EIC Pathfinder

EIC Pathfinder Challenge: Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems

Supports developing advanced materials for miniaturised energy harvesters to power IoT and sensor networks autonomously.

Eligibility · EU member states + Horizon-associated

The EIC Pathfinder Challenge: Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems is a targeted deep-tech research grant issued by the European Innovation Council under the Horizon Europe framework. It sits within the 2026 EIC Pathfinder Challenges track, which carries a combined budget of €96 million across three predefined thematic challenges, with this energy-harvesting challenge drawing from a dedicated pool of approximately €32 million. The program responds directly to the European Commission's Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership initiative and targets the energy crisis projected by the exponential rise of IoT: roughly 250 billion connected objects by 2030 and up to 10 trillion sensors by 2040 would require an estimated 80 million battery swaps per day without autonomous power alternatives.

Awards are structured as lump-sum grants of up to €4 million per project, covering 100% of eligible costs with no co-funding requirement. Projects run approximately 36 months and must reach TRL 4 by completion — advancing from conceptual research to laboratory-validated prototypes. Eligible applicants include single entities (individuals, SMEs, universities, research organisations, or companies of up to 250 employees) as well as small consortia of 2 or large consortia of 3 or more partners, all registered in EU member states or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Mid-cap and large companies may not apply as solo applicants. The submission deadline is 28 October 2026 via the Horizon Europe Funding and Tenders portal under call identifier HORIZON-EIC-2026-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01.

Proposals must address all four mandatory objectives simultaneously: identifying innovative materials exploiting novel physical or chemical phenomena with reduced critical raw material dependence; integrating those materials into a functional miniaturised harvesting module (solar, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, or other type); embedding the module into an energetically autonomous device or system; and benchmarking the integrated system in a representative use case at TRL 4. Use of AI-accelerated materials discovery is explicitly encouraged. Competitive proposals will demonstrate scientific novelty well beyond the state of the art, present a credible roadmap from concept to lab validation, and situate the work within the EIC Pathfinder Challenges Portfolio strategic direction, as the Agency may terminate projects that drift from that direction.