Green Deal technologies in the lab and the market The EIC’s role, promises and limits
- ›The European Innovation Council is funding a portfolio of high-risk projects aimed at technologies linked to the Green Deal including artificial photosynthesis, living architecture, plant electricity and molecular energy storage.
- ›Examples include Madonna, Fungar, Artibled, Most, Optagon, e-plant, Woodoo, HyPhOE, FutureAgriculture and LICROX.
- ›Support comes through different EIC instruments from Pathfinder to Accelerator and via workshops and coaching but many projects remain early stage and face material, scale and regulatory hurdles.
- ›EIC activity is practical and hands-on but translating laboratory breakthroughs into commercial, deployable solutions will require sustained investment, clear regulatory pathways and industrial partnerships.
Green Deal challenge and where the EIC fits in
On 15 December 2021 the European Commission presented another large package of measures designed to advance the European Green Deal and the target of climate neutrality by 2050. The ambition is wide ranging and covers everything from building performance and urban mobility to restoring sustainable carbon cycles. Achieving those goals will require social change along with technological solutions. The European Innovation Council is one of the EU instruments channeling public risk capital and business support toward potentially transformative technologies that could contribute to those Green Deal objectives.
What the EIC does and how it supports Green Deal innovations
The EIC targets high risk high impact innovations that are often beyond the scope of traditional grant programmes. It tries to bridge the gap between fundamental research and market-ready products by combining early research grants, market-readiness funding and investments. Key strands include Pathfinder for early exploratory research, the Accelerator for scaling up technologies with demonstrated proof of concept and direct financial support through the EIC Fund for equity investments. The EIC also provides hands-on support such as coaching, business acceleration services and curated workshops that gather projects working on related technology challenges.
Representative projects the EIC highlights and what they aim to do
The EIC cited several projects it supports that touch directly on energy conversion, carbon cycles and low carbon built environment concepts. The following list is a selection drawn from the projects named by EIC programme managers. The descriptions clarify the underlying technical approach and the known EIC instrument where this was specified.
| Project | Technology area | What it does | EIC instrument or funding |
| Madonna | Carbon capture integrated in construction | Captures CO2 from air using biological processes embedded into building bricks to combine carbon removal with building materials. | EIC-supported research (Pathfinder-level context in original text) |
| Fungar | Living architecture | Develops mycelium-based living substrates to grow monolithic structures and embed computational functionality in fungal networks. | H2020 FET-Open funded research; EIC has monitored or supported related activity |
| Artibled | Bioluminescent energy for illumination and heating | Research on producing light and heat using bioluminescent proteins rather than electrical lighting. | EIC-supported project referenced by Programme Managers |
| Most | Molecular solar energy storage | Small - scale molecular storage that captures solar energy during summer and releases it in winter via reversible chemical storage mechanisms. | EIC-supported project referenced by Programme Managers |
| Optagon | Optical near-field thermophotonics | Converts sunlight into cooling through optical near-field thermophotonic devices that radiatively manage heat flows at the nanoscale. | EIC-supported project referenced by Programme Managers |
| e-plant | Plant derived electricity generation | Generates electricity directly from living plants to power low power sensors and smart city devices. | EIC Accelerator - scaling mature technology |
| Woodoo | Functionalised transparent wood | Develops modified wood that is functional and transparent for use in facades and windows as low carbon building materials. | EIC Accelerator - scaling mature technology |
| HyPhOE | Bioelectronic integration with photosynthetic organisms | Aims to integrate electronic functionality with photosynthetic organisms to create electronically functionalized plants for environmental sensing and physiological control. | EIC Pathfinder |
| FutureAgriculture | Improved photosynthesis in crops | Designs synthetic metabolic bypasses to reduce photorespiration and increase carbon fixation and yield in crops. | FET Open project focused on synthetic biology for agriculture |
| LICROX | Artificial photosynthesis for solar fuels | Develops photoelectrochemical cells that convert sunlight, water and CO2 into single and two carbon molecules for chemical energy storage. | Horizon 2020 FET project LICROX; not an EIC instrument but closely aligned to EIC interests |
Technical concepts made plain and practical caveats
Scale, workshops and the EIC’s practical activities
The EIC does not only fund projects. The agency runs workshops and portfolio activities to connect projects working on similar technical challenges. For example the EIC planned a series of workshops under a 'solar energy conversion' portfolio that would gather 17 projects with an aggregated budget above 60 million euros started in the previous three years. These convenings aim to speed up cross project learning and to expose technologies to potential industrial partners.
Implications, realism and open questions
Public descriptions of research projects can read like promise lists. The EIC is explicit about backing visionary research yet the route to effect at scale is difficult and uncertain. Many projects are at the proof of concept or early prototype stage. The jump to large scale manufacturing, integration into existing infrastructure and sustained operation involves further capital, regulatory approvals and supply chain development. Synthetic biology and modified crops raise societal and regulatory questions that influence deployment speed and public acceptance. Carbon removal embedded in building materials requires life cycle accounting to verify net climate benefits.
Investors and policy makers must therefore distinguish between potential and near term impact. An interesting scientific demonstration does not guarantee a commercial or systemic solution. Workshops and EIC acceleration services reduce risk but they do not eliminate key barriers linked to cost, durability, standards, market demand and regulation.
How to follow and get involved
The EIC publishes information on funded projects and maintains programme managers and portfolio pages where interested parties can find project links and contact points. For researchers and entrepreneurs seeking support the EIC offers multiple entry points from Pathfinder to Accelerator and additional ecosystem services such as coaching. Those interested in the specific projects named here should review the individual project pages and CORDIS entries for technical reports and deliverables.
If you want to look further contact the EIC Programme Managers page, review the project pages for Madonna, Fungar, Artibled, Most, Optagon, e-plant, Woodoo, HyPhOE, FutureAgriculture and LICROX or follow EISMEA and EIC communications for announcements about workshops and calls.