Scheme details
Area: Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, County Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Northumberland
Categories: Finance & funding, Grant
Business stage: Start-up, Trading business
Page last updated: 16 December 2025
What for
Deep tech innovation
Support high-risk, demand-driven deep tech innovation with transformative potential especially in areas where there is lack of commercial uptake.
Who can apply
SMEs and research teams
Start-ups, SME or research performing organisation (university, research or technology organisation, including teams, individual Principal Investigators and inventors)
What you get
Grants and support
€300,000 lump sum (stage 1), up to €2.5 million lump sum (stage 2), coaching & mentoring, networking
What is the EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges ?
EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges aim to support high-risk, demand-driven deep tech innovation with transformative potential especially in areas where there is extensive research but lack of commercial uptake.
This pilot aims to assess whether competitive, stage-gated support can accelerate the path to market for high-risk deep tech innovations, and whether early integration of demand-side actors can enhance the relevance, validation, and ultimately the uptake of breakthrough solutions. The pilot will provide evidence on whether these mechanisms lead to more efficient innovation cycles and broader market adoption than other instruments within Horizon Europe.
The EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges are shaped and steered by EIC Programme Managers, in collaboration with users and ecosystem actors, to ensure strong alignment between cutting-edge science, demand, and policy priorities
Grant funding
Two-stage funding model with:
Stage 1: €300,000 lump sum for up to nine months to prepare and benchmark breakthrough solutions and explore their feasibility and viability.
Stage 2: Up to €2.5 million lump sum for up to 2.5 years to further develop the most promising solutions and test them in real world environments and with the involvement of users.
Extensive support
Access to a range of tailor-made Business Acceleration Services (BAS) for beneficiaries:
- Access to global partners
- Access to coaches, mentors, expertise and training
- Access to innovation ecosystem and peers
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