EIC Transition funds 27 projects to move lab breakthroughs toward market readiness

Brussels, March 5th 2024

Summary

›The European Innovation Council selected 27 projects from 257 eligible submissions in the September 2023 EIC Transition cut-off.
›Each selected project is eligible for a grant of up to €2.5 million to mature technologies toward application relevant environments.
›The cohort includes 12 Open projects and 15 Challenge projects across micro-nano-bio devices, environmental intelligence and chip-scale optical frequency combs.
›Highlighted selections include QlibriNANO's ultra-sensitive absorption microscope, Pilot Photonics' COCOPOP chip-scale frequency comb, and TREM2MEDS for TREM2-engineered microglia therapy.
›Wider implications include technology diversification across photonics, biotech, quantum and environment, and continued reliance on follow-on private investment and EIC business support.

EIC Transition: 27 projects win grants to bridge lab results and market readiness

On 5 March 2024 the European Innovation Council announced the outcomes of the final EIC Transition cut-off for 2023. From 257 eligible submissions the EIC selected 27 projects to receive follow-up grants intended to mature promising research results toward application relevant environments and business cases. Each successful proposal is eligible for funding up to €2.5 million. The selected projects span basic and applied science areas and were drawn from 16 EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries.

What EIC Transition funds and why it matters

EIC Transition is designed to take outputs from EIC Pathfinder, Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) and ERC Proof of Concept projects and push them up the technology readiness scale. Grants aim to validate and demonstrate technologies in application relevant environments and to develop stronger commercialization cases. The funding is non-dilutive and paired with access to Business Acceleration Services that offer coaching, mentoring and partner matching. Projects selected under Transition are also eligible for a fast-track route to the EIC Accelerator for later scale up and investment.

Technology readiness focus:Transition typically supports projects moving from TRL 3 or 4 toward TRL 5 or 6. This means the emphasis is on validation outside the lab, demonstration in relevant environments and building a market or regulatory pathway rather than on fundamental discovery.

Selection by theme and numbers

The 27 selected projects fall into an open strand and three Challenge strands. The distribution is as follows: 12 projects under the Open funding scheme and 15 under Transition Challenges. The Transition Challenges were grouped by thematic priorities to accelerate specific technology areas.

Funding strand	Number of selected projects	Primary focus
EIC Transition Open	12	No predefined theme. Any scientific or technological field.
Micro-Nano-Bio devices Challenge	10	Micro-nano integrated devices for medical and research applications.
Environmental intelligence Challenge	1	Sensors and technologies for environmental monitoring and decision support.
Chip-scale optical frequency combs Challenge	4	Chip-scale photonics and comb sources for communications and timing.

Selected projects: examples and technical context

The portfolio includes projects in photonics, quantum, medtech, biotechnology and environmental sensing. Below are three illustrative projects from the announcement together with context and caveats about the claims.

QlibriNANO (Germany) — ultra-sensitive absorption microscope:QlibriNANO is presented as an absorption microscope that replaces conventional microscope objectives with an optical microresonator to greatly boost light matter interaction. The company and supporting documents claim sensitivity improvements that enable imaging and spectroscopy of nanoscale particles, thin films and even single molecules. Practically this approach uses a microcavity to enhance absorption signals and a raster scanning method for imaging. The value proposition is stronger analytical access for materials science, coatings and nanostructures that are otherwise optically faint. The technology crosses quantum optics techniques into optical microscopy. Independent validation and real world throughput, robustness of mirror alignment, spectral coverage and sample compatibility will be essential to judge how quickly the instrument can enter routine lab use and clinical or industrial workflows.

COCOPOP (Ireland) — chip-scale optical frequency comb for coherent communications:Pilot Photonics proposes a coherent-capable external laser source built around a chip-scale frequency comb. Optical frequency combs produce a regular grid of phase-locked wavelengths and are useful as multi-wavelength coherent sources for telecommunications and sensing. COCOPOP is described as offering superior linewidth, noise performance and wavelength stability compared with distributed feedback laser arrays. Chip-scale combs and integrated photonic circuits are an active area of research and commercial competition because they can reduce size, power and cost while enabling coherent transceivers and high spectral efficiency. The project builds on prior EIC-funded work on PIC-based combs. Market claims should be tempered by the realities of integration into co-packaged optics supply chains and the need for foundry-compatible manufacturing and qualification for datacom and telecom customers.

TREM2MEDS (Italy) — engineered hematopoietic stem cell therapy for neurodegeneration:TREM2MEDS aims to transplant HSPCs engineered with lentiviral vectors so their myeloid progeny in the central nervous system express higher levels of the microglial receptor TREM2. Restoring or enhancing TREM2 signaling is hypothesised to modulate microglial functions that contribute to neurodegenerative disease progression. The project follows an ERC Proof of Concept that reported efficacy in murine models for Alzheimer’s disease and Nasu-Hakola Disease. Moving from animal models to human-compatible manufacturing, safety and regulatory approval is a long and uncertain pathway. Lentiviral engineering, dosing, biodistribution and long term safety are all substantial challenges that must be addressed before clinical benefit can be claimed.

