EIC awards 160 Seals of Excellence to March 2022 Accelerator applicants
- ›The European Innovation Council awarded 160 Seals of Excellence to applicants from the EIC Accelerator March 2022 cut-off.
- ›Recipients' proposals were judged by independent experts to meet EIC quality standards but were not funded because of budget limits.
- ›The Seal is a quality label intended to help companies find alternative public or private funding and to let funders rely on Horizon Europe evaluations.
- ›Under Horizon Europe the EIC has issued 302 Seals of Excellence in total.
- ›The Seal is delivered with evaluation results and can be digitally protected and shared with third party funders with the applicant's consent.
EIC issues 160 Seals of Excellence after March 2022 Accelerator cut-off
On 29 August 2022 the European Innovation Council announced that 160 companies that applied to the EIC Accelerator during the March 2022 cut-off received an EIC Seal of Excellence. Independent evaluators determined that these proposals met the EIC's high quality thresholds but were not selected for funding only because the available budget was exhausted. The Seal is intended as a recognised quality label to help companies access alternative funding sources and to allow other funders to rely on the Horizon Europe evaluation process when making their own decisions.
The announcement repeats an increasingly familiar pattern in European innovation funding. The EIC receives more high quality, investable deep tech proposals than the programme can fund. The Seal of Excellence is a mechanism to make the evaluation work product useful beyond the EIC's own budget constraints.
What the Seal of Excellence is and what it does
| Feature | Detail | Practical note |
| Who can receive it | Startups and SMEs whose proposals met selection criteria for EIC Accelerator or EIC Transition but could not be funded due to budget constraints | Recipients usually receive the Seal with their evaluation results |
| Purpose | Signal independent expert endorsement and help secure alternative funding | Does not provide direct funding |
| Security | Digitally sealed certificate and protected evaluation summary report | Intended to prevent fraud but does not guarantee funder acceptance |
| Number issued | 160 (March 2022 cut-off); 302 under Horizon Europe overall as reported | Shows scale of supply of quality proposals relative to available funding |
How recipients can use the Seal and practical advice
The EIC suggests that Seal holders share their supporting documentation, including the Seal certificate, full proposal and the evaluation summary report, with potential funders. The Seal acts as a trusted external assessment so public funds, regional schemes and private investors can take advantage of the Horizon Europe evaluation work. The EIC recommends diversification of funding sources and, where appropriate, combining grants with financial instruments such as loans or equity investments.
Actors and processes behind the Seal
Multiple EU actors take part in the evaluation and post-evaluation activities. The EIC Accelerator and EIC Transition schemes operate under Horizon Europe and are implemented by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, known as EISMEA. Independent experts drawn from the Horizon Europe experts database act as evaluators, coaches and jury members. Additional ecosystem partners such as National Contact Points, the Enterprise Europe Network and regional managing authorities may be involved if the applicant consents to information sharing.
Selection and limits
The Seal highlights a structural challenge. The EIC’s selection process identifies more investable and high quality proposals than the programme can fund with available budgets. Labeling those proposals helps put them in front of other funders. However the label does not remove the underlying constraint. Whether a project obtains financing afterwards depends on market interest, the project’s readiness and many local and private funding conditions.
Critical caveats and what to watch for
The Seal is a useful intermediary tool but it is not a guarantee of future funding. Independent evaluation quality matters, but investors and public funders will still conduct their own due diligence. The Seal helps reduce duplication of evaluation effort but it does not replace legal, financial or technical checks required by investors. Claiming the Seal should be part of a broader strategy that includes a realistic appraisal of commercial risk and a diversified funding approach.
Practical checklist for Seal holders
| Action | Why it matters | How to do it |
| Share evaluation summary and full proposal | Provides trusted independent assessment to potential funders | Include the digitally sealed evaluation summary with outreach to regional funds and investors |
| Get consent for data sharing | Allows EISMEA to introduce you to alternative funders and networks | Opt in when prompted to permit sharing with NCPs, EEN or regional authorities |
| Diversify funding sources | Reduces dependence on a single programme | Approach public regional funds, national schemes, equity investors and blended finance |
| Combine grants and financial instruments | Can unlock bridge finance or co-investment | Explore loans, convertible notes or co-investment with EIC Fund partners |
| Use available EIC support services | Improves readiness and investor messaging | Request business coaching or other EIC acceleration services where available |
Numbers and final context
The July 2022 announcement covered 160 Seals for the March 2022 cut-off. The EIC also reported that under Horizon Europe it has issued 302 Seals of Excellence in total. Those figures underline both the scale of unmet demand for EU-backed deep tech support and the EIC’s attempt to make its evaluation output reusable across the European innovation ecosystem.
For applicants, the Seal is a useful instrument but one that must be deployed strategically. For policymakers, the number of Seals highlights the persistent gap between high quality innovation proposals and the finite public budgets available to support them. For funders, the Seal offers a convenient signal but not a substitute for their own risk assessment and legal safeguards.
Where to find more information
Companies and stakeholders can find details on the EIC website and through EISMEA channels. The Seal is normally issued alongside the evaluation summary report. Applicants should read carefully the consent and data sharing options if they want the Agency to share contact information with national or regional funding bodies or trusted private investors.