European Innovation Council launches EUR 1.8 billion funding programme for 2027
The Commission has adopted the 2027 European Innovation Council (EIC) Work Programme, making EUR 1.8 billion available to support deep-tech entrepreneurs and researchers from early-stage research through commercialisation and scale-up.
The programme includes EUR 1 billion for the Scaleup Europe Fund, EUR 200 million for defence investments and EUR 25 million for the Advanced Innovation Challenges pilot. It also introduces changes to the EIC Pathfinder and Transition schemes, expands support for women-led start-ups through a redesigned Women TechEU programme, doubling the grants to €150,000 per start-up, and introducing a new European Prize for Women Innovators in Quantum, complementing the existing European Prize for Women Innovators; and strengthens opportunities for EIC-backed companies to test technologies with public and private procurers.
The 2027 programme is the final EIC funding package under Horizon Europe 2021–2027 and aims to support the development and scaling of strategic technologies in Europe, including dual-use and defence technologies.
For more information, see the Commission’s PR.