Forty years of EU research funding: four EIC‑backed deep tech projects tested on accessibility and sustainability
- ›To mark 40 years of EU research and innovation funding the European Innovation Council highlights four EIC‑backed projects addressing pollinators, cargo logistics, poultry welfare and quantum computing.
- ›HIVEOPOLIS experiments with robotics and 3D printed fungal beehives and aims to integrate pollinators into smart cities while publishing open software, hardware and data.
- ›Dronamics has developed the Black Swan cargo drone and claims large cost and CO2 savings for middle‑mile logistics, but faces regulatory and scaling hurdles.
- ›InOvotive uses a single biomarker to determine egg sex during incubation to avoid male chick culling and reduce emissions, and is scaling an Alpha prototype with 1,800 eggs per hour throughput.
- ›FRESNEL and Pasqal advance neutral atom quantum processors and plan a 300‑qubit QPU series while noting a path to commercialisation that still faces technical and market challenges.
Forty years of EU research and innovation funding: EIC showcases four deep tech projects
In 2024 the European Commission and the European Innovation Council marked the 40th anniversary of the EU’s first dedicated research and innovation programme. The EIC operates within the Horizon Europe framework and has a headline budget of about €10.1 billion. To illustrate the kinds of technologies that this public funding helps bring forward the EIC highlighted four beneficiaries that span ecology, transport, agri‑food and quantum computing.
The four projects presented by the EIC are HIVEOPOLIS, Dronamics, InOvotive and FRESNEL. They are at different technology readiness levels and business stages and are funded under different EIC schemes. Each claims potential environmental or accessibility benefits. Those claims are notable but they warrant scrutiny because moving from prototypes and pilot flights to reliable, scaled commercial services requires resolving technical, regulatory and market adoption challenges.
Why the EIC is showcasing these projects now
The EIC framed this selection as part of a wider #EU40YearsRI communications campaign that invites beneficiaries to share impact stories. The examples aim to show how deep tech backed by EU programmes can contribute to the green and digital transitions. The selected projects also illustrate the EIC’s toolbox which includes a Pathfinder scheme for early high‑risk research and Accelerator instruments for scaling startups and SMEs.
HIVEOPOLIS: mixed biology, robotics and fungal 3D‑printed hives to support honeybees
HIVEOPOLIS is coordinated by the University of Graz and was funded under a predecessor of the EIC Pathfinder. Its stated goal is to counter global honeybee declines by combining behavioural research with robotics, sensors and novel materials.
Key technical achievements the consortium highlights include robotic interfaces that interact with bee colonies, long‑term observation hives, and the experimental use of 3D‑printed beehives made from fungal biomass. The project also promotes open software, hardware and data to make tools available to beekeepers, researchers and citizens.
HIVEOPOLIS involves an interdisciplinary academic and industrial consortium. Partners include robotics groups from EPFL, behavioural labs in Belgium and Berlin, the AgriTech firm Pollenity and other university teams across Europe. The planned ambition extends to integrating pollinators into urban planning and smart cities, which raises questions about long term monitoring, public acceptance and maintenance of urban hives.
Dronamics and the Black Swan: cargo drones for middle‑mile logistics
Dronamics, a Bulgarian startup, is presented as an example of EIC Accelerator support for a company aiming to transform cargo logistics. Its Black Swan fixed wing remotely piloted drone carries up to 350 kilograms of cargo and the company claims a 2,500 kilometre range and the ability to operate from runways as short as 400 metres.
The EIC and Horizon press items stress Dronamics’ commercial milestones. The company was described as Europe’s first fully licensed cargo drone airline in 2023 and it obtained IATA and ICAO designator codes. The firm reports partnerships with logistics players and a plan to operate from a global operations centre in Malta supported by a network of so called droneports.
Airspace integration is a particular challenge. The Horizon article covering Dronamics also described EU‑funded work such as the CERTIFLIGHT project which tests secure satellite based tracking using Galileo OSNMA to protect drones from GPS spoofing and to provide authenticated location and timing. Without robust surveillance and identification systems it will be difficult to scale operations while meeting safety and legal requirements.
InOvotive: early sexing of eggs to avoid male chick culling
InOvotive is a Leiden University spinoff that has been supported by EIC Accelerator pilot funding. The company builds on research that identified a single biomarker in 2016 which can be used to determine the sex of a chicken embryo during incubation.
