European Innovation Council Board calls for EIC’s expanded mission and increased budget to boost Europe’s deep tech leadership

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Board published today a set of ambitious recommendations for the EIC, aimed at strengthening Europe's position as a leader in deep tech innovation. This represents the EIC Board’s extensive reflections and assessments over the last months and provides a contribution to the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework proposal, which is expected to be published soon. 

Key proposals include:

• adopt a new Challenge model based on an ambitious ARPA-inspired approach,
• scaling up the EIC Fund,
• optimising operational efficiency,
• fostering synergies with national and regional initiatives, and
• maintaining a strong framework for experimentation. 

To meet those ambitions, the Board calls for a significant increase in the EIC's budget, with suggestions for a Scale-up Fund as proposed in the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, together with enhancements to the EIC Fund to catalyse follow-on and larger investments. 

The EIC has achieved impressive early results, supporting more than 700 start-ups and SMEs leveraging €3 of additional investment for every Euro invested through the EIC’s investment arm, the EIC Fund. These companies have shown strong growth in both employment and revenues and are making critical advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean tech and quantum technologies.

The Board stresses the urgent necessity for increased scale-up funding and a more comprehensive programme to maintain competitiveness against global innovation counterparts such as the US and China. 

The EIC Board is made up of twenty independent innovators bringing perspectives from across the ecosystem, and a full time President of the EIC Board.

 

Michiel Scheffer, EIC Board President, said: “Europe has the talent and the entrepreneurial drive to lead the next wave of deep tech innovation. The experience with the EIC shows that it has had a major impact, but more is needed for Europe to match its ambition with the necessary actions. The EIC Board’s recommendations demonstrate what is working well, where improvements are needed, and the level of resources needed to enable more of Europe’s high potential innovators to become global champions.”