EIC Transition

EIC Transition Open

Supports European deep-tech ventures advancing laboratory research toward validated prototypes and near-market technologies.

Eligibility · EU member states + Horizon-associated

EIC Transition Open is the European Innovation Council's bridge-funding instrument, designed to take technologies that have reached experimental proof of concept (TRL 3) or lab validation (TRL 4) through to demonstrated functionality in a relevant application environment (TRL 5–6). It addresses a structural gap in the EU innovation system: technologies that have been validated under EIC Pathfinder, ERC Proof of Concept, Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions, European Defence Fund (civil applications only), or Research Infrastructure projects — the last category newly eligible in 2026 — but are not yet mature enough for the EIC Accelerator. The 2026 call carries a budget of €100 million and a 16 September 2026 deadline, with grants of up to €2.5 million per project at a 100% funding rate. A separate Booster Grant of up to €50,000 is available for commercialisation testing.

Eligibility is deliberately inclusive: single applicants (SMEs, start-ups, spin-offs, research organisations, or universities) and consortia of two to five independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries are both permitted, making Transition one of the few EIC instruments that accommodates both academic and commercial lead applicants equally. Applicants must demonstrate that their project builds directly on results from one of the eligible prior EU-funded projects. Applications progress through three steps: proposal submission, expert evaluation, and an online jury interview with up to six panelists. A 30% women-led floor mechanism is built into the programme: if fewer than 30% of threshold-passing projects are led by women, the pool expands to fund additional qualifying women-led proposals.

For applicants, the key distinguishing factor relative to Pathfinder is the requirement to demonstrate a credible commercialisation pathway and a sustainable business model alongside the technical maturation plan. Transition awards are intended to produce technology validated in a relevant environment, not merely replicated at lab scale, and proposals are assessed on the realism of the route from current TRL to the application environment demonstration within the 24-month project window.