The European Innovation Council supports the validation of technological discoveries developed in early-stage Horizon research projects.
In its latest action to exploit the results of early-stage research in the Horizon programmes, the European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 20 projects as part of its Transition funding scheme. These successful proposals, selected among 165 submitted, will receive altogether €45.6 million of EU funding (up to €2.5 million each). The objective of the instrument is to encourage researchers and innovators to put to use the results of previous Horizon projects. In particular, Transition projects focus on results generated by EIC Pathfinder, FET (Future and Emerging Technologies) or European Research Council Proof of Concept projects. The funding can be used for both further research and feasibility studies.
The EIC Transition scheme supports both single entities (research teams, SMEs, spin-outs) as well as small consortia (up to 5 partners from different countries) to mature and validate their breakthrough technologies and build a business case for future commercialisation. The successful project coordinators come from 18 EU Member States and Horizon Europe-associated countries. These results, from the second Transition instrument cut-off of the Horizon Europe programme, confirm the trend towards greater interest among applicants for the Open call compared to the topic-specific “Challenge” call, with a corresponding difference in success-rate: 15 projects were funded of the 143 proposed under the Open call, while 5 were funded of the 22 proposed under the two Challenge calls. The challenges, defined by the EIC Programme Managers, were focused on green digital devices for the future, and process and system integration of clean energy technologies.
EIC Transition funds innovation activities that go beyond the experimental proof of principle in laboratory. It supports two kinds of activities: the maturation and validation of a novel technology from the lab to the relevant real-world application environment, and the development of a business case and (business) model towards the innovation’s future commercialisation. Projects have access to EIC Business Acceleration Services, including coaching, mentoring, and partnering events. Projects are also eligible for the fast-track scheme to access the EIC Accelerator for supporting the commercialisation and scale-up phases. Swiss entities, given Switzerland’s status as a non-associated third country, can participate in consortia (while receiving their funding from the Swiss government), but they cannot coordinate consortia, nor can they participate as mono-beneficiaries.
The other programmes of the EIC also moved forward. The EIC Accelerator has also gained new momentum after it stalled due to governance issues over the first months of the Horizon Europe programme (see SwissCore article). The European Commission (EC) announced that the EIC Fund – the equity investment arm of the European Innovation Council Accelerator – has now taken 35 investment decisions, the first batch under Horizon Europe. Out of 184 companies that received offers of equity investments through the EIC Fund under Horizon Europe, 58 investment recommendations have been submitted to the EIC Fund for investment decisions. Of these, 43 have been discussed in the advisory committee, and 35 have now received final investment decisions by the investment committee. So far, two investment agreements have been concluded.
Apart from funding research and innovation activities directly, are prizes being awarded to highlight great European innovation actors. 14 of the most inspiring women entrepreneurs working in Europe today were shortlisted for the ninth edition of the EU Prize for Women Innovators. The prize celebrates the women responsible for Europe’s most ground-breaking innovations. Three prizes worth €100’000 each will be awarded to the most inspiring women innovators. In addition, to mark the European Year of Youth, the EU will award three further prizes worth €50’000 each to promising emerging innovators under 35. The Innovation Radar Prize winners for 2022 have also been announced. Nvision from Germany was the overall ‘Grand Prix’ winner of the 2022 Innovation Radar Prize for their breakthrough MRI technology, while green and health-related start-ups, from Romania and Belgium, respectively, were also recognised. The importance of academic actors was also underlined with an award going to the Polytechnic University of Madrid for its role in kickstarting innovation through its 73 EU-funded innovations.