EIC Accelerator

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator is an EU initiative that supports individual companies to develop and scale up groundbreaking innovations. It offers financial support in the form of grants and/or equity investments, as well as coaching and networking opportunities.

The EIC Accelerator focuses on high-risk, high-impact innovations that have the potential to form new markets or dramatically transform existing markets.

Characteristics of high-risk, high-impact innovations are:

• Disruptive potential: These innovations can disrupt existing markets or create new ones. They can render existing business models redundant and lead to significant restructuring of industries;
• Uncertainty: There is often a lot of uncertainty surrounding the technical feasibility, market acceptance and regulatory aspects of these innovations. This makes it difficult to predict success;
• High investments: They usually require significant investments in research and development (R&D), infrastructure, and sometimes also in creating market awareness and acceptance;
• Long development time: It can take years or even decades for these innovations to become commercially viable, which increases risks due to the long period before there is a return on investment;
• Regulatory Challenges: High-risk, high-impact innovations may require new regulations or modifications to existing regulations, adding an element of uncertainty to the innovation process;
• Social and ethical considerations: These innovations can have profound ethical, social and environmental implications, leading to public debates and the need for socially responsible innovation.

Examples of high risk, high impact innovations include:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI has the potential to transform many industries, but it also poses risks such as ethical issues, job losses and safety concerns;
• Genetic modification and CRISPR technology: These can lead to breakthroughs in medicine and agriculture, but also raise questions about ethics and biosafety;
• Quantum Computing: This has the potential to revolutionize the way we process data, but it is technically very challenging and could invalidate existing encryption methods;

Space Technologies: The commercialization of space travel offers enormous potential, but requires large investments and entails technical and operational risks.

To be eligible for the EIC grant, you must meet a number of conditions:

• You must be a start-up, SME or mid-cap based in an EU Member State or an associated country;
• Your project must be aimed at the development of an innovative product, service or process with high market potential;
• You must be able to present a clear plan for the development and commercialization of your innovation;
• You must be willing to collaborate with the EIC and its network of partners.

The EIC Accelerator can be applied for by individual SMEs for innovative products or services that are in an advanced stage of development. The EIC Accelerator grant is not intended for collaborative partnerships; other organizations such as knowledge institutions and other companies can only participate through subcontracting. A rejected proposal may, in principle, be resubmitted once.

Applications for the first phase of the EIC Accelerator can be submitted throughout the year. There are two deadlines for the second phase (full application). These are March 13 and October 3.

The EIC application procedure consists of 3 steps:

1. First, a shortened proposal is submitted;
2. If the advice is positive, a complete application will follow;
3. Finally, the best proposals are invited for a presentation and interview before the assessment committee.

• There is no deadline for abbreviated applications and they can be submitted all year round. The abbreviated application will be assessed within approximately 4 weeks, and if the advice is positive, a full proposal may be submitted within 12 months;
• There are several deadlines per year for complete applications, where you can choose to submit for a specific ‘Challenge’ (a specific challenge, varying each year) or for the ‘Open’ opening (all innovations are welcome here).
• After submission, an assessment will follow within approximately 5 weeks, and if the recommendation is positive, an invitation for a presentation and interview will follow before the assessment committee in Brussels.
• The presentation and interview before a committee of 4-6 people follows approximately 9 weeks after the submission of the full proposal.
• Ultimately, the committee makes the decision to award the grant based on the interview and the abbreviated and complete application.

Would you like to know if you are eligible for this program? Please contact us. We have a team of specialists available for every theme, who we can tailor to your project.

Thanks to our 25 years of experience, we can optimize your grant process and take it virtually completely off your hands and increase your chances of a positive application outcome.