The European Innovation Council (EIC) Work Programme 2027 is now available, with more than €1.8 billion for breakthrough research, deep-tech innovation and business scaling.
There will be changes in several EIC funding instruments in 2027:
- EIC Pathfinder Open: A new two-stage evaluation process, starting with a short proposal, followed by a full proposal for shortlisted applicants and interviews. Deadlines: 25 February 2027 (Stage 1) and 16 September 2027 (Stage 2)
- EIC Pathfinder Challenges: Breakthroughs in Advanced Materials for Electricity Generation, Storage and Transmission; Safe and Controlled Continual Learning in Open World for Reliable AI Agents (CLOWAI); Quantum Energetics. Deadline: 29 September 2027
- EIC Transition: Applications are now limited to single beneficiaries, excluding consortia. Applicants must also submit a Letter of Intent from a potential customer or user and a short video pitch. Projects must build on results at TRL 4. Deadline: 14 September 2027
- EIC Accelerator: Full-proposal cut-offs are reduced from six to four per year: 20 January, 17 March, 1 September and 4 November 2027
- EIC Accelerator Challenges: Advanced in-situ Ocean Observation Technologies for Scalable, High-Resolution Marine Monitoring; Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities; Alternative Concepts and Key Enabling Technologies for Fusion Power Plants; Carbon Removal and Utilisation for Climate Change Mitigation and EU Industrial Resilience. Cut-offs: 20 January, 17 March, 1 September and 4 November 2027
- EIC STEP Scale Up: Four cut-off dates: 28 January, 29 April, 6 September and 24 November 2027
- Women TechEU: Grants for women-led deep-tech startups double to €150,000, complemented by a new European Prize for Women Innovators in Quantum Technologies. Deadline: 1 September 2027
The programme also allocates €400 million to the Scaleup Europe Fund, supporting larger equity investments in European scaleups.
Learn more: The European Commission is organising two online information days:
19 November 2026: EIC Funding Opportunities 202720 November 2026: EIC Accelerator Challenges 2027
Further information: EIC Work Programme 2027
Want to know more? Contact the Euresearch National Contact Points at .
This website uses cookies to provide the best-possible service. Further information can be found in our data protection statement.
