72 new companies join the EIC Scaling Club which aims to turn 20% of its members into unicorns
- ›The European Innovation Council announced 72 new deep tech scale ups from 23 countries joining the EIC Scaling Club, expanding the curated community to more than 120 companies.
- ›The Club offers fundraising support, leadership mentoring, corporate matchmaking, media visibility and recruitment assistance and reports its members have raised over €3.4 billion to date.
- ›The initiative sets a goal of scaling 20 percent of Club members into unicorns while launching a Trusted Investor Network of over 50 venture investors to accelerate co investments with the EIC Fund.
- ›Members were selected across six market sector opportunities and nominations came from investors, mentors, public funds, media and other industry experts with final approval by an investors jury.
EIC Scaling Club expands: 72 new scale ups added, ambition set to convert 20 percent into unicorns
On 21 October 2024 the European Innovation Council announced that 72 deep tech scale ups from 23 countries have been admitted to the EIC Scaling Club. The announcement was made at the Scale 100 Forum in Athens. The expansion brings the Club's membership to more than 120 companies that the EIC and its partners describe as high potential scale ups across ten deep tech markets.
The EIC Scaling Club is positioned as a curated community that provides hand picked scale ups with practical growth support. The initiative said it will assist members with fundraising, leadership mentoring and coaching, corporate partnership identification and matchmaking, media visibility and recruitment. The Club reports that the community has collectively raised more than €3.4 billion so far and is backed by over 400 dedicated club members.
What the EIC Scaling Club offers members
The Club presents itself as a bridge between scale ups and the broader investment and corporate ecosystem. Services promoted include targeted fundraising support, leadership mentoring and coaching, corporate partnership identification and matchmaking, public relations and media visibility, and help with recruitment. Those services aim to address common scale up bottlenecks such as access to follow on capital, executive talent, and strategic industry partnerships.
Selection process and membership criteria
Candidates for the Scaling Club are nominated by a wide range of stakeholders including investors, mentors, innovation agencies, public funds, and media. Final selection rests with an investors jury. The jury considers factors such as the strength of the management team, technological differentiation, a credible market strategy, and potential for meaningful and scalable impact. The Club says it gives priority to diverse teams and sustainable growth trajectories.
Sectors represented and full list of accepted companies
The 72 selected companies were categorised into six predefined market opportunities. Below are the complete lists as published by the EIC. Country mentions are those provided in the source announcement.
Agri and Food Tech
Agriodor (France), Algaenergy (Spain), Arborea (Portugal), Brite Solar (Greece), Fresh Inset (Poland), Green spot tech (France), Kern Tec (Austria), Livin Farms (Austria), N2 Applied (Norway), Protealis (Belgium), Trapview (Slovenia), Vivici (Netherlands).
Batteries and Energy Storage
ACCURE Battery Intelligence GmbH (Germany), Basquevolt (Spain), C2C-NewCap (Portugal), Circu Li ion S.A. (Luxembourg), cylib GmbH (Germany), ElevenEs (Serbia), Energy Dome (Italy), ENERGYNEST (Norway), Enerpoly (Sweden), Hyme Energy (Denmark), Mecaware (France), UP Catalyst (Estonia).
Cardiovascular Therapies
AMT Medical (Netherlands), AnaCardio AB (Sweden), Anaconda Biomed (Spain), Aortyx SL (Spain), Cardiawave (France), Checkpoint Cardio (Bulgaria), contextflow GmbH (Austria), CorWave (France), Gradient Denervation Technologies (France), Ligence (Lithuania), RDS (France), Sentante (Lithuania).
Clean Fuels and Hydrogen
Battolyser Systems (Netherlands), Dynelectro ApS (Denmark), Elcogen Group Plc (Estonia), HYDROGEN ONSITE SL (Spain), Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH (Germany), INERATEC (Germany), Jolt (Spain), Naco Technologies (Latvia), Nordic Electrofuel AS (Norway), PowerUP Energy Technologies (Estonia), Sakowin (France), Zeleros (Spain).
New Biotech Platforms
Amadix (Spain), Arctic Therapeutics (Iceland), Asgard Therapeutics AB (Sweden), Cellply (Italy), Convert Pharmaceuticals (Belgium), Elypta (Sweden), GeneCode Ltd. (Estonia), Glycanostics s.r.o. (Slovak Republic), MiMARK Diagnostics SL (Spain), Osivax (France), Ribbon Biolabs (Austria), Sensius (Netherlands).
New Space Tech
Aldoria (France), Aurora Propulsion Technologies Oy (Finland), Cailabs (France), Caracol S.r.l. (Italy), constellr GmbH (Germany), EnduroSat (Bulgaria), HyImpulse Technologies GmbH (Germany), Mbryonics Ltd (Ireland), OQ Technology (Luxembourg), PLD Space (Spain), Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (Germany), U Space (France).
Scale Club scale and reported portfolio metrics
The announcement highlights that the Scaling Club community is active across ten deep tech markets and that its members have together raised more than €3.4 billion to date. The Club says it is supported by more than 400 club members which presumably include investors, corporates, mentors and partner organisations.
| Metric | Value | Notes |
| New companies added | 72 | Announced at Scale 100 Forum, Athens, 21 October 2024 |
| Total Club membership | 120+ | Curated community of deep tech scale ups |
| Countries represented | 23 | Across the accepted companies |
| Collective funding raised | €3.4 billion | Aggregate reported by the EIC Scaling Club |
| Backing network | 400+ | Members of the broader club ecosystem |
Organisers, partners and contact
The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC funded initiative and is run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School. The European Innovation Council and Small and Medium sized Enterprises Executive Agency manages the site and communication. The contact listed in the announcement is Krista Krumina at krista@tech.eu.
Analysis and cautions
The public goal to scale 20 percent of Club members into unicorns is ambitious. Transforming a deep tech scale up into a unicorn typically requires large follow on funding rounds, favourable market timing, viable exit routes and sometimes regulatory approvals that can take years. Membership, mentoring and matchmaking can materially help in addressing capability and capital gaps. However these supports do not guarantee outcomes that depend heavily on macro financial conditions, competition from global players, and the specific technical and regulatory risks of sectors like biotech, hydrogen and space.
European innovation policy has increasingly used programmes such as EIC grants and co investment to bridge the valley of death between research and commercial scale up. The Scaling Club fits within that ecosystem by creating visibility and targeted access to investors. For the Club to deliver on its stated ambition the programme will need transparent performance metrics, follow on funding commitments from private investors, and measurable progress on hiring and partnerships. Observers should watch whether the Trusted Investor Network results in material co investments and whether members achieve the revenue and financing milestones needed to reach unicorn valuations.
Source and further information
This article is based on the European Innovation Council press release published on 21 October 2024. For the full list of companies accepted to the EIC Scaling Club and official statements consult the EIC announcement and contact Krista Krumina at krista@tech.eu.