Four EIC Solvers picked for InnoBuyer pilot to tackle concrete public sector problems

The InnoBuyer pilot, a demand driven strand of the European Innovation Council's Innovation Procurement Programme, has chosen four EIC-backed consortia to co-create and pilot technologies aimed at immediate public sector needs. The selected teams are Honey.AI, EndoPath, PurEVOO and NAIAD. They will work with public authorities and laboratories to refine and test their solutions over a ten month co-creation phase. The open call drew 40 applications from 13 countries and the chosen projects now receive targeted support to move from prototype toward procurement and market adoption.

Who was selected and what they will build

Honey.AI — automated microscopy and AI for honey analysis

Led by Microfy Systems S.L., an EIC SME Instrument Phase 2 beneficiary, Honey.AI proposes an AI driven screening platform for honey authenticity and quality control. The company works with the Agri-Food Arbitration Laboratory in Spain to test honey fraud detection workflows. Microfy's approach centres on automated, low cost scanning microscopy combined with image analysis models to recognise pollen spectra and other markers of adulteration. Publicly available notes from the company also highlight a recent feature to count Nosema sp. spores and estimate Apis versus Ceranae proportions, with preliminary internal validation against qPCR and manual counts.

EndoPath — early, objective endometriosis screening at primary care level

EndoPath is developed by MiMARK, supported previously by the EIC Accelerator. The project aims to deliver a cost effective and objective diagnostic tool for endometriosis to be used in primary care. The company will collaborate with the Institute for Research in Primary Care Jordi Gol to test deployment in frontline settings. Endometriosis is notoriously underdiagnosed and sufferers often face diagnostic delays of several years. A validated primary care screening or triage tool could shorten referral times and improve patient outcomes if it demonstrates sufficient sensitivity and specificity.

PurEVOO — DNA verification for extra virgin olive oil integrity

PurEVOO is led by BioCoS PC, an SME Instrument Phase 1 beneficiary. The solution uses DNA based methods to verify the provenance and purity of extra virgin olive oil. In collaboration with the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, the project aims to provide traceability and authentication tools that can detect adulteration and confirm varietal or geographic origin. Olive oil fraud remains a persistent issue in EU and global markets because oil chemistry can be altered or blended to mimic premium products.

NAIAD — monitoring changing riverbeds for sustainable water management

NAIAD is a solution from VorteX.io, an EIC Accelerator-funded SME, developed with the Syndicat Mixte La Têt Bassin Versant in France. The initiative addresses sustainable water monitoring in dynamic riverbed environments. The technology is intended to deliver data to help manage flood risk, sediment transport and ecological conservation where riverbeds are actively shifting. Accurate monitoring of such processes supports local water authorities in planning and responding to both drought and flood episodes.

How the InnoBuyer co-creation pilot works

InnoBuyer is a coordination and support action funded under Horizon Europe with a budget of around 2 million euros. It sits under the EIC Innovation Procurement Programme and the EIC Business Acceleration Services. The initiative is designed to bring Challengers, usually public organisations with unmet needs, together with Solvers, typically EIC supported SMEs, for demand driven co-creation. The programme offers direct funding for pilots, hands on guidance and help preparing terms of reference that Challengers can use in later procurement processes.

The InnoBuyer pilot that produced these four winners ran an open call targeted at SMEs that had current or previous EIC funding. The call received 40 applications from 13 countries. Selected Solvers now enter a ten month co-creation phase during which they will refine technical readiness, run pilot tests in the partner organisations, and receive support on commercialization and future public tenders.

What success will look like and what could limit it

InnoBuyer frames success as tested pilots that are adoption ready for wider procurement. For each winner this means demonstrating technical performance in operational settings, producing terms of reference for public tenders, and preparing commercialization pathways. If pilots meet those milestones they can become reference cases to encourage other public buyers to procure the technologies.

There are several practical obstacles to watch. Public procurement is slow and legally complex. Even validated pilots face long procurement cycles and the need to comply with public sector standards and certification. Technical solutions that rely on data also confront issues around data sharing, ownership and interoperability with existing information systems. Finally, small companies often struggle with scaling manufacturing, service level guarantees and after sales support that public buyers expect.

Context within the EIC procurement ecosystem

InnoBuyer is one strand of a broader EIC Innovation Procurement Programme that includes SPIN4EIC and InnoMatch. SPIN4EIC provides capacity building and matchmaking between EIC beneficiaries and buyers while InnoMatch supports proof of concept pilots with budgets of up to EUR 60,000 per pilot. Together these instruments are intended to reduce the barrier that innovators face when trying to sell to public buyers and to increase public sector uptake of deep tech solutions. InnoBuyer is operated by a consortium led by F6S, Civitta and TICBioMed who provide the coordination, training and procurement support.

The programme logic is credible. Demand led pilots can shorten the gap between lab demonstrations and operational usage. At the same time observers should be cautious about early success narratives. A handful of pilots, even if technically successful, do not by themselves change procurement cultures or remove structural barriers. Sustained impact requires repeatable procurement pipelines, accessible financing for public buyers, and interoperable standards that make it easier for multiple authorities to adopt the same solutions.

Next steps and how stakeholders can follow progress

Over the next ten months the four consortia will conduct pilot tests, collect performance data and work with their public partners to draft terms of reference for potential procurement. Outcomes to watch include independent validation studies, published pilot results, and whether the public partners decide to proceed to procurement. Interested parties can follow InnoBuyer through the EIC channels and the project partners on social media and newsletters for updates.

The selection of Honey.AI, EndoPath, PurEVOO and NAIAD highlights concrete public sector problems that remain open to technological solutions. The co-creation model is promising but the real test will be whether pilots translate into routine procurement and meaningful public benefit at scale.