far, 50 programmes have been certified for the scheme. The Plug-In scheme is equivalent to the Fast Track, except that it applies to proposals that result from existing national or regional programmes. So far, 50 programmes have been certified for the scheme. Do you need help ? • NCPsThe network of National Contact Points (NCPs) is the main structure to provide guidance, practical information and assistance on all aspects of participation in Horizon Europe.Find your National Contact Point The network of National Contact Points (NCPs) is the main structure to provide guidance, practical information and assistance on all aspects of participation in Horizon Europe. Find your National Contact Point • FAQsFind answers to questions frequently asked by applicants about types of funding, eligibility, submission of proposals and much moreCheck the frequently asked questions Find answers to questions frequently asked by applicants about types of funding, eligibility, submission of proposals and much more Check the frequently asked questions • BASAll EIC supported projects and companies get access to coaching, mentoring, partnering and other EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS).Read more about the Business Acceleration Services All EIC supported projects and companies get access to coaching, mentoring, partnering and other EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS). Read more about the Business Acceleration Services News • News article • 25 November 2025 Strong level of participation demonstrates the growing momentum of deep-tech innovation across widening countries, as well as the demand for targeted support to help early-stage companies scale and compete at European and global levels. • 1 min read • 6 November 2025 The Board endorses the 2026 work programme as the pivotal milestone in advancing Europe’s deep-tech and scale-up ambitions. • 17 October 2025 The European Innovation Council received 923 full applications from start-ups and SMEs for the EIC Accelerator 1 October 2025 cut-off. • 17 July 2025 As part of ongoing efforts to reinforce Ukraine’s innovation capacity amid Russia’s military invasion, the European Innovation Council (EIC) has announced to make €20 million of funding available for Ukrainian deep-tech start-ups and SMEs… • 2 min read • 30 June 2025 40 breakthrough start-ups and SMEs have secured EIC Accelerator funding in the latest round, selected from 150 finalists for their game-changing technologies and market potential. • 3 min read • 17 June 2025 The European Innovation Council (EIC) Board has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing gender equality across Europe’s innovation ecosystem, calling for stronger action across the sector…