European Innovation Council

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is the European Union’s flagship program for funding high-risk, high-impact innovation. Established under Horizon Europe, it supports breakthrough technologies and business models from early-stage research through to market scale-up. The EIC provides grants and blended finance, combining non-dilutive funding with equity investment via the EIC Fund, and offers coaching and access-to-market services to help researchers, startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) commercialize deep‑tech innovations across Europe.

For the chemical and materials sectors, the EIC backs developments in advanced and sustainable materials, catalysis, process intensification, green chemistry, circular polymers, carbon capture and utilization, and enabling technologies for energy transition such as batteries and hydrogen. Its instruments—Pathfinder (early-stage research), Transition (technology maturation and validation), and Accelerator (scale-up for SMEs and startups)—aim to bridge the gap between laboratory results and industrial deployment, strengthen European value chains, and accelerate the commercialization of cleaner, safer, and more efficient chemical processes and products.