Exploring EIC Grants for your UK SME? Start here.

Q: How much funding can I receive from the EIC?

UK companies and other eligible organisations can receive up to €4 million (£3.2 million) in grant funding from the EIC. UK companies can also secure up to €30 million (£25 million) in equity funding through the EIC’s STEP Scaleup programme. In addition to funding, successful applicants receive a range of non-financial support through the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services , which include mentoring, coaching and access to networking opportunities.

Omar Bellfield, Business Development Manager

Last updated: April 2025

If you’re an innovative UK startup or scaleup looking for grant funding to develop your game-changing technology, European Innovation Council grants should definitely be on your radar.

Established under the EU’s vast Horizon Europe programme, the European Innovation Council or ‘EIC’ offers grants of up to €4 million (£3.4 million) to help businesses across Europe mature and scale high-risk, high-impact research and development projects.

In this guide, I’ve explained the key things you need to know about the EIC, including the different grants it offers and who’s eligible for them.

If you want to know whether you should apply for an EIC grant, my colleagues and I at GrantTree would be happy to perform a free Eligibility and Competitiveness Assessment, telling you which of the EIC’s four grant competitions you’re best suited for and how likely we feel you are to win funding.

Book your Eligibility and Competitiveness Assessment.

What is the European Innovation Council?

Boasting an endowment of more than €10 billion, the EIC is Europe’s “flagship innovation programme”. Its mission is to identify, develop, and scale breakthrough technologies through a combination of grant funding, equity investment, and other forms of support.

EIC funding is available to companies and research organisations in EU member states, as well as countries associated to Horizon Europe, which includes the UK.

The European Innovation Council runs five competitions, focusing on different stages of the innovation journey. Four offer grant funding, which I’ll explain in more detail below. The fifth is STEP Scaleup, which offers up to €30 million in equity funding. You can learn more about STEP Scaleup on the EIC website.

Winners also benefit from Business Acceleration Services (BAS), a range of non-financial support, such as coaching and networking, designed to help businesses commercialise their innovations.

Unlike most grant schemes, the four EIC’s competitions are open for many months at a time, some all year round. Three of them welcome proposals from all fields of science and technology, while Advanced Innovation Challenges focuses on specific areas of advanced technology.

This openness makes EIC grants an extremely attractive source of funding for innovative UK businesses, but it also makes them highly competitive, with 4-10% of applicants receiving funding.

That’s where GrantTree can help. Calling on decades of grant-winning experience, our team of innovation experts, bid managers and application writers can make sure your submission is as strong as possible, elevating you above the competition and maximising your chances of success.

Learn more about how GrantTree can improve your chances of winning an EIC grant.

Learn more about EIC grants with our on-demand webinar

Changes to the EIC Work Programme in 2026

The EIC has made a number of important changes to its funding programmes in 2026.

A streamlined process for applying to the EIC Accelerator, with proposals at Stage 2 reduced from 50 to 20 pages
Evaluations for Accelerator Stage 2 applications will happen every 2 months, rather than every 6 months
The launch of EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges, a new scheme that will fund deeptech R&D
Implementation of several actions outlined in the EIC’s Startup and Scaleup strategy

EIC Funding: An Overview of the Three Grant Schemes

Learn more about the European Innovation Council’s four grant funding competitions: Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator, and Advanced Innovation Challenges.

EIC Pathfinder

The first of the three schemes is EIC Pathfinder, which offers large grants – up to €4 million (£3.4 million) – to help SMEs validate early-stage ideas through experimentation and laboratory testing.

Using the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework employed by innovation funding bodies across the world, Pathfinder looks to mature innovations from TRL 1 or 2 to TRL 3. Pathfinder grants cover up to 100% of your eligible project costs.

Pathfinder is split into two ‘strands’ or ‘streams’. They are:

Open, which offers grants of up to €3 million to groups of organisations (consortia) from at least three eligible countries. It’s open to all innovation areas.
Challenges, which offers grants of up to €4 million for consortia and single applicants. The challenges stream is focused on specific areas of R&D, such as the development of robot collectives and the circular production of renewable fuels.

Find out if EIC Pathfinder is right for you.

EIC Transition

The next programme is EIC Transition, which offers grants of up to €2.5 million (£2.1 million) for companies, universities, and research organisations looking to bring laboratory-validated innovations to market.

Transition funds projects that test models and prototypes in real-world environments, taking an innovation from TRL 3/4 to TRL 5/6. Transition grants cover up to 100% of your eligible project costs.

EIC Transition is open to proposals from all fields of science and technology. However, it is only open to innovations that have already received grants from specific EU-funded schemes.

Learn learn more about EIC Transition.

EIC Accelerator

The final competition is EIC Accelerator, which offers up to €2.5 million (£2.1 million) to help SMEs and individuals intending to launch a qualifying business to commercialise late-stage innovations.

In TRL terms, the Accelerator programme looks to evolve a TRL 6 innovation to TRL 8, where it is ready for market. Accelerator grants cover up to 70% of your eligible project costs.

Like Pathfinder, EIC Accelerator has two streams:

Open, which accepts projects from any sector
Challenges, which target funding at specific EU priorities, such as climate change and health

In addition to funding, Accelerator provides successful applicants with a host of other valuable support, such as access to the EIC’s global partner network, vast innovation ecosystem, and experienced coaches.

The Accelerator programme also offers companies up to €10 million in equity investment. However, this is only available to companies in the EU.

Find out if the EIC Accelerator grants are right for your business.

EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges

The final scheme is Advanced Innovation Challenges, a new pilot programme announced in November 2025.

Inspired by America’s Advanced Research Programme Agency (ARPA), Advanced Innovation Challenges offers funding to startups, SMEs, and research organisations looking to develop cutting-edge solutions in certain challenge areas.

It is currently offering grants in two such areas:

Accelerating Physical AI: Embodied Intelligence for the Next Frontier of AI-Powered Robotics
Translating Disruptive New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) into Practice

Advanced Innovation Challenges has two stages, the first launching next year, and the second going live in 2027. Only projects that received funding in Stage 1 will be eligible for Stage 2.

Stage 1 – Offering up to €300,000 for projects lasting up to nine months that “prepare and benchmark breakthrough solutions and explore their feasibility and viability.”
Stage 2 – Offering up to €2.5 million for projects lasting up to two and a half years that “further develop the most promising solutions and test them in real-world environments and with the involvement of users.”

Stage 1 is only open to single entities, while Stage 2 will also welcome applications from consortia comprising up to three organisations.

The deadline for Stage 1 is 26 February 2026, and for Stage 2 is 8 June 2027. As with the other competitions, winners will receive a range of tailored support, including coaching and access to networking.

Summary of the three EIC grant schemes
Scheme	TRL Supported	Target TRL Reached	Max Funding Available	Max % of Costs Covered	Who Can Apply?
Pathfinder	1–2	3	€4m (£3.4m)	100%	SMEs and consortia, including organisations from at least three eligible countries
Transition	3/4	5/6	€2.5m (£2.1m)	100%	SMEs, research organisations, universities, and small consortia (2–5 organisations) with EU-funded project result(s) that have promising commercial potential
Accelerator	6	8	€2.5m (£2.1m)	70%	SMEs and individuals intending to launch a startup
Advanced Innovation Challenges	4	6–7	€300,000 in Stage 1, €2.5 million in Stage 2	100%	SMEs and research organisations, plus consortia in Stage 2

Never miss a grant opportunity

Who is eligible for European Innovation Council funding?

As you’ll have probably noticed, eligibility for EIC funding depends on the specific programme you’re applying to. You can find more information about the eligibility criteria for each programme in the resources I linked to in the previous section.

Still, if you’re a UK company looking to apply for one of the four schemes offering grant funding – Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator and Advanced Innovation Challenges – which is where GrantTree’s expertise lies, there are some general boxes you’ll need to tick to access funding from the EIC.

✅ You must be an SME

To apply for EIC grant funding, you must be a micro, small or medium-sized business. Or, as most people say, an SME.

While the EIC website occasionally discusses startups, scale-ups and SMEs as if they were distinct categories, all three fall under the EU’s formal definition of an SME.

According to that definition, an SME is a company:

With no more than 250 employees
And a turnover of no more than €50 million
Or a balance sheet worth no more than €43 million

The EU’s definition is comparable to the version used by Innovate UK, though the EU’s allows for slightly higher turnovers and much larger balance sheets.

✅ At the right stage of development

Pathfinder, Transition Accelerator, and the Advanced Innovation Challenges scheme are very prescriptive about the stages of technological development they are willing to support, and the level of advancement your innovation should reach after you finish your project.

Before applying, make sure you familiarise yourself with the Technology Readiness Level framework. Developed by NASA in the 1970s, TRLs are used extensively by awarding bodies across the world, including the EIC, Innovate UK and Britain’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

A comprehensive understanding of TRLs and how they apply to your project can save you from wasting many hours on a proposal that is completely ineligible for the competition you’re applying for.

✅ Working on a potentially disruptive technology

The EIC is looking to back innovations with enormous potential, and benefits that extend across Europe (ideally globally). You must show the possibility of disrupting entire markets or even forging brand new ones designed to harness and disseminate your breakthrough.

While a great deal of effort and investment is rightly rewarded to companies that can make incremental improvements to established technologies and processes, these projects are not suitable for the four EIC grant funding competitions.

✅ That is also commercially promising

Finally, your innovation must have the potential to generate a sizable return for your business. Commercial success is a proxy for impact; the more an innovation is used, the more people benefit from it and the more money it generates for the business that owns its IP.

Whether your innovation has commercial potential depends on two things. First, is there demand for it? And second, does your company have the business acumen to effectively commercialise it once it’s ready for market?

You will need to answer both questions effectively and convincingly in your application for EIC funding, no matter which competition you go after.

The 'right' innovation areas for EIC grants

While three of the four EIC grant competitions are open to proposals from any and all scientific and technological fields, our experience securing European research grants and working with assessors reviewing EIC applications tells us that some areas are more likely to attract funding than others.

Specifically, the European Innovation Council is more likely to award innovations that align with Horizon Europe’s key strategic orientations. These are essentially challenges that Horizon Europe is looking to address through investment in research and technology.

The three orientations are:

The green transition
The digital transition
Helping to make Europe a more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic place

These areas typically receive much of the innovation grant funding available across the UK and Europe. They encapsulate cutting-edge fields requiring considerable investment to achieve commercialisation while also offering a large and obvious social benefit.

If you are working on a risky, highly promising technology allied to these areas, and satisfy the eligibility criteria outlined in the previous section, you could be well-placed to win an EIC grant.

How to apply for EIC grants

Applications for European Innovation Council funding are made via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.

The exact application process and deadline differ between the four programmes. You can find more information via the programme-specific pages linked below, but here’s a brief summary.

Pathfinder

Transition

Accelerator

Two-stage application:

Deadlines:

Advanced Innovation Challenges

Two-stage application:

Deadlines:

Let GrantTree connect you with EIC funding

The EIC grant schemes are a truly fantastic opportunity for UK companies and other eligible organisations needing sizeable grants to bring transformative technologies to market.

Open to organisations from across Europe, European Innovation Council grants are highly competitive. However, working with a leading grants consultancy like GrantTree can greatly improve your chances of success, propelling your nascent technology towards commercial success.

Calling on many years of grant-winning experience and the expertise of our EIC assessor network, my colleagues and I will make sure you put forward the strongest possible application, explaining why your project is the ideal candidate for European grant funding.

We offer a number of services designed to suit a range of budgets and support requirements, from strategic reviews, where an application you write yourself receives two rounds of detailed feedback from an active EIC assessor, to a Full Service Write, where my colleagues and I build your application from the ground up, maximising your chances and saving you and your people many weeks of hard work.

To learn more about how GrantTree can help you secure over £3 million in grant funding, just drop us a message, and a member of our team will be right with you. I look forward to hearing from you.

FAQs about EIC grants

What is the acceptance rate for EIC competitions?

The EIC grant schemes are highly competitive, with only a small percentage of applicants receiving funding. The acceptance rate ranges from 4% for the Pathfinder Open strand up to 10% for the transition strand.

Here’s a complete breakdown of the acceptance rates for each competition according to the most recent EIC data.

Pathfinder
- Challenge Strand – 7.8% (31 of 401 proposals)
- Open Strand – 4.05% (45 of 1110 proposals)
Transition
- 10.5% (27 of 257 proposals)
Accelerator
- 5.9% (71 of 1211 proposals)

While these acceptance rates might seem low, there are a few things you should bear in mind if you’re thinking about applying for an EIC grant.

The first is that these rates are higher than we see for many Innovate UK competitions, which offer much less funding. The second is that, sadly, many of the applications submitted will be either ineligible or uncompetitive.

If your project aligns with the programme’s criteria, and your application gives a compelling account of your eligibility and suitability for grant funding, you’ll have a much stronger chance of success.

One of the best ways to make sure your project is eligible and your application is effective is to work with our grant writing experts. We have many years of experience winning grants and have secured over £100 million for innovative UK businesses.

We only work with companies that are not only eligible for grants but also have an excellent chance of success. To find out more about how we can help your business, drop us a message here.

How long does it take to write an EIC application?

In my experience, writing a competitive EIC application takes 6 to 8 weeks.

I have seen successful applications written in as little as 4 weeks, but in that case, the company was working around the clock to make sure their submission was up to scratch.

Are UK companies eligible for EIC competitions?

Yes, UK companies are eligible for all EIC competitions: Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator, Advanced Innovation Challenges (and STEP Scale Up).

While the UK is no longer a member of the EU, we have association to the EIC’s overarching body, Horizon Europe. This gives us access to the four EIC schemes.

What is the EIC’s budget?

The EIC’s overall budget is €10.1 billion. About £8.5 billion. Its 2026 budget is €1.4 billion, spread across grants and equity investment.

What types of funding does the EIC offer?

The EIC offers both grant funding and equity investment.

The Pathfinder, Transition, and Advance Innovation Challenges schemes only offer grant funding. The Accelerator programme offers both grant and equity funding, though equity funding is not available to UK companies.

The STEP Scale Up competition just offers equity funding, which is available to UK companies

What’s the difference between EIC Accelerator, EIC Pathfinder, and EIC Transition?

The main differences between the Accelerator, Transition and Pathfinder schemes are how much funding they offer, the stage of innovation they support, and who can apply.

See this table for more information.

How much funding can I receive from the EIC?

UK companies and other eligible organisations can receive up to €4 million (£3.2 million) in grant funding from the EIC.

UK companies can also secure up to €30 million (£25 million) in equity funding through the EIC’s STEP Scaleup programme.

In addition to funding, successful applicants receive a range of non-financial support through the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services, which include mentoring, coaching and access to networking opportunities.

What’s the difference between an Innovation Action and a Research and Innovation Action

EIC offers two types of funding: Innovation Actions (IAs) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs).

Research and Innovation Actions provide funding for earlier-stage innovations and cover up to 100% of a project’s eligible costs. Pathfinder and Transition grants are classed as RIAs.

Innovation Actions support later-stage innovations and cover up to 70% of project costs. EIC Accelerator grants are classified as IAs.

What is the difference between ERC and EIC?

The ERC (European Research Council) supports a wide variety of scientific research across the EU, while the EIC (European Innovation Council) supports the development of radical, high-risk technologies with the potential to disrupt or create markets.

ERC funding is primarily given to academics and research institutions, while EIC grants are geared towards private companies and their partners.