The European Innovation Council welcomes 78 high potential start-ups and SMEs in highly competitive selection round

The European Commission selected 78 innovative companies under the latest 2022 EIC Accelerator cut-off. They are set to receive up to €470 million of funding in a combination of grants and investments. The companies were selected from over 1000 start-ups and SMEs that submitted a full application for funding for the 5 October 2022 cut-off, of which 240 were interviewed by juries of experienced investors and entrepreneurs.

The selected companies will each receive grants and/or equity investments, depending on their needs, up to €17.5 million. The equity investments will be made through the EIC Fund which is now fully operational. Blended finance (57%) remains the dominant funding type compared to ‘grant first’ (27%) and ‘grant only’ (16%) options, despite an increase in grant first applications invited to an interview (approx. 35%) compared to the March and June cut-offs. Selected companies have a geographical spread spanning 17 countries. 15% of the companies have female CEOs.

Here are some examples of successful projects and companies:

Project Egnite (company Inbrain Neurelectronics SL, Spain) – graphene-based neural implants that, powered by artificial intelligence, will have the capability of reading single neural cells at a resolution never seen before, detecting therapy-specific biomarkers and triggering adaptive responses for increased outcomes in personalised neurological therapies.
Project Releaf Paper (company Releaf Paper SAS, France) – breakthrough technology for sustainable production of leaves-based fibre
Project CO2 Battery (company Energy Dome SPA, Italy) – long duration energy storage system based on a closed thermodynamic loop that uses CO2 as working fluid. Thanks to the properties of carbon dioxide, the system allows to store energy efficiently and cost effectively.
Project Maeve 01 (company Maeve Aerospace B.V.) – building and commercialising the first electric innovative commuter aircraft (ELICA) that carries 44 passengers over a range of 550 km.

Funding opportunities in 2023

In 2023, the EIC opens funding opportunities worth over €1.6 billion for breakthrough innovators to scale up and create new markets. Out of it, €1.13 billion is devoted to the EIC Accelerator funding, with €525 million earmarked for next generation technologies in strategic areas for Europe, including: biomarkers for cancer, decontamination for pandemic management, energy storage, New European Bauhaus, quantum or semiconductor components, resilient agriculture, space technologies and services.

Background information

The EIC Accelerator offers start-ups and SMEs grants of up to €2.5 million combined with equity investments through the EIC Fund ranging from €0.5 to €15 million. In addition to financial support, all projects benefit from a range of Business Acceleration Services that provide access to leading expertise, corporates, investors and ecosystem actors.

Companies can submit their ideas to the EIC Accelerator at any time. For ideas meeting the EIC criteria for excellence, impact and risk-level, companies are invited to prepare full applications to submit to one of the regular cut-off dates.

Since its launch in March 2021, more than 6,500 start-ups and SMEs have sent their ideas and over 3,330 have submitted full applications. The companies announced today were among the 1092 who submitted to the last 2022 cut-off on 5 October, and join the 314 companies selected for funding by the EIC so far. The next cut-offs for full applications are: 11 January 2023, 22 March 2023, 7 June 2023, 4 October 2023.