EIC picks 20 Transition projects to push lab breakthroughs toward market readiness

Brussels, November 11th 2022

Summary

›The European Innovation Council selected 20 projects from 165 applications under the May 2022 EIC Transition call.
›Selected projects will receive a total of about €45.6 million in grants of up to €2.5 million each.
›The portfolio spans open-topic deep tech and three challenge areas including green digital devices and clean energy integration.
›Projects originate from 18 EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries and will be pushed toward demonstrators and market validation.
›Recipients gain access to EIC Business Acceleration Services and a fast track to the EIC Accelerator, but commercialisation risks remain significant.

EIC selects 20 Transition projects to take breakthrough technologies from the lab into the real world

The European Innovation Council has announced 20 projects selected under the May 2022 EIC Transition cut-off. Chosen from 165 proposals, the projects will share up to €45.6 million in EU grant funding. Each award can reach a maximum of €2.5 million. The Transition instrument is intended to move technologies that have passed laboratory proof of principle toward validation in application relevant environments and to build business cases for future commercialisation. The selected portfolio includes both open-topic projects and those tackling targeted challenges such as green digital devices and clean energy integration.

What was selected and how the funding works

EIC Transition is designed to take outputs from EIC Pathfinder, Future and Emerging Technologies or ERC Proof of Concept projects and take them further along the Technology Readiness Level scale. Grants support maturation and validation activities beyond lab proof of concept and the development of a business case. Winners also get access to EIC Business Acceleration Services including coaching, mentoring and partnering events. Projects can apply for the EIC Accelerator fast track to support commercialisation and scale up after Transition.

Scale and scope of the 2022 May cut-off:165 proposals were submitted to the May 2022 cut-off. The 20 selected projects come from 18 EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries. The portfolio includes 15 projects under open funding, 3 projects addressing the Green digital devices challenge and 2 projects addressing the Process and system integration of clean energy technologies challenge. Total recommended EU contribution across the selected projects is approximately €45.6 million.

Notable projects and what they aim to do

The selection covers a wide range of technologies from energy, photonics and materials to biotech and medical therapeutics. Below are three illustrative projects that show the diversity and the typical ambition of Transition proposals.

P.CAP — planar capacitors for high temperature and mid-frequency operation

P.CAP proposes a replacement for aluminium and tantalum electrolytic capacitors with planar electric double layer capacitors. The team plans a prototype minimum viable product to validate the device in reliability- and high-temperature-critical applications such as mining and electric vehicles. Their stated long term vision is further miniaturisation and a tantalum-free option for consumer electronics and printed circuit boards. The project received a recommended EU contribution of €2,468,750.

ASTEASIER — sustainable biotechnological routes for astaxanthin and ketocarotenoids

ASTEASIER builds on ERC Proof of Concept work that developed biotechnological solutions to produce natural astaxanthin from microalgae. The team aims to validate innovations in demonstrator units and test aquaculture feed formulations, with the objective of achieving Technology Readiness Level 6 and forming a spin-off to produce natural astaxanthin for human and animal nutrition. The project received a recommended EU contribution of €1,982,688.

PB_LC — a live biotherapeutic for non-small cell lung cancer

PB_LC addresses innate or acquired resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for the majority of lung cancer cases globally. The project focuses on moving a live microbiome-based therapeutic toward clinical readiness to help overcome resistance to immune therapies. The recommended EU contribution for Pulmobiotics SL was €1,881,875.

Why these examples matter:They illustrate the Transition remit: tackle technical risk beyond bench experiments, demonstrate in application-relevant settings and begin to assemble a business case. But they also highlight varied challenges. Hardware projects must prove reliability, manufacturability and supply chain viability. Biotech and therapeutics must clear regulatory and clinical validation hurdles, which often require much larger budgets and longer timelines than Transition grants cover.

Selected projects at a glance

The table below lists the 20 projects selected at this cut-off, their coordinating organisation, country, planned duration and recommended EU contribution. These recommended amounts are the figures published with the selection list. They reflect the grant component and not any future equity or co-investment that may be arranged through the EIC Fund.

