EIC Pathfinder Challenges: €116 million awarded to 31 pioneering research projects
- ›The European Innovation Council selected 31 projects under the 2024 EIC Pathfinder Challenges and allocated almost €116 million in grants.
- ›Winners were chosen from 401 eligible proposals and will receive on average about €3.73 million each, subject to grant agreement signature.
- ›Participants are mainly higher education institutions, private organisations and research organisations with 38%, 34% and 23% representation respectively.
- ›Selected projects span five challenge areas including solar-to-chemical devices, carbon negative cement, bio-based packaging, low-power nanoelectronics and in-space recycling.
- ›EIC Programme Managers will actively manage portfolios, and beneficiaries will get coaching via EIC Business Acceleration Services and potential fast track to EIC Accelerator or Transition funding.
EIC funds 31 high-risk, early-stage research projects with nearly €116 million
The European Innovation Council has announced the winners of the 2024 EIC Pathfinder Challenges call. Thirty one research projects were selected from 401 eligible proposals to form portfolios across five strategic challenge areas. The EIC will provide almost €116 million in EU grants to those projects. That corresponds to an average award of about €3.73 million per project. Funding is conditional on formal grant agreement signatures.
Numbers, participation and scope
The call attracted a wide field of applicants. Participants in the selected projects are predominantly drawn from higher education institutions, private organisations and research organisations with reported shares of 38%, 34% and 23% respectively. Successful proposals will typically fund early stage work at low technology readiness levels, commonly described as experimental or proof of concept research.
| Project | Coordinator and country | Challenge area | Duration (months) | Short goal |
| SUN2CN | Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, LU | Solar-to-X devices | 48 | Use sunlight to convert nitrates and CO2 into valuable C-N chemicals without fossil fuels. |
| BORN | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IT | Nature inspired alternatives for food packaging and films for agriculture | 36 | Develop a bio-based, low-cost, high temperature resistant biodegradable material for food packaging and agricultural films with lifecycle considerations for recycling and biodegradation. |
| 2D-ADDICT | Universita di Pisa, IT | Nanoelectronics for energy-efficient smart edge devices | 36 | Create energy-efficient nanoelectronic devices using atomically thin two-dimensional materials to reduce power consumption in edge computing. |
| DEXTER | Cranfield University, UK | Strengthening sustainability and resilience of EU space infrastructure | 48 | Develop robotics and in-space processing toolkits to recycle orbital debris and convert scrap aluminium into fuel or usable materials. |
Selected project examples and what they aim to prove
The EIC highlighted a subset of projects that illustrate the range of ambitions in this call. SUN2CN targets integrated solar-driven chemical conversion to make useful C-N chemicals from waste streams. BORN focuses on replacing fossil-based plastics in high temperature food packaging and agricultural films with a compostable bio-based material and explicitly plans lifecycle and end-of-life strategies. 2D-ADDICT aims to leverage two-dimensional materials to reduce energy use in edge devices. DEXTER proposes in-orbit robotic processing, cutting and welding, with the aim of turning space debris into materials and fuel. Each of these projects is still early stage and aims to demonstrate feasibility rather than market-ready products.
How the EIC will manage the portfolios
The agency says EIC Programme Managers were directly involved in designing the Pathfinder Challenges and selecting project portfolios. Programme Managers will take an active management role over the lifetime of the portfolio to encourage collaboration, data sharing and coordinated ‘portfolio actions’. The aim is to increase the chance that one or more projects will deliver results that can be matured via EIC Transition grants or fast tracked to the EIC Accelerator.
Why this matters and what to watch for
The EIC Pathfinder instrument is intended to seed radical ideas that are otherwise too risky for conventional funding or private investors. The projects announced are exploratory and interdisciplinary. If even a few succeed they could influence industries from packaging to semiconductors and to space operations. However, the pathway from low TRL research to commercial impact is long. Demonstration, regulatory clearance, intellectual property management and scale up require additional capital and time. The EIC itself offers subsequent instruments for promising results, but market uptake is not guaranteed.
Observers should look at several factors as the projects progress. These include the availability of follow-on funding, the presence of credible commercial partners or industrial uptake plans, and concrete milestones that go beyond lab demonstrations. The EIC’s proactive portfolio management is a positive step, but it cannot eliminate technical risk or market friction.
Next steps, conditions and follow up funding
All successful applicants have been notified and are preparing grant agreements. Payments and formal funding will depend on signed agreements and compliance with grant conditions. Selected projects will receive grants and access to tailored coaching and Business Acceleration Services. Promising results can be channelled into EIC Transition support and may gain fast track access to the EIC Accelerator for market-oriented scaling and investment.
2025 Pathfinder Challenge priorities and deadlines
The EIC published areas for its 2025 Pathfinder Challenges and opened calls with a 29 October 2025 deadline. The 2025 priority topics include biotech for climate resilient crops and plant-based biomanufacturing, generative AI agents for cancer diagnosis and treatment, autonomous robot collectives for construction, and waste-to-value devices for circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials.
Transparency, selection context and how to read the announcement
The EIC published a list of selected projects and background material. Official communications emphasise the potential of funded projects and the EIC’s role in shepherding them toward impact. Readers should treat early-stage announcements with measured expectations. The grant amounts disclosed are averages and funding remains conditional on administrative and legal checks and the signing of grant agreements. Independent evaluation of technical progress and whether projects can attract follow-on investment will determine longer term success.
For applicants and interested actors the EIC provides support channels including National Contact Points and the Business Acceleration Services. The EISMEA agency administers the EIC and publishes calls, guides and lists for applicants.
More information, including the full list of selected Pathfinder Challenges 2024 projects and guidance documents, is available on the EIC website and in the EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2024 results package.