EIC Tech to Market Demo Day pushes energy research toward commercialisation but questions about follow through remain
- ›The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme held a Tech Demo Day for energy systems and green technologies on 27 July 2023.
- ›Two EIC-backed research projects, Super-HEART and 112CO2, presented technologies aimed at green hydrogen storage and low temperature methane decomposition respectively.
- ›Participants reported practical gains in pitching, market framing and team building after receiving diverse expert feedback and one-to-one coaching.
- ›The Venture Building Programme follows a four phase path from Tech Demo Days to on-demand venture support and team creation.
- ›Applications for the programme were running by expression of interest and are currently closed, and the wider T2M programme is expected to resume in 2026.
EIC Tech Demo Day on energy systems and green technologies
On 27 July 2023 the European Innovation Council Tech to Market Venture Building Programme organised a public Tech Demo Day focused on energy systems and green technologies. The event brought EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition projects in front of a mixed panel of market and technical experts. The stated objective was to give research teams direct feedback on commercial potential and to start the process of turning research outputs into start-ups. The programme is managed within the EIC business acceleration services and was coordinated for this theme by Antonio Marco Pantaleo, the EIC Programme Manager for energy systems and green technologies.
Projects on stage
What teams gained from the programme
Participants described the Demo Day and preceding coaching as practical and clarifying. Both teams said feedback from the panel helped them sharpen their pitch, surface assumptions that are unclear to non technical audiences and improve business and communication strategy. The one-to-one preparatory sessions were singled out as especially valuable because they allowed experts to gain deeper understanding of technical details and provide tailored advice before public presentation.
Experts, their role and perspectives
The event convened a panel of 12 experts from academia, investment and corporate backgrounds together with EIC business coaches. The panel aimed to offer diverse views on technical feasibility, market potential and investment readiness. Two experts who spoke about the event were Anne Lebreton-Wolf, founder of ALW Finance & Innovation, and Samuel Le Berre, an engineer and innovation consultant at A.Samble.
How the Venture Building Programme is structured
The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme is designed as a staged intervention to take EIC Pathfinder and Transition outputs towards venture creation. It is described as a no cost service for eligible EIC beneficiaries and combines collective events, individual coaching and on demand services. The four main phases are Tech Demo Days, Opportunities Exploration, Team Creation and Venture Support Services.
| Phase | Purpose | Typical activities |
| Tech Demo Days | Initial exposure and expert feedback on market potential | Thematic workshops, public pitching, panel Q and A |
| Opportunities Exploration | Validate market attractiveness and corporate interest | Feasibility assessment, business insight recommendations |
| Team Creation | Fill capability gaps and build founding teams | Tailor made scouting, entrepreneurs in residence, talent brokerage |
| Venture Support Services | Operational and advisory support for early ventures | On demand legal, financial, IP, branding and HR advisory |
Who could apply and how the intake worked
The programme targeted EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition beneficiaries. It encouraged research teams, especially those from academic institutions, to involve their technology transfer offices. Participation started with an expression of interest and proceeded on a rolling basis with monthly cut offs. Applications were grouped by thematic area and cohorts were launched when a theme had enough participants.
| Thematic groupings for Tech Demo Days | Examples |
| Energy and environment | Energy systems and green technologies, Renewable energy conversion |
| Materials and electronics | Advanced materials, Responsible electronics, Quantum tech and electronics |
| Mobility and space | Mobility, Space systems and technologies |
| Health and food | Health and biotechnology, Medical technologies, Food chain technologies |
| Other | Architecture engineering construction technologies, AI, Alternative resource exploitation |
At the time of reporting applications were closed and the EIC T2M programme was noted as paused and expected to resume in 2026. The venture building work described was presented as a free service for EIC beneficiaries while the programme was active.
Practical takeaways and a cautious appraisal
Participants reported concrete short term benefits in communication, business framing and team planning. That aligns with common findings from similar acceleration and venture building efforts which often deliver most value when they combine technical validation with business oriented critique and talent matching. The true test will be whether teams convert those early gains into viable companies that can scale and attract follow on funding.
Important unresolved questions include the follow up resources available to teams after initial scouting and advisory, the metrics used to judge commercial readiness and how lifecycle emissions are accounted for in technologies that claim low direct emissions. For example the methane decomposition route to hydrogen needs careful lifecycle analysis to confirm greenhouse gas benefits when feedstock sourcing and upstream emissions are included. For integrated systems such as Super-HEART the business case depends on local grid rules, hydrogen storage costs and the economics of competing storage technologies.
For EIC backed researchers considering participation in future cohorts the current message is pragmatic. The programme can accelerate the transition from lab to market by providing feedback, matchmaking and bespoke advisory. However the outcomes depend on sustained follow through by project teams, realistic market validation and the ability to recruit business talent to complement scientific expertise.
Contacts and further information
For EIC beneficiaries seeking more details the EIC Community helpdesk was the recommended contact point. Interested teams were asked to select 'EIC T2M Venture Building Programme' as the subject in helpdesk requests. The EIC Tech to Market Programme pages also described components of the wider Entrepreneurship programme and options to apply as experts or entrepreneurs in residence when calls reopen.