EIC Accelerator

EIC Accelerator Challenge: Boosting the European Critical Raw Materials value chain

Supports securing the European critical raw materials value chain across extraction, processing, and strategic substitution.

Eligibility · EU member states + Horizon-associated

The EIC Accelerator Challenge on Boosting the European Critical Raw Materials Value Chain is one of five thematic challenges within the 2026 EIC Accelerator programme, backed by a €44 million budget. Its mandate is to secure the sustainable supply of primary and secondary critical and strategic raw materials for EU industrial value chains — covering extraction, processing, recycling, and substitution technologies that reduce European dependence on imports from geopolitically concentrated sources. The challenge sits directly within the policy framework of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and is directed at SMEs commercialising technologies across the full materials value chain: mining process innovation, hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical recovery, urban mining, and advanced material substitutes for critical inputs.

Award terms follow the Accelerator baseline: up to €2.5 million in non-dilutive grant funding for TRL 5–8 prototype and demonstrator work, plus €1–10 million EIC Fund equity for later commercialisation. The application process runs through four steps with six bimonthly Step-2 cut-offs through 2026. Eligible applicants must be single SMEs (under 250 employees, turnover ≤€50M or balance sheet ≤€43M) registered in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. A notable restriction specific to this challenge is the Article 136 third-country control clause: companies owned or controlled from non-EU, non-eligible countries are excluded from grant-only support, reflecting the strategic sensitivity of the materials sector. UK companies may access the grant component only. Successful applicants that meet the quality threshold without funding receive the STEP Sovereignty Seal.

For applicants, proposals that address materials on the EU's official critical raw materials list — lithium, cobalt, rare earths, magnesium, tungsten, and others — and that demonstrate a credible recovery rate, cost trajectory, or substitution performance relative to the primary material carry the strongest strategic weight. Evaluators will look for supply-chain integration plans, environmental permitting readiness, and evidence of off-take interest from downstream European industrial buyers.