EIC Accelerator: Overview, Application, Eligibility

As a flagship call for proposals under Pillar III of Horizon Europe—which received over 1,000 applications from innovative European SMEs in the latest round—the EIC Accelerator remains attractive despite a smaller number of successful applicants. Here is an overview of this funding solution.

What is the EIC Accelerator program?

The EIC Accelerator is a funding program designed to support companies with innovative and disruptive products, services, or business models.

Business Support: Startups, SMEs, and Mid-Cap Companies

This financing tool is specifically designed for SMEs. Startups are also eligible, as are mid-cap companies (though the latter are only eligible for the equity component, not the grant component).

Role, Responsibilities, Objectives

This program offers a unique funding opportunity of up to 2.5 million euros in grants and up to 15 million euros in investments. In addition to financial support, it provides personalized guidance to recipients to foster their growth and development.

‍

The EIC Accelerator aims to support and accelerate the commercialization of projects that offer disruptive, high-risk innovations with high potential.

‍

Its mission is therefore to identify, develop, and scale up groundbreaking technologies and transformative innovations.

Link to the Horizon Europe program

The European Innovation Council (EIC) was launched in 2021 as part of Horizon Europe, following a three-year pilot phase under Horizon 2020.

‍

It is highly focused from a technical standpoint through its numerous calls for proposals. The EIC Accelerator, a key component of Pillar III, offers considerable flexibility in terms of topics, with disruptive innovation at the heart of the call for proposals. Here, “disruptive innovation” refers to the concept as described by Schumpeter—that is, innovations capable of revolutionizing a market.

Challenge or Open Call?

As part of the EIC Accelerator, there are two application tracks available: the Challenges andthe Open Call.

‍

Challenges are calls for proposals focused on predefined themes. Each year, the EIC launches between 5 and 7 Challenges, ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum technology. Each Challenge has a specific budget to support the development of innovative technologies in the relevant field.

‍

The Open Call is open to all proposals, in any technological field. It is particularly well-suited to projects that do not fit within the themes of the Challenges. The budget allocated for the Open Call is generally larger than that of the Challenges.

‍

In short, the Open Call offers greater flexibility, which partly explains its success. On the other hand, applying for an EIC Accelerator Challenge provides the security of a budget set aside for a specific theme. However, given the low success rate for the EIC Accelerator in general, applying for a Challenge remains... a challenge, and rigor and excellence are your best allies!

Results and achievements of the EIC Accelerator program

Let’s be clear: the chances of success are slim (only a few dozen projects are funded out of roughly a thousand applications). However, success in the EIC Accelerator will provide winners not only with significant funding but also with access to experts (business acceleration services) to support the acceleration of the project and its time to market. Even if funding is denied, some projects are awarded a “Seal of Excellence,” a quality label granted by the EIC. This label will facilitate discussions with potential partners.

Available financing options

The EIC Accelerator offers grant funding of up to €2.5 million to advance from TRL5 (or higher) to TRL8, and an investment (dilutive financing, equity) of up to €15 million (to reach TRL9). Although it is theoretically possible to apply for only the grant portion, in practice, the majority of funded projects utilize all of the financing options offered by the EIC Accelerator: grant + equity.

Application Process and Eligibility

Step 1: The short proposal

The process begins with a short proposal (5 pages, a 10-slide deck, and a 3-minute presentation video). There is no set deadline for applications, but you should allow for a typical turnaround time of 4 weeks after submission before receiving a response. Based on their experience and caution, our experts note that a turnaround time of 6 to 7 weeks is not uncommon! Once again, planning ahead is key. This short proposal is evaluated by 4 experts, at least 3 of whom must give the green light to move on to the next phase.

Step 2: The full proposal

Next, the full proposal phase begins; the templates for this are available on the European Commission’s website. The deadline for submission is 12 months after the short proposal has been approved. This is essential in the context of the EIC Accelerator Challenges. These challenges are published in the EIC Accelerator Work Program and change every year. Waiting too long here means missing out on dedicated funding and facing increased competition. The evaluation process involves three new experts, who must approve the project by consensus to reach the final selection stage. The estimated review period is six weeks.

Step 3: The Oral Exam

A positive response to the full proposal is accompanied by an invitation to an oral presentation to defend the project, usually 3 to 5 weeks after notification. The goal is then to convince a new panel of 5 to 6 experts (technical, business, etc.) in a very short time: a 10-minute presentation followed by 35 minutes of Q&A. For this phase, coaching support is offered, and we mobilize our network (senior consultants, former evaluators, colleagues, institutional partners, etc.) to ensure the best possible preparation for this key stage.

Application deadlines and schedule

The EIC Accelerator has two application deadlines: Q1 and Q3 (March 13 and October 3, 2024). The rest of the application process is structured around these dates.

2024: What's in store?

If you are familiar with previous versions of the EIC Accelerator, we recommend that you read pages 9 through 14 of the 2024 Work Program.

Dynergie, the firm that supports you through the EIC Accelerator

Dynergie brings in qualified experts for the EIC Accelerator. These experts are qualified not only because of their training and professional experience, but are also recognized as experts by the BPI. This allows project leaders to share the cost of the support with the BPI, making an application to the EIC Accelerator more financially accessible.