Acronym	Title	Coordinating organisation	Country	Duration (months)	Recommended EU contribution
QRUISE	Accelerating Quantum Technology Development with Machine Learning	QRUISE GMBH	DE	24	€2,499,000.00
SOILMONITOR	Miniaturized sensor system for continuous soil-nutrient monitoring	CHRISTIAN-ALBRECHTS-UNIVERSITAET ZU KIEL	DE	36	€2,499,716.00
SuperClean	Superhydrophobic membranes for clean water production	NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 'DEMOKRITOS'	EL	36	€2,497,750.00
PB_LC	Clinical readiness of a live biotherapeutic for NSCLC	Pulmobiotics SL	ES	30	€1,881,875.00
SAFE	Tsunami early warning System using seafloor fiber cables	UNIVERSIDAD DE ALCALA	ES	36	€1,162,210.00
OPMMEG	Optically-pumped magnetometer arrays for magnetoencephalography	TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY	FI	36	€2,483,328.00
IDEFIX	Multiorgan toxicity and efficacy test platform	CHERRY BIOTECH	FR	30	€2,496,073.00
WH2E	Waste Heat to Energy	SWEETCH ENERGY	FR	36	€2,500,000.00
SolarCO2Value	Lab-to-tech transition of electrolyser technology for CO2 reduction to CO using solar energy	ECHEMICLES ZARTKORUEN MUKODO RESZVENYTARSASAG	HU	30	€2,373,125.00
Endosolve	She Sense: non-invasive test for endometriosis	Sision medical	IE	24	€2,499,166.00
ASTEASIER	Novel and sustainable biotechnological approaches for astaxanthin production	UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI VERONA	IT	24	€1,982,688.00
Nanowings	NANOmetric bio-inspired coating for wind turbine ice protection	LINARI ENGINEERING SRL	IT	36	€2,495,627.00
3DCardiacHTS	Bringing 3D cardiac tissues to high throughput for drug discovery	RIVER BIOMEDICS B.V.	NL	35	€1,457,500.00
ALUVia	Aluminium oxide integrated photonic platform for UV applications	UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE	NL	36	€2,054,756.00
NARWHAL	A Quantum System on Chip for secure communications	PhotonIP BV	NL	30	€2,307,188.00
TRACTION	Translational Control of Transcription Factor Gene Therapy	PacingCure B.V.	NL	36	€2,499,969.00
MACOV	Macrophage-based immunotherapy of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer	Cellis Sp. z o.o.	PL	36	€2,500,000.00
P.CAP	Planar CAPacitors for high temperature and mid-frequency operation	CHARGE2C-NEWCAP LDA	PT	36	€2,468,750.00
AcouSome	Acoustofluidic thin-film actuated chip for exosome separation from blood	ACOUSORT AB	SE	36	€2,498,419.00
AltOligo	Alternative chemistry for oligonucleotide synthesis using Nanostar Sieving	EXACTMER LIMITED	UK	24	€2,496,125.00

Key concepts explained

EIC Transition scheme:EIC Transition supports both single entities and small consortia to mature and validate breakthrough technologies and to develop an early business case. The funding is intended for activities beyond experimental proof of principle in the lab and to demonstrate technologies in application relevant environments. Projects are expected to move technologies further along the Technology Readiness Level scale and prepare for commercialisation or follow-on financing.

Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs):TRLs are a commonly used scale to indicate the maturity of a technology. Transition projects typically aim to move innovations from low TRLs, where principles are demonstrated in the lab, to mid TRLs where prototypes are validated in operationally relevant environments. For instance, ASTEASIER explicitly aims for TRL 6, where a system or subsystem is demonstrated in a relevant environment.

EIC Business Acceleration Services:All Transition beneficiaries can access tailored business support including coaching, mentoring, and partnering events. These services aim to help teams shape market strategies, engage investors or industrial partners and prepare applications for follow-up instruments such as the EIC Accelerator. They do not replace the deeper business development work needed to attract substantial private capital.

Relationship to EIC Accelerator and the EIC Fund:Successful Transition projects can use a fast track to the EIC Accelerator, which offers grants and equity-like investments for scale up. The EIC Fund can co-invest with private partners in companies emerging from EIC portfolios. Transition grants are an early step in a longer funding path that often requires significant additional capital to commercialise.

Geography, challenges and thematic priorities

The selected projects are coordinated across multiple European countries and cover both open-topic technological advances and targeted challenges. The EIC has used dedicated calls to steer some Transition funding toward specific areas such as energy systems integration, green digital devices to reduce energy consumption and e-waste, and RNA-based therapies and diagnostics. In this cut-off the mix favoured open-topic proposals with 15 such projects selected alongside the challenge projects.

What this means and what to watch for

Transition grants fill a necessary gap between curiosity-driven research and market deployment. They are useful to derisk aspects of a technology and generate pilot data that investors or industrial partners can evaluate. However, observers should be cautious about overclaiming impact at this stage. Grants of up to €2.5 million rarely suffice to bring complex hardware or therapeutic products to market. Biotech and medtech projects face regulatory timelines and clinical evidence requirements that can multiply costs and timescales. Hardware and deep-tech projects must also demonstrate supply chain and manufacturing scalability, not only laboratory performance.

Risks that remain after Transition funding:Technical validation in a demonstrator environment does not guarantee industrial adoption. Market risk, regulatory risk and the need for substantial follow-on capital are common. Transition projects will still need to secure industry partnerships, private investment or Accelerator support to scale. The EIC’s Business Acceleration Services and the fast track to the Accelerator improve the pathway, but do not eliminate the substantial commercial and operational hurdles ahead.

Background and next steps

EIC Transition projects typically start after the selection phase and then receive coaching and access to acceleration services. The projects selected in this May 2022 cut-off were expected to start in autumn 2022. The EIC Transition instrument deliberately targets outputs from EIC Pathfinder, FET or ERC Proof of Concept projects. The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, EISMEA, implements the instrument, while the EIC Fund plays a role at later investment stages when equity or blended finance is involved.

Where to find more information:Details on the EIC Transition instrument, the list of selected projects and the EIC Business Acceleration Services are published on the EIC and EISMEA websites. For researchers and teams, national Horizon Europe National Contact Points and EIC National Ambassadors remain the practical entry points for guidance on applying to follow-up instruments.

Final note

The EIC Transition investments recognise the need to bridge lab research and market demonstration. They are a meaningful early stage step for the selected teams. The success of these awards will depend on how teams use the funding to prove not only technical feasibility but also a credible route to market. Future progress will be determined by partnerships, access to follow-on capital, regulatory clearances for health products and the ability to industrialize at scale.