EIC Immersive Programme connects 14 European cleantech start-ups to Houston and Austin

Brussels, December 19th 2025

Summary

›From 8 to 12 December 2025 the EIC Immersive Programme brought 14 EIC-backed cleantech start-ups from 11 countries to Houston and Austin for market immersion.
›The week combined pitch sessions, targeted workshops, university and corporate meetings, site visits, and networking events including a European Innovation Spotlight co-hosted with Greentown Labs.
›The delegation met US corporates and investors such as bp Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Exxon Mobil, Occidental and Austin ecosystem leaders including Capital Factory.
›The programme is part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services and aims to help scale-ups enter new markets while remaining focused on home operations.
›Practical challenges remain for participants including regulatory adaptation, procurement cycles, standards and follow-up capital which the programme helps surface but does not by itself resolve.

EIC Immersive Programme: a week of cleantech outreach in Texas

Between 8 and 12 December 2025 the European Innovation Council ran an Immersive Programme in Texas, placing 14 EIC-backed cleantech start-ups into Houston and Austin ecosystems. The initiative is delivered under the EIC Business Acceleration Services and builds on the EIC Soft-landing pilots from previous years. The stated objective is to accelerate global growth by exposing European scale-ups to local engineering expertise, potential corporate customers, ecosystem facilitators and investors in the United States.

EIC Immersive Programme explained:Previously known as the Soft-landing Programme, the Immersive Programme is a market-entry support service for EIC awardees who have gained traction at home and want a structured way to explore a new market without diverting their core operations. Services include tailored coaching, matchmaking, site visits, reverse-pitch sessions and introductions to local partners.

Delegation and technologies represented

The EIC delegation comprised 14 start-ups from 11 European countries and Israel. The cohort covered a range of cleantech domains including advanced nuclear SMRs, long-duration energy storage, industrial heat recovery, circular materials recovery, solar recycling, glass 3D printing, digital twins, marine sensing, wind O&M automation, and sustainable materials.

Company	Country	Primary technology or focus	Notable claim or partner
Blykalla	Sweden	Lead-cooled small modular reactors (SEALER) for baseload power	Factory-built SMR concept targeting industrial and data centre use
Catalyxx	Spain	Converts bioethanol into drop-in carbon-negative chemicals	Backed by EIB and EIC; producing bio butanol and hexanol
Circular Materials	Italy	Supercritical water precipitation for wastewater metal recovery	Claims 99% recovery of critical metals and CRMA Strategic Project designation
Dracula Technologies	France	Ultra-thin flexible organic photovoltaic films for indoor IoT	Ambient light harvesters for batteryless sensors
Energy Dome	Italy	CO2-based long-duration energy storage systems	Operational projects and partnerships with major utilities and Google
Infinite Foundry	Portugal	Real-time 3D digital twins and physics-based AI for factories	Platform for process optimisation and virtual training
Lava (LAVA Power)	Israel	Isothermal liquid-based heat engine and heat pump	Claims 70-80% of Carnot efficiency and applications in waste heat and enhanced geothermal
Nano-Tech	Italy	Lightweight high-temperature composites to replace metals	Targeting aerospace and advanced mobility
Nobula	Sweden	Direct Glass Laser Deposition 3D printing for glass parts	Laser and AI platform to print silica glass at up to 2200°C
Ocean Visuals	Norway	Hyper-spectral LiDAR sensors for real-time detection of oil in water	OWL™ MAP system for classification and ppm-level detection
Reblade ApS	Denmark	Drone-based and automated wind turbine blade repairs	Claims 90% reduction in downtime for blade repairs
Solar Materials	Germany	Fully automated recycling process for end-of-life solar panels	Claims recovery energy savings up to 95% compared to virgin production
Sustonable	Netherlands	Recycled PET and glass transformed into architectural surface materials	Products for sustainable architecture and interiors
Swiss Vault	Switzerland	VaultFS intelligent file system for energy-efficient data storage	Claims 50% reduction in storage needs and greener data management

What happened in Houston

Houston served as the programme's kick-off hub. Activities were structured to leverage the region's established strengths in energy, industrial scale engineering, and the energy transition. The agenda combined pitch opportunities, regulatory and commercial workshops, corporate panels, university meetings and site visits to local scale-ups.

Pitch sessions:Participants received coaching and pitched to local investors, corporates and industry professionals in sessions designed to stress-test value propositions for the Texas market.

Workshops and regulatory insight:Workshops featured local ecosystem organisations including the Greater Houston Partnership and Houston Energy Transition Initiative. Sessions covered Texas-specific regulatory and commercialisation pathways, helping companies identify permitting, standards and buyer requirements.

Corporate engagement panel:A panel included representatives from bp Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Exxon Mobil and Occidental. Such sessions are useful for signalling corporate interest but do not guarantee procurement or pilots without subsequent commercial and technical due diligence.

The delegation also met with Rice University faculty for sector-aligned discussions and held a meeting with CSC Leasing, a machine leasing specialist. Site visits included Sygyzy Plasmonics and Revterra. Two networking events broadened access to ecosystem players. Greentown Labs, an influential climatetech incubator with a Houston presence, was an active partner in the programme.

Austin: investor and accelerator focus

Midweek the cohort moved to Austin where the emphasis shifted toward investor engagement and start-up support structures. Activities were designed to deepen relationships with local accelerators and investors and to expose participants to technology and corporate players in energy storage and digital transformation.

