The European Innovation Council is launching a funding programme worth 1.8 billion euros for 2027

The European Commission has adopted the European Innovation Council (EIC)Work Programme for 2027, which will allocate 1.8 billion euros to support Europe’s most promising entrepreneurs and researchers in the field of advanced technologies.

As the final EIC funding package under the multi-billion-euro Horizon Europe 2021–2027 research strategy , the programme will help turn disruptive research into market-ready innovations and strengthen Europe’s capacity to develop and scale up strategic technologies.

By 2027, the EIC will continue to support high-potential innovators, from early-stage research through to commercialisation and scaling up. The new programme also aligns with the EU Strategy for Start-ups and Scale-ups and the Competitiveness Compass, by making EIC support simpler, faster and more targeted. It will also continue to strengthen support for scaling up through the Scaleup Europe Fund and the EIC STEP Scale Up programme, including dual-use and defence technologies. Furthermore, it will make it easier for innovators to apply for and access funding, whilst promoting a phased, more challenge-oriented approach to support high-risk, high-return innovation. The new measures will also help EIC-backed companies secure their first customers, including through public procurement.

The 2027 work programme includes several specific improvements, based on implementation experience, advice from the EIC Board and feedback from Member States. These include:

• completing the funding for the Scaleup Europe Fund (€1 billion), defence investments (€200 million) and the Advanced Innovation Challenges pilot programme (€25 million), all of which were introduced in 2026;
• improving the management of the high volume of applications for innovative research under the EIC Pathfinder programme;
• strengthening the innovative impact of the EIC Transition Programme by supporting individual teams and companies rather than consortia;
• expand support for women-led start-ups through a redesigned Women TechEUprogramme , doubling grants to €150,000 per start-up, and introducing a new European Prize for Women Innovators in Quantum, which complements the existingEuropean Prize for Women Innovators; and
• help EIC-backed companies test their technologies with public and private buyers.

Fund

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has a budget of over €10 billion for the period 2021–2027 under Horizon Europe. Since its creation, it has supported more than 800 companies and nearly 700 research projects, providing funding throughout the entire innovation cycle, from disruptive research under the Pathfinder programme, through to commercialisation under the Transition programme, to support for start-ups and larger companies through Accelerator and STEP Scale Up.

The Advanced Innovation Challenges pilot programme, launched in 2026, supports 20 feasibility projects, of which 10 are expected to progress to the prototyping and demonstration phase in 2027.

The EIC Fund has invested nearly 2,000 million euros in more than 375 advanced technology start-ups, attracting 3.5 times that amount in co-investments. In 2026, the EIC also expanded its support to dual-use and defence innovations, and launched the Scaleup Europe Fund,with €1,000 million committed by the EIC and a target of at least €4,000 million from other investors. Managed by EQT, the Fund aims to help the most promising European start-ups become global leaders through investments averaging over 100 million euros.

 

More information: European Commission