A full list of the 27 selected projects and recommended budgets

The list below is the set of Transition projects announced in the September 2023 cut-off that were recommended for funding following the EIC selection process. The recommended budgets are shown as recorded in the EIC selection materials.

Acronym	Proposal Title	Duration (months)	Country coordinator	Coordinating organisation	Recommended budget
ACU-SERS	Automated Clinical Platform For Personalized Antibiotherapy In Critical Units Based On Surface Enhancement Raman Spectroscopy	36	DK	DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET	2,499,997.50 €
AMICA	Adaptive microcombs for innovative connectivity in datacenter applications and optical clocks	36	SE	CHALMERS TEKNISKA HOGSKOLA AB	2,499,340.00 €
AQLAS	Advanced lasers for quantum technologies	36	IT	ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI RICERCA METROLOGICA	2,483,740.00 €
BeeOmetrics	BeeOmetrics: an AI-powered predictive platform based on wild bee activity for targeted environmental management	36	BE	BEEODIVERSITY	2,485,833.75 €
COCOPOP	Coherent Comb for Co-Packaged Optics	36	IE	PILOT PHOTONICS LTD	2,482,500.00 €
Coati-X	New generation of bioactive coating for intravenous catheters and implantable medical devices to prevent infections and thrombosis	36	BE	CMD - COAT SA	2,476,343.50 €
Dypha	Dypha: adding the dimension of time to cell culture	36	NL	DEMCON sync biosystems B.V.	2,499,625.00 €
FASS	Fast and Accurate Solubility for Sustainability	30	DE	EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE OF OPEN SCREENING PLATFORMS FOR CHEMICAL BIOLOGY EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTUCTURE CONSORTIUM (EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC)	867,937.50 €
GAIA	Graphene-based Artificial Iris for Active light management in a smart contact lens	36	BE	Azalea Vision	2,498,375.00 €
HYPERCELL	Magnetic Resonance at the Scale of a Cell	30	DE	NVISION IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES GMBH	1,998,750.00 €
OptoWavePro	Near natural hearing restoration through waveguide-based optical cochlear implants	36	DE	UNIVERSITAETSMEDIZIN GOETTINGEN - GEORG - AUGUST - UNIVERSITAET GOETTINGEN - STIFTUNG OEFFENTLICHEN RECHTS	2,499,983.50 €
OxyBatt	High-temperature oxygen batteries for Industrial Internet of Things	36	ES	FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE RECERCA DE L'ENERGIA DE CATALUNYA	2,499,750.00 €
PROFUSE	A Revolutionary Tech for Exceptionally Efficient Natural Muscle Tissue Growth in Cultivated Meat Applications	24	IL	ProFuse Technology Ltd.	2,432,030.00 €
Penphomet	PEN photoporation for the genetic engineering of therapeutic mesenchymal stromal cells and T cells	36	BE	TRINCE	2,497,711.25 €
QlibriNANO	The world’s most sensitive absorption microscope	36	DE	QLIBRI GMBH	2,480,000.00 €
RAMAN	Rapid Affordable Microbiota Analysis at the point of Need	24	FR	BFORCURE	2,466,223.75 €
RESPONSE	Early detection of treatment response in breast cancer	36	DK	DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET	2,499,229.75 €
ReLiV	Real time Liver disease early diagnosis through exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds sensing	36	IL	NANOSE MEDICAL LTD	2,499,875.00 €
SCOPE	Leveraging CRISPR-Cas for fast and accurate point-of-care diagnostics	24	NL	Scope Biosciences B.V.	2,498,125.00 €
SKYTALE	Real-time quantum decoders for reliable quantum computing	36	UK	Riverlane Ltd	2,499,375.00 €
TREM2MEDS	Towards the clinical implementation of TREM2 Microglia Engineering for treating Dementias	36	IT	UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA	2,499,721.25 €
Vasc-on-Demand	Prefabricated Mature Blood Vessels and Tools for Vascularized 3D Cell Culture	36	DE	UNIVERSITAETSKLINIKUM WUERZBURG - KLINIKUM DER BAYERISCHEN JULIUS - MAXIMILIANS - UNIVERSITAT	2,488,750.00 €
Welinq	Industry-grade Quantum Memory Links enabling the Quantum Internet	24	FR	WELINQ SAS	2,499,375.00 €
entropIC	Anticounterfeiting solution based on integrated circuits implementing high-entropy physical unclonable functions	36	IT	QUANTAVIS SRL	2,498,750.00 €
femto-iCOMB	Integrated femtosecond laser based frequency comb and photonic microwave oscillator	36	DE	Cycle GmbH	2,498,245.00 €
iSENS	Integrated needle-free injection and sensing using opto-microfluidics	36	NL	FlowBeams BV	2,500,000.00 €
MOdeLOKing	MOde LOcKing for Advanced Sensing and Imaging	36	BE	UNIVERSITEIT GENT	2,522,500.00 €