Investor breakfast and Capital Factory:An investor breakfast at Capital Factory provided informal access to local investors and insights into scaling within the Austin market. Capital Factory is a leading accelerator in Austin and has been central to the city's growing tech scene.

Site visits and roundtable:Delegates visited EnergyX and Oracle to see innovations in energy storage and digital platforms. A roundtable with Austin ecosystem leaders explored collaboration pathways and local market dynamics.

European Innovation Spotlight at the Ion

A highlight of the Houston week was the European Innovation Spotlight co-hosted by the EIC and Greentown Labs at the Ion. The event convened over 100 stakeholders from Europe and the US, included a pitch session by the 14 start-ups, and a panel titled 'Catalysing Partnerships: Fueling Deeptech Innovation from Europe to Texas'.

Speakers and moderators involved:Introductions came from François Brizard, EIC representative to the United States, and Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown Labs. The panel featured Lawson Gow from Greentown Labs Houston, Neal Dikeman from Energy Transition Ventures, Rens Valk from Shell Ventures, and Mia Barrows from Catalyxx. The session was moderated by Adrian Trömel from Rice University.

Programme preparation and follow-up

Ahead of the trip the companies attended a pre-departure workshop on 14 November and a tailored coaching programme delivered with partners such as Greentown Labs, Rice University and the University of Luxembourg. These sessions focused on visit planning, pitch refinement, US business culture and ecosystem intelligence.

Pre-departure workshop purpose:The workshop provided practical guidance on matchmaking, scheduled meetings, and expectations so companies could prioritise time with potential customers and investors during the week.

How the Immersive Programme sits within EIC Business Acceleration Services

The Immersive Programme is one offering within the EIC Business Acceleration Services. These services are intended to extend EIC funding with market-facing support across three pillars: contracts, contacts and skills. The EIC reports multiple impact metrics for its BAS activities which illustrate scale but should be interpreted cautiously because headline numbers are aggregated across many services and timeframes.

Metric	Value reported by EIC	Contextual note
One-on-one meetings facilitated since 2021	+20,000	Includes meetings across many EIC BAS activities worldwide
Deals reported	595	Deals can range from pilots to commercial contracts
Capital raised via investor outreach	EUR 350 million	Figure aggregated from multiple programmes and years
Turnover from trade fairs	EUR 42 million	Reported since 2024 only
EIC Scaling Club fundraising since joining	EUR 1.2 billion	Applies to the exclusive Scaling Club subset of companies
Access+ grants available	Up to EUR 60,000 per beneficiary	Co-funded access to partner services until 31 May 2026

Selection criteria for immersive missions:EIC beneficiaries are assessed by external experts on their market fit for the targeted location. Applicants must present a market entry plan, expected impact from participation, product market fit evidence, and commit financial and human resources to engage in the programme.

Practical realities and gaps to watch

Market immersion weeks are valuable for making introductions and testing pitch messages in front of local stakeholders. They are not a substitute for deeper commercial engagement, certification, regulatory approvals, or the operational investment required to scale in a new jurisdiction. The EIC provides introductions and coaching. Successful market entry typically requires months of follow-up, local partnerships, pilot contracts and often further capital.

Common barriers for European cleantech scale-ups entering the US market:Regulatory and permitting differences across states, long procurement and pilot cycles at corporates and utilities, product standards and certifications, the need for US-based technical or commercial partnerships, and financing that matches local project economics. Cultural differences in sales and contracting pace can also be a practical obstacle.

Programme organisers emphasised access to engineering expertise, corporate buyers and scale-up capital. That combination can de-risk conversations but it does not guarantee adoption. Start-ups in the cohort will need to convert meetings into pilots and then into procurement. Observers should ask for follow-up data on pilots started, contracts signed and capital raised specifically as a direct outcome of the mission to judge effectiveness.

What participants should prioritise after the mission

Convert introductions to pilots:Secure technical scoping exercises with interested corporates and utilities. A short pilot or demonstration project is the most common route to procurement in energy and industrial markets.

Address standards and certification early:Identify US or state-specific technical standards, safety approvals or testing required. For hardware and energy systems such approvals are often a gating factor for deployment.

Local partnerships and presence:Consider local engineering partners, system integrators or commercial agents. Many European companies succeed by partnering with established US players who understand procurement and operations.

Track measurable outcomes:Capture concrete KPIs for the mission such as number of qualified leads, NDAs signed, pilots started, and investor commitments. Programme success is best judged on these follow-on metrics not on number of meetings alone.

How to access the programme and where to get help

The EIC Immersive Programme is part of the EIC Global Business Expansion Programme within the EIC Business Acceleration Services. Open calls and service opportunities are published via the EIC Community Platform. Companies and stakeholders can find support, sign up for services and consult eligibility criteria there.

Contact and next steps:For questions on the programme contact the EIC Community Helpdesk and choose the 'EIC Global Business Expansion Programme' or specific event category. The EIC also runs pre-departure coaching and partner-led training to prepare participants for market immersion.

Final assessment

The Texas Immersive Week is a logical continuation of EIC efforts to pair European deeptech with international demand. For startups it is an efficient way to test sales pitches, meet potential buyers and identify technical hurdles. The true value of such programmes depends on follow-through. Investors, corporates and ecosystem partners will watch whether introduced companies turn early interest into funded pilots and commercial agreements. Independent verification of mission outcomes will be the decisive indicator of long-term impact.