The technology aims to replace the widespread industry practice of culling day‑old male chicks by determining sex before hatching. InOvotive reports an Alpha prototype that processes 1,800 eggs per hour at about 95 percent accuracy and is operating in line in a commercial hatchery in the Netherlands. The next step reported by the company is to scale throughput to sector requirements and push toward wider commercial uptake by engaging supply chain stakeholders.
FRESNEL and Pasqal: neutral atom quantum processors
Pasqal is a spin‑out from the Institut d’Optique in Palaiseau, France. The EIC‑backed FRESNEL project is focused on building neutral atom quantum processing units. Neutral atom systems trap individual atoms in optical lattices or tweezer arrays and use laser controlled interactions to perform quantum operations.
Pasqal and FRESNEL report the development of large scale neutral atom QPUs and say neutral atom platforms are intrinsically scalable. The project set an objective to industrialise a 300‑qubit QPU series called Fresnel300 and has attracted interest from industrial energy companies exploring optimisation and simulation use cases.
Comparing the four projects
| Project | Coordinator / Origin | EIC scheme | Representative metric or milestone | Near term objective | Main uncertainties |
| HIVEOPOLIS | University of Graz and European academic consortium | FET Proactive / EIC Pathfinder predecessor | 3D‑printed fungal beehives, robotics interacting with colonies | Integrate bee societies into smart city environments; publish open software and hardware | Durability and biosecurity of fungal hives, beekeeper adoption, long term ecological impact |
| Dronamics (Black Swan) | DRONAMICS LTD, Bulgaria | EIC Accelerator Open | 350 kg payload, 2,500 km range, 400 m runway; licensed cargo drone airline in 2023 | Scale production, build droneports, operate middle‑mile services | Airspace integration, certification, reliable tracking, energy source and real world cost and emission performance |
| InOvotive | Spinoff from Leiden University, Netherlands | EIC Accelerator pilot | Alpha prototype: 1,800 eggs/hour at 95% accuracy | Scale throughput for commercial hatchery requirements and market adoption | Throughput scaling, regulatory acceptance, integration into hatchery workflows |
| FRESNEL / Pasqal | Pasqal, France | EIC Accelerator pilot | Development of neutral atom QPUs; target Fresnel300 300 qubits | Industrialise 300‑qubit QPU series and onboard enterprise customers | Qubit quality and error correction, software and application maturity, path to fault tolerant machines |
Why these projects matter to EU innovation policy
The case studies reflect common policy priorities. They aim to combine digital and green transitions, to improve European technological sovereignty in strategic areas and to demonstrate how public funding can de‑risk early commercialisation of deep tech. The EIC mixes grants, equity and advisory support to help projects cross the proverbial 'valley of death' between lab research and marketable products.
At the same time these projects highlight recurring challenges for EU innovation policy. Moving from prototypes and pilots to reliable industrial services requires coordination with regulators, standards bodies and industry partners. Scaling manufacturing, securing supply chains and reaching price points that change incumbent economics are difficult. Public claims about cost and emissions reductions should be evaluated with independent life cycle and scenario analyses once sufficient operational data exist.
Conclusions and pragmatic questions
The four EIC examples are useful signal cases. They show the diversity of sectors the EIC supports and the ambitions behind EU support for deep tech. Each project brings potentially important benefits for sustainability and accessibility. Yet each also faces a series of risks and dependencies that will determine whether the promised impacts materialise at scale.
Key questions for the near term include how Dronamics and others will secure safe airspace integration and resilient tracking at scale, how InOvotive can reach industrial throughput with acceptable accuracy and regulatory approval, how HIVEOPOLIS ensures the biosecurity and longevity of novel hive materials and how Pasqal translates qubit counts into practical advantage for industry customers. Independent evaluations and transparent operational data will be needed to validate headline claims.
How to follow and contribute
The EIC invited beneficiaries to share stories under the hashtags #EU40YearsRI and #ResearchImpactEU. The Commission is compiling a booklet of 40 stories to mark the four decades of EU funding. Readers who want to track these projects should look for technical publications, independent assessments and regulatory milestones rather than press claims alone.
Disclaimer: this article restructures content published by the EIC and related Commission pages and adds context and critical perspective. The original communications serve to highlight achievements but do not substitute for independent verification of technical or environmental claims.