Funding context, selection rates and follow-on mechanisms

The September 2023 cut-off received 257 eligible proposals in total. The selection of 27 projects represents a roughly 10 percent success rate. EIC Transition grants are awarded up to a maximum of €2.5 million. Recipients also get access to EIC Business Acceleration Services such as coaching, mentoring and partnering events. Projects can be fast-tracked to the EIC Accelerator where blended grant and equity investments are available to support commercialisation and scale up.

Selection rate and budget pressure:A single cut-off with 257 submissions and only 27 funded projects implies a highly competitive environment. Applicants face significant competition for comparatively limited Transition budgets. A project being awarded the 'up to €2.5 million' grant does not guarantee the full amount automatically. Awards depend on the final negotiated grant agreement and available programme budget. Many projects will still need private finance or further public support to complete commercialisation.

Technical concepts explained

Optical frequency combs:An optical frequency comb generates a set of discrete, equally spaced spectral lines that act like a ruler in frequency space. They are used for precision metrology, for distributing stable wavelengths to many channels in coherent communications and for advanced sensing. Chip-scale combs seek to deliver these multi-wavelength, phase-locked sources on compact photonic integrated circuits. The challenge is to reach comb coherence, power per line and thermal and environmental stability while using foundry-friendly processes for volume manufacture.

Microresonator-enhanced absorption microscopy:A microresonator confines light so that it passes the sample many times, increasing the effective interaction length and therefore the absorption signal. Replacing a conventional microscope objective with a cavity mirror pair can increase sensitivity, but it also raises complexity in alignment, sample handling and spectral bandwidth. For commercial adoption the system must be robust, automatable and able to operate in realistic sample environments.

Implications, caveats and what to watch

The cohort is diversified across sectors that align with EU strategic priorities such as photonics, biotechnology, quantum and environmental monitoring. That variety helps spread risk and supports several industrial ecosystems. However, a few pragmatic caveats are important:

1. Validation versus commercialization. Transition funding is intended to de-risk technologies and test them in relevant environments. It does not remove the need for further regulatory approvals, product qualification, supply chain development or private investment for scale up. 2. Market claims should be treated cautiously. Phrases like 'world’s most sensitive' are meaningful only when defined by measurement conditions, sample types and independent benchmarking. 3. Manufacturing and supply chain readiness matter. Photonics and medical devices often require foundry access and rigorous quality systems that are separate challenges from lab demonstration. 4. Long clinical or regulatory timelines apply to many medtech and gene therapy approaches so commercial returns can be distant and uncertain.

How the EIC ecosystem supports winners

Beyond the grant, selected projects gain access to EIC Business Acceleration Services. These services include coaching on business and IP strategies, mentoring, introductions to investors and industrial partners, and attendance at partnering events. EIC Transition winners can also pursue a fast-track to the EIC Accelerator which offers blended grant and EIC Fund equity investments for scale up.

EIC Fund and co-investment:The EIC Fund co-invests alongside private investors. For projects seeking equity, recipients can expect an investment due diligence process managed by the EIC Fund and partner advisors. The EIC Fund aims to mobilise private capital but its involvement does not eliminate the need to secure commercial investors.

Next administrative milestones and how to apply

Under the EIC 2024 work programme the next EIC Transition cut-off date was scheduled for 18 September 2024. Candidates typically apply through the Funding and Tenders portal and must demonstrate that their proposal builds on eligible previous projects such as EIC Pathfinder, FET or ERC Proof of Concept results. The application and evaluation process involves an initial written submission, remote evaluations, and for shortlisted projects a face to face jury interview.

If you are considering an application it is advisable to focus on realistic validation milestones, a credible path to customers or regulated approval where relevant, and a clear plan for follow-on financing. Applicants can also seek support from National Contact Points, the EIC helpdesk and Business Acceleration Services.

Bottom line

The EIC Transition awards announced in March 2024 fund a set of projects that aim to turn advanced research outputs into demonstrators and commercial propositions. The funding is meaningful for de-risking and market validation. Yet these grants are an intermediate step in often lengthy innovation journeys. Independent validation, scalable manufacturing, regulatory clearance and private capital remain crucial hurdles that recipients will need to clear to achieve broad market impact.