EIC Pathfinder 2023 Challenges call: 371 proposals, heavy oversubscription and what the numbers mean
- ›The EIC Pathfinder 25 October 2023 cut-off received 371 proposals from 41 countries requesting a total of €1.3 billion.
- ›Proposals average about 5.6 participants and an average requested grant of roughly €3.5 million, close to the maximum €4 million cap.
- ›The call is heavily oversubscribed with requested funding nearly eight times the indicative budget of €163.5 million.
- ›Proposals were spread across five thematic Challenges with Responsible electronics receiving the most submissions at 116.
- ›Evaluation had begun and results were due in March 2024, with funding allocated in approximately equal shares across the Challenges.
EIC Pathfinder 2023 Challenges call statistics and analysis
The European Innovation Council reported that 371 project proposals were submitted for the EIC Pathfinder cut-off of 25 October 2023. These proposals listed a combined 2,077 participants and asked for approximately €1.3 billion in grant support. The submission pool targeted five themed Pathfinder Challenges and came from applicants in 41 countries. The call carried an indicative total budget of €163.5 million, which the EIC said would be distributed in roughly equal shares across the five Challenges. The formal evaluation process had begun and results were scheduled for publication in March 2024.
Raw counts by Challenge
| EIC Pathfinder Challenge | Number of proposals received | Notes |
| Responsible electronics | 116 | |
| Precision nutrition | 81 | |
| Clean and efficient cooling | 69 | |
| Architecture, Engineering and Construction digitalisation | 66 | novel triad of design, fabrication, and materials |
| In-space solar energy harvesting for innovative space applications | 39 | |
| Total | 371 | 2,077 participants, requested €1.3 billion, applicants from 41 countries |
What the headline numbers imply
A few simple calculations help put the call into context. The 371 proposals requested about €1.3 billion. The call budget was €163.5 million. That means the total requested funding was roughly 7.95 times the available indicative budget. On average each proposal included about 5.6 participants and requested roughly €3.5 million. The Pathfinder grant ceiling is up to €4 million which suggests many proposals sought sums close to the maximum. If every funded project received the maximum amount, the available budget would cover about 40 to 41 projects in total or roughly eight projects per Challenge given the equal share assumption. Those are theoretical numbers because actual funded amounts will vary and the EIC manages portfolios rather than simply funding every selected project at the ceiling.
About the EIC Pathfinder and the Challenge format
The EIC Pathfinder programme supports explorations of bold ideas for radically new technologies. It actively targets high risk, high potential impact and interdisciplinary research collaborations that could underpin future technological breakthroughs. Under the 2023 work programme the EIC allocated thematic funding to five Pathfinder Challenges. Grants are intended for early stage development and can reach up to €4 million to support activities at low Technology Readiness Levels commonly identified as TRL 1 to TRL 3 and up to proof of concept.
Selection, timing and governance
The EIC evaluation process for this call had started and the agency expected to publish results in March 2024. According to the 2023 EIC Work Programme the agency steers selection to assemble portfolios of projects that together address strategic or thematic goals. The EIC also appoints Programme Managers to actively manage portfolios and to broker links to business acceleration services, investors and other stakeholders. The call description noted that the indicative budget would be split in approximately equal shares across the five Challenges but that the share is indicative and final allocations depend on evaluation outcomes and portfolio choices.
Practical implications and caveats
The numbers show a strong demand for Pathfinder funding and a concentration of proposals in a few themes. A near eightfold oversubscription creates an intensely competitive selection environment. Observers should not assume equal chance of success across the five Challenges because the EIC applies qualitative evaluation, strategic balance across portfolios, and may fund projects at amounts below the ceiling to stretch budgets. The description that budgets would be split "in approximately equal shares" is indicative. Final allocations can shift according to evaluation results and policy priorities. Geographic coverage across 41 countries indicates broad interest but does not reveal where most proposals originated or the success distribution by country. That information would require a later, more detailed EISMEA or EIC data release.
For applicants and ecosystem observers the takeaways are clear. Competition is intense and many high quality submissions will not receive funding. The Pathfinder remains geared to speculative, early stage research and will continue to emphasise portfolio building, interactions with Programme Managers and options for follow on testing and joint actions. Results published in March 2024 would show how the EIC balances scientific novelty, portfolio cohesion and strategic priorities when turning a large volume of applications into a much smaller set of funded projects.
Source and further reading
Original EIC announcement, EIC Work Programme 2023 and Pathfinder Challenge guides. Publication date of the statistics page was 15 November 2023.