EIC Accelerator (via ISERD) — Horizon Europe

EIC Accelerator — Short Proposal

Supports small and medium firms in early-stage deep technologies through public proposals and commercialization mentoring.

Eligibility · EU member states

The EIC Accelerator 2026 Short Proposal is the European Innovation Council's main annual call for deep-tech SMEs and startups seeking blended finance to bring breakthrough innovations from demonstration stage to market. The 2026 call identifier is HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-01, with a submission deadline of 17 December 2026 via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. The programme funds innovations from TRL 6 (demonstration in relevant environment) through TRL 9 and beyond, covering testing, validation, full commercialisation, and scale-up. Israel is an associated country to Horizon Europe, making Israeli companies fully eligible.

The blended finance package includes up to €2.5 million in non-dilutive grant funding and up to €10 million in equity investment from the EIC Fund — the EU takes a minority equity stake. Only single legal entities are permitted to apply; consortia are not eligible for EIC Accelerator. Israeli companies must be SMEs. Nine Israeli companies have previously received a combined €108 million through the EIC Accelerator programme. Applications are reviewed in a two-stage process: short proposals are screened first, and top-scoring applicants are invited to submit full applications followed by a face-to-face jury interview in Brussels.

ISERD, Israel's National Contact Point for Horizon Europe, provides free pre-submission Red Team review of draft proposals — applicants should submit their draft at least one month before the December deadline. ISERD does not process or fund the application itself; the grant and equity contract is signed directly with the European Commission. Competition is global and intense, with acceptance rates well below 10% at the short proposal stage. Successful applicants receive both the financial package and access to EIC Business Acceleration Services covering coaching, market access, and investor matchmaking.