EIC ramps up deep tech funding to €1.4bn in 2025 with new STEP scale-up scheme
- ›The European Innovation Council will make €1.4 billion of funding available in 2025, an increase of nearly €200 million on 2024.
- ›A new STEP Scale-up scheme is launched with €300 million in 2025 to provide equity investments of €10–30 million and to leverage larger private co-investment.
- ›Main EIC instruments for 2025: Pathfinder (€262m), Transition (€98m), Accelerator (€634m) and STEP Scale-up (€300m).
- ›The STEP regulation (2024) introduced the Sovereignty Seal and a Sovereignty Portal to channel EU programmes towards strategic technologies and facilitate combined funding.
- ›Officials pitch STEP as closing a European deep tech scale-up gap but delivery hinges on investor appetite, implementation details and coordination with cohesion funds.
- ›Information events for applicants were scheduled for 5 and 6 November 2024 and the EIC Board endorsed the 2025 work programme.
EIC ramps up deep tech funding to €1.4bn in 2025 with new STEP scale-up scheme
The European Innovation Council will open funding opportunities worth over €1.4 billion for 2025, according to the EIC Work Programme adopted on 29 October 2024. The package expands core grant lines and introduces a STEP Scale-up equity scheme aimed at larger follow‑on investments for strategic technologies. The increase is about €200 million compared with 2024 and brings new instruments and procedural changes that seek to channel a range of EU programmes towards what Brussels calls strategic technologies.
What is being funded in 2025
The 2025 EIC work programme structures funding across the familiar EIC instruments and a new STEP Scale-up strand. Direct grants remain central while the EIC Fund continues to provide equity investments. All instruments are complemented by business acceleration services intended to open corporate, investor and ecosystem connections.
| Instrument | 2025 envelope (approx.) | What it supports | Typical funding form and size |
| EIC Pathfinder | €262 million | Visionary multidisciplinary early stage research with breakthrough potential | Grants up to €4 million |
| EIC Transition | €98 million | Turning research results into innovation opportunities, including follow up to Pathfinder and ERC proofs of concept | Grants up to €2.5 million |
| EIC Accelerator | €634 million | Start-ups and SMEs scaling innovations that can create or disrupt markets | Grants below €2.5 million and blended investments of €0.5 to €10 million |
| STEP Scale-up (new) | €300 million | Equity funding to scale companies developing strategic technologies to reduce dependencies | Equity investments via the EIC Fund of €10 to €30 million per company aiming to leverage €50 to €150 million total |
STEP, Sovereignty Seal and legal context
STEP stands for Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform. The STEP regulation (Regulation EU 2024/795), adopted in February 2024, creates an EU level framework to channel and reprioritise existing Union programmes towards technologies considered critical for the green and digital transitions and for reducing strategic dependencies. The regulation is wide ranging. It amends rules across cohesion, research and investment programmes and introduces new instruments such as a Sovereignty Seal and a publicly accessible Sovereignty Portal.
STEP also introduced flexibilities in shared management funds (ERDF, ESF+, Just Transition Fund) to create dedicated priorities for STEP objectives, exceptional pre-financing and higher co-financing rates for selected priorities. The regulation requires the Commission to report on STEP annually and to produce an interim evaluation by the end of 2025 that will consider whether the platform should be expanded or lead to other instruments such as a European Sovereignty Fund.
Changes to EIC instruments and challenges
The 2025 work programme includes operational changes advised by the EIC Board and aims to target capital where officials say it is most needed. Among the headline changes are better access to equity for scale ups through the STEP Scale-up scheme and an updated set of 'EIC Challenges', a way of organising calls around specific technology areas.
How the STEP Scale-up mechanics are described
The STEP Scale-up scheme is designed to provide follow-on equity through the EIC Fund to companies judged strategically important. The work programme sets an investment band of €10–30 million per company from STEP resources in 2025 and describes an ambition to leverage private co-investment so that total rounds reach at least €50–150 million.
Practical steps, governance and oversight
Applications proceed through the established EIC two step process. Successful short proposals are invited to submit full proposals with access to business coaches. Full proposals then face evaluation and shortlisted companies may be invited to interview before the EIC jury. The EIC Board advised on the 2025 programme and EISMEA, the Executive Agency for the EIC and SME programmes, is responsible for implementation.
Who is involved operationally
EISMEA manages the EIC programme logistics and calls. The EIC Fund acts as investor and will work with implementing partners including the European Investment Bank and external managers and contractors for due diligence, valuation and paymaster functions. STEP links together programmes under direct and shared management which adds complexity to coordination and to oversight.
Budget and timeline implications
The EIC 2025 package is part of the Horizon Europe envelope for 2021–2027. The STEP regulation also requires the mobilisation and reprioritisation of resources across existing programmes and introduced exceptional pre-financing provisions for cohesion and social funds. The EIC STEP Scale-up pot of €300 million is the headline new commitment for 2025 with stated plans to scale to around €900 million across 2025 to 2027 subject to programming and approvals.
| Item | Amount / detail | Notes |
| Total EIC 2025 budget | €1.4 billion | Increase of nearly €200 million compared with 2024 |
| STEP Scale-up in 2025 | €300 million | Expected to grow to ~€900 million over 2025–27 pending programming |
| EIC Fund reported investments to date | ≈€1 billion invested | Reported leverage of over 4x in private co-investment |
| Commission STEP regulation contribution to European Defence Fund | €1.5 billion | Regulation text calls for an additional EUR 1.5 billion for EDF projects contributing to STEP; implementing details will follow |
A critical look: opportunities and open questions
The EIC’s 2025 package combines useful elements. It expands grant support for discovery and early market stages while starting to address the well documented scarcity of European deep tech scale-up capital through equity involvement. There are however features to watch and unresolved trade offs to manage.
What to watch next
Key near term items that will determine whether the 2025 package achieves its aims include the following.
Practical information for applicants
EIC applicants follow the two stage process of short proposal then full proposal supported by business coaches where requested. Shortlisted projects will be invited to jury interviews. The EIC also plans to offer extra access to business acceleration services in widening countries. EIC information days were scheduled for 5 and 6 November 2024.
Bottom line
The 2025 EIC package is a clear signal of continued EU ambition to back deep tech from labs to scale. The STEP Scale-up initiative marks a strategic pivot toward larger equity interventions and better coordination across EU funding instruments. The approach addresses a genuine funding gap in European deep tech markets. Success will hinge on execution, investor willingness to co-invest on commercially sustainable terms and careful management of tensions between strategic industrial policy aims and sound investment discipline. The interim evaluation and subsequent reporting will be key moments to assess whether STEP delivers on its promises or needs further redesign.