EIC Tech to Market runs Tech Demo Day for advanced materials aimed at energy and environmental sustainability
- ›On 22 May 2023 the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme held a Tech Demo Day on advanced materials for energy and environmental sustainability.
- ›Six EIC Pathfinder and Transition teams pitched to a mixed panel of academics, investors, corporates and EIC business coaches and received collective training and one-to-one mentoring.
- ›Participants reported practical benefits such as clearer risk mapping, improved pitch focus and guidance on scalability and investor readiness.
- ›The Venture Building Programme follows a four phase pathway from Tech Demo Days to venture support services and targets EIC Pathfinder and Transition beneficiaries.
- ›Applications were handled on a rolling basis for predefined thematic areas, but the wider T2M Programme is currently paused and expected to resume in 2026.
EIC Tech to Market runs Tech Demo Day on advanced materials for energy and environmental sustainability
On 22 May 2023 the European Innovation Council Tech to Market Venture Building Programme staged its first Tech Demo Day focused on advanced materials for energy and environmental sustainability. Six projects funded under EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition presented to a panel that included academics, investors, corporate representatives and EIC business coaches. The event combined public pitching with collective training and individual mentoring sessions intended to accelerate the transition from lab research to market-facing ventures.
What happened at the Tech Demo Day
The session brought together researchers and early stage teams with business experts to surface near term commercial potential and to highlight gaps that need closing before a project becomes investible. Alongside the public pitches, participants accessed a group training session on entrepreneurial topics and customised one-to-one meetings with a business expert and a domain expert in advanced materials for energy and environmental sustainability.
Voices from participants and experts
Participants described practical, early stage benefits from the day and associated mentoring. Their feedback reflects common early stage needs such as risk identification, clarity on scalability and sharper communication of technological value.
The Venture Building pathway explained
The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme is structured to take selected EIC Pathfinder and Transition beneficiaries through a sequence of activities intended to test market potential, assemble teams and provide targeted venture-level support. The programme offers collective training, expert feedback and tailored services such as talent brokerage and legal or financial advisory when a case reaches sufficient maturity.
| Phase | What it does | Typical outputs |
| Tech Demo Days | The entry point where teams present technology to market experts and receive feedback on market potential and time to market | Validated feedback, identification of critical risks and next step recommendations |
| Opportunities' exploration | Experts assess market attractiveness, corporate interest and team capabilities for proposed applications | Market validation, corporate leads and refined use cases |
| Team creation | Tailored talent scouting and matchmaking to fill business skill gaps and to build founding teams | Recruitment of entrepreneurs in residence, core hires and stronger team composition |
| Venture support services | On demand advisory across legal, financial, IP, HR and branding to shape and scale a new venture | Term sheets, IP strategy, business plans and fundraising readiness |
| Thematic areas (examples) | Notes | |
| Advanced materials for energy and environmental sustainability | Focus of the May 2023 Tech Demo Day | |
| Other themes | Architecture engineering construction, artificial intelligence, energy systems, food chain technologies, health biotech, medical devices, mobility, quantum tech, renewable energy conversion, responsible electronics, space systems |
What the programme promises and where caution is needed
The Venture Building Programme markets tailored support, top level expertise and assistance in team building and validation. Those are valid and valuable services for research teams that lack commercial experience. At the same time this type of intervention is an early stage catalyst and not a guarantee of commercial success. Achieving industrial scale, securing follow on investment and navigating regulatory and supply chain hurdles remain significant challenges that require time and capital beyond mentoring sessions and demo day feedback.
Technical context: advanced materials for energy and environmental sustainability
Advanced materials in this thematic area cover a broad set of technologies including novel catalysts, membranes, battery materials, corrosion resistant coatings, lightweight composites and materials for carbon capture or pollutant removal. These materials often promise improved efficiency or lower environmental footprint but they also raise hard engineering and scale up questions. Lab scale performance does not always translate into manufacturability at reasonable cost. Validation requires not only technical verification but also life cycle assessment, supply chain analysis and regulatory compliance checks.
Status of the Tech to Market Programme
At the time of the Tech Demo Day the programme was active and taking expressions of interest. Subsequent public information from the EIC indicates that the Tech to Market Programme was paused and expected to resume activities in 2026. Prospective participants should check the EIC Tech to Market pages and the EIC Community helpdesk for the latest status before planning applications.
Takeaways for researchers and policy observers
Tech Demo Days and venture building support can be effective first steps to surface commercial issues and to assemble complementary skills. They are most useful when combined with realistic planning for scale up, follow on financing and regulatory pathways. For policy makers these initiatives are helpful to bridge academic and commercial worlds but they need sustained investment and clear metrics to understand long term impact. For corporate partners and investors participation offers early access to technologies but they should treat demo feedback as an initial filter rather than as conclusive proof of market readiness.
This report is offered as a synthesis of the EIC Tech to Market Tech Demo Day on advanced materials held in May 2023 and of associated programme materials published by the EIC. It aims to clarify what the programme does, what participants can expect and what constraints remain when turning lab research into marketable products. The original EIC Community story included participant quotes and a brief description of the programme phases. Readers seeking to join future cohorts should monitor official EIC channels for reopenings and call details.
Disclaimer: The information in this article draws on EIC Community materials and EIC programme pages. It does not represent the official view of the European Commission.