Last December, the European Innovation Council has published its work program for 2024. In addition to the set budget and deadlines, it contains several significant changes to the program that are worth considering before submitting an application.
OVERVIEW
The EIC Work Program for 2024 outlines investments across three primary initiatives:
EIC Pathfinder allocates €256 million to interdisciplinary research teams for ground-breaking research with the potential for significant technological advances, offering grants of up to €4 million.
EIC Transition, with a budget of €94 million, focuses on transforming research results into viable innovations. It specifically continues the efforts of successful EU-funded projects with grants of up to €2.5 million.
EIC Accelerator dedicates €675 million to help start-ups and SMEs develop and expand innovative solutions that have the potential to establish new markets or revolutionize existing ones. It provides grants of up to €2.5 million and investment of up to €15 million.
CHANGES
The main objective of the EIC, to develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and companies, has not changed. However, the way in which the European Commission intends to achieve this goal has changed slightly, but significantly.
As always, some changes are favorable, others less so. Here are the key points for the most common program, the EIC Accelerator:
- Deadlines: there are now only two deadlines for Step 2 instead of four, meaning you can only apply by March 13 or October 3;
- Funding: The overall budget has been significantly reduced, which will definitely make the calls even more competitive;
- Application types: There are now three more logical types of actions – grant only (for research and development projects), equity only (for go-to market projects), and blended finance (for R & D and go-to market projects), which replaces the former grant-first action;
- The evaluation: The short proposal is 12 pages long and requires at least 3 out of 4 GO decisions, while the full proposal, which consists of a 50-page business plan, requires all 3 GO decisions but is now settled by consensus if one evaluator gives a NO-GO.
- Challenge topics: These have been updated and now consist of the following topics: Human centric Generative AI, Enabling virtual worlds and augmented interaction in Industry 5.0, Enabling the smart edge & quantum technology components, Food from precision fermentation and algae, Monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for emerging viruses, Renewable energy sources including material development and component recycling.
- Resubmission: Importantly, after three unsuccessful submissions, the applicant is disqualified from participation until the start of the next Framework Program in 2028.
For more information on whether your project idea is suitable for one of the EIC funding programs, contact us at info@tiko-pro.eu and we will be happy to talk to you.