EIC Transition September 2023 cut-off: 257 proposals, strong demand for medical micro‑nano‑bio and photonics challenges
- ›The European Innovation Council received 257 proposals for the EIC Transition September 2023 cut-off.
- ›EIC Transition Open saw 162 proposals from 26 countries requesting €393.5 million.
- ›EIC Transition Challenges attracted 95 proposals from 23 countries requesting €229.2 million, concentrated in three topic areas.
- ›Requests substantially exceed the typical per-project grant ceiling of €2.5 million and underline heavy competition for Transition funding.
- ›Proposals are under evaluation and projects are expected to start in spring 2024; the next cut-off will be announced in the EIC Work Programme 2024.
Demand and distribution: what the September 2023 EIC Transition cut-off shows
The European Innovation Council’s EIC Transition calls attracted 257 proposals at the September 2023 cut-off. Transition grants are the bridge between frontier research and marketable innovation. They focus on maturing technologies that originated in EIC Pathfinder projects, Future and Emerging Technologies work, or European Research Council proof of concept studies in order to validate technology in application‑relevant environments and develop a market case.
| Call | Proposals received | Countries represented | Total budget requested |
| EIC Transition Open | 162 | 26 | €393.5 million |
| EIC Transition Challenges | 95 | 23 | €229.2 million |
| Total (September 2023 cut-off) | 257 | — | €622.7 million |
What EIC Transition funds and how the instrument fits the EU innovation chain
Breakdown of the Challenge call and the technical focus areas
Beyond the Open call that accepts technologies from any scientific field, the Transition Challenges offered targeted, higher‑priority funding lines. The September 2023 Challenge call produced 95 proposals from 23 countries requesting €229.2 million. The distribution by topic was heavily skewed toward medical micro‑nano‑bio devices.
| Challenge topic | Proposals | Summary intent |
| Full scale Micro‑Nano‑Bio devices for medical and medical research applications | 67 | Complete and validate integrated micro, nano and bio technologies toward market readiness and clinical or medical research use. |
| Environmental intelligence | 16 | Demonstrate novel sensors, devices or systems that give clear and quantifiable advantages across specified environmental use cases. |
| Chip‑scale optical frequency combs | 12 | Advance light‑state control in driven nonlinear systems and develop novel platforms for chip‑scale frequency combs. |
Technical aims of the three Challenges
Numbers matter but so does context: what the statistics mean for applicants and observers
Request totals of €622.7 million against an unstated budget highlight an important feature of EIC calls. Demand routinely exceeds available public funding and the Transition instrument is competitive. For applicants this means that, beyond scientific novelty and technological readiness, a strong, credible business case and demonstration plan are decisive.
The geographic spread of proposals, 26 countries for the Open call and 23 countries for the Challenge call, shows broad European participation. That said, statistics alone do not disclose success rates by country or by institution. As ever with EU innovation instruments, attention to excellence, scalability and investor appetite improves chances during evaluation.
Process, timeline and next steps
The Commission says the 257 proposals are under evaluation and that projects selected will begin in spring 2024. Applicants should expect a rigorous assessment process that combines remote evaluation and interviews or jury sessions for later stages.
The EIC will announce the next cut‑off dates and related rules in the EIC Work Programme 2024. Organisations planning to apply should consult the EIC Transition guidance and model their proposals around demonstration in application‑relevant environments, clear de‑risking steps, and a credible route to private investment or public procurement pathways.
Implications for the European innovation ecosystem
High demand for Transition funding signals that many teams are moving beyond lab proof of principle toward marketable products. The clustering of proposals in micro‑nano‑bio devices suggests a strong pipeline of medically oriented deep tech emerging from EU research networks. Photonics and environmental sensing also attract concentrated interest, reflecting policy priorities around health technologies and climate/monitoring systems.
But demand is not impact. The EIC Transition instrument can help close the valley of death between research and commercialization, but for durable scaling the public grant must be paired with private follow‑on funding, regulatory strategy and manufacturing pathways. Observers should watch how many Transition projects secure private investment after the EIC grant, and how many reach commercial deployment within a reasonable timeframe.
Where to find official details
Publication date 11 October 2023. Proposals are now being evaluated and project starts are expected in spring 2024.