Key Takeaways
- The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 44 projects for its 2022 Pathfinder call
- The projects focus on six strategic areas and will receive up to €167 million in EU funding
- EIC Programme Managers will actively manage project portfolios to increase impact
- Selected projects will also receive tailored coaching and potential fast-track access to the EIC Accelerator
- The 2023 EIC Pathfinder Challenges call will open for applications on June 20, 2023
2022 EIC Pathfinder: Investing in the Future of Innovation
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 44 cutting-edge research projects under its 2022 Pathfinder call, designed to achieve breakthroughs in six strategic areas. These projects, chosen from 436 eligible proposals, will receive up to €167 million in EU funding, averaging €3.8 million per project. The selected projects demonstrate the EIC’s commitment to driving innovation and transforming industries across Europe.
Six Strategic Areas for High-Impact Portfolios
The EIC has identified six Challenges for applicants to submit proposals, focusing on key technology areas that have the potential to shape the future of innovation. These Challenges include:
- 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 Challenge, the EIC will establish a portfolio of projects exploring different perspectives, competing approaches, or complementary aspects. Selected projects will receive not only grants, but also tailored coaching under the EIC Business Acceleration Services and potential fast-track access to the EIC Accelerator.
EIC Programme Managers: Driving Impact and Success
EIC Programme Managers play a crucial role in setting the Challenges, selecting project portfolios, and actively managing them to maximize impact. They will work with selected projects to develop a common roadmap for implementation, ensuring that the projects align with the EIC’s goals and contribute to Europe’s technological advancements.
Next Steps: Launching the Projects and Preparing for 2023
Grant agreements for the selected projects are currently being prepared, with projects set to begin in summer 2023. Meanwhile, the 2023 EIC Pathfinder Challenges call will open for applications on June 20, 2023, with a deadline of October 18, 2023, at 17:00 CET.
EIC Pathfinder: Supporting Bold Ideas and Technological Breakthroughs
The EIC Pathfinder scheme focuses on supporting high-risk, high-gain, and interdisciplinary cutting-edge science collaborations that underpin technological breakthroughs. With grants of up to €3 million (Pathfinder Open call) or €4 million (Pathfinder Challenges call), the scheme supports early-stage development of future technologies, 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. Promising results can also 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, bringing innovations to market.
