The Commission selected 44 new projects under the 2022 EIC Pathfinder call for cutting edge research projects to achieve breakthroughs in six strategic areas. The successful projects were chosen among 436 submitted eligible proposals and will receive up to €167 million of EU funding (on average €3.8 million per project).
EIC Programme Managers were directly involved in setting the challenges and selecting portfolios of projects from among the best applications, and they will now pro-actively manage these portfolios to increase impact.
Most applicants come from universities and research organisations, 16% of participants are SMEs. The applicants could submit their proposals in six Challenges:
- Carbon dioxide and nitrogen management and valorisation
- Mid to long term and systems integrated energy storage
- Cardiogenomics
- Towards the healthcare continuum: technologies to support a radical shift from episodic to continuous healthcare
- DNA-based digital data storage
- Alternative approaches to quantum Information processing, communication, and sensing
With each specific Challenge, the EIC will establish a portfolio of projects that explores different perspectives, competing approaches or complementary aspects of the Challenge. Selected projects will receive not only grants, but also access to tailored-made coaching under the EIC Business Acceleration Services and potential fast track access to the EIC Accelerator.
Next steps
Grant agreements for the selected projects are now being prepared and the projects will start in summer 2023. Programme Managers will work with selected projects to develop a common roadmap for implementation.
2023 EIC Pathfinder Challenges call, with new challenges, will open for applications on 20 June with a deadline of 18 October 2023, 17.00 CET.
Background information
With its Pathfinder scheme, the EIC supports the exploration of bold ideas for radically new technologies. It welcomes the high-risk/high gain and interdisciplinary cutting-edge science collaborations that underpin technological breakthroughs.
Grants of up to €3 (Pathfinder Open call) or up to €4 million (Pathfinder Challenges call) support early-stage development of future technologies (e.g. various activities at low Technology Readiness Levels 1-3), up to proof of concept. EIC Pathfinder projects benefit from interactions with EIC Programme Managers and can receive additional funding for testing the innovation potential of their research outputs or for working across projects for portfolio actions. In addition, promising results can receive substantial follow up funding through the EIC Transition scheme to create a commercial venture or use the Fast Track scheme to access the EIC Accelerator to bring innovations to the market.
Related links
Apply for 2023 EIC Pathfinder Challenges calls (open on 20 June):
Details
- Publication date
- 3 April 2023