Library FAQ
If the jury recommends funding, can they change the grant or investment mix?
Yes. If the proposal receives a GO, the jury may recommend lowering the grant amount if activities above TRL 8 are detected. If the jury finds the level of risk lower than initially identified, they may recommend another combination of components, including su...
What are the 'Excellence' evaluation criteria and which application stages do they apply to?
Excellence criteria include breakthrough and market-creating nature (short and full applications) and timing (short and full). Technological feasibility (based on technology assessed at least in laboratory and relevant environments, at least TRL 5/6) and Intel...
What are the 'Impact' evaluation criteria and which stages do they apply to?
Impact criteria include scale-up potential (short and full) and broader societal, economic, environmental or climate impact (short and full). Market fit and competitor analysis, commercialisation strategy, and key partners are assessed at the full application...
What are the resubmission rules after a face-to-face interview rejection?
If rejected one time but the jury decides your proposal is a potential GO if specific targeted improvements are made, you may be invited to resubmit a revised application directly to one of the next two face-to-face interviews; such a resubmission is permitted...
What are the team, implementation and risk criteria and their applicable stages?
Team capability and motivation are assessed at both short and full stages. Milestones, risk level of the investment, and risk mitigation measures are assessed at the full application stage only. Small mid-caps are expected to provide documentary evidence that...
What evidence must small mid-cap applicants provide regarding investment risk?
Small mid-caps will be expected to provide documentary evidence that their bank has refused the financing needed for the project when assessing the risk level of the investment.
What happens at the face-to-face interview with the EIC jury?
Jury members have prior access to your short and full application, the evaluation results and AI-generated analyses. Based on the interview and overall assessment they will recommend your proposal for funding (GO) or not (NO GO) and may make recommendations on...
What is a Seal of Excellence and when is it awarded?
A Seal of Excellence may be awarded when a proposal fully meets the excellence and impact criteria but has not fully demonstrated the need for Union support. Seals of Excellence are only awarded if you have given consent to share data about your application wi...
What minimum TRL is expected for technological feasibility at full application?
Technological feasibility should be based on a technology that has been adequately assessed at least in a laboratory environment and relevant environments, to characterise potential and assess risk, at least TRL 5/6.
What outcomes can the jury recommend if the proposal receives a NO GO?
If NO GO, the jury will recommend whether the proposal has potential to be a GO with specific targeted improvements (allowing one resubmission to the next two interviews), whether it fully meets excellence and impact but not the need for Union support (possibl...
Will evaluators and jury use analyses generated by automated tools?
Yes. Remote evaluators and jury members will have access to analyses generated by the EIC artificial intelligence-based IT platform (for example on scientific publications, patents and financial metrics). In certain cases the jury may also have the independent...
Are sacrificial agents allowed in solar-to-X proposals and which products are targeted?
The use of sacrificial agents must be avoided, and the desired product must go beyond hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
How should Area 2 validate the developed metrics and protocols?
Devices from Area 1 should serve as a portfolio-owned testbed to validate methodologies, protocols and equipment in practice, and acceptance by a broad range of stakeholders must be ensured from the start (e.g., co-creation workshops and outreach).
What are the requirements for Area 1 (standalone solar-to-X devices)?
Develop standalone devices converting sunlight and simple low-energy molecules (e.g., water, carbon oxides, N2) into fuels, chemicals or materials, enable simplified production chains beyond H2/CO, design systems to operate independently for local use, and rea...
What are the three specific Areas projects must choose from in the solar-to-X Challenge?
Area 1: Standalone solar-to-X device development; Area 2: Benchmarking and common metrics development for solar-to-X devices; Area 3: Understanding fundamental mechanisms via computational materials science.
What collective outcomes are expected from the solar-to-X project portfolio?
To cover Areas 1–3 ensuring device maturity, standardized metrics and exploration of fundamental mechanisms, and to identify impactful end products and application cases across sectors such as energy, chemical, transport, construction, agriculture, and food/fe...
What does Area 3 (computational materials science) focus on?
Exploring fundamental phenomena crucial to multiple device architectures, improving atomistic theory-experiment comparisons, developing accurate and less resource-demanding quantum mechanical methods, and bridging scales from atomic to macroscopic within multi...
What environmental and economic criteria must solar-to-X systems meet?
They must be cost-efficient with a simplified balance-of-plant, use locally sourced feedstock (preferably valorizing waste streams and solar energy), promote abundant and sustainable fabrication resources, and clearly identify and address a future market need.
What is not considered eligible for the solar-to-X Challenge regarding feedstock and scope?
Technologies starting from energy-rich feedstock like biomass and proposals that address only parts of the full solar-to-X chain (e.g., half reactions) will not be considered.
What is the aim of Area 2 (benchmarking and metrics) in the solar-to-X Challenge?
To develop common metrics, protocols and equipment for fair and standardized comparison across technologies and classes, plus a holistