The European Union has announced that it will increase its budget for deeptech research and scale-up support in strategic areas such as AI, low-carbon technologies, agritech, and biotech. The European Innovation Council (EIC) will receive €1.4 billion for its 2025 Work Program, an increase of nearly €200 million from the previous year.
One of the key improvements in the 2025 program is the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) scheme, which aims to provide better access to scale-up equity funding. The new EIC STEP Scale-Up scheme will have a budget of €300 million in 2025, with plans to grow to €900 million by 2027. This funding will help secure larger investments in companies that bring strategic technologies to the EU and reduce dependencies by encouraging private sector co-investment.
The EIC STEP Scale-up call is designed to address a market gap in deep tech scale-up funding in Europe, focusing on digital technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotechnologies. Additionally, the Work Program includes support for autonomous robots, generative AI, agritech, and other emerging technologies, with specific funding allocated for climate-resilient crops, waste conversion, and medical diagnosis.
The 2025 Work Program will also increase access to Business Acceleration Services for emerging companies in countries with lower research and innovation performance. Projects that do not receive EIC funding will be awarded Seals of Excellence to help them find alternative sources of funding.
The EIC Work Program 2025 consists of three main funding schemes. The EIC Pathfinder track focuses on research and development for early-stage technology breakthroughs, with grants of up to €4 million. The EIC Transition track aims to commercialize research results into innovation opportunities, offering grants of up to €2.5 million. The EIC Accelerator track, with the largest budget of €634 million, supports startups and SMEs in developing and scaling up innovations that have the potential to disrupt markets.
The EIC STEP Scale-Up scheme will provide additional funding to promising companies in critical areas identified by the EU. In addition to direct financial support, innovators will have access to business acceleration services, expertise, and connections with corporates, investors, and ecosystem actors to further support their growth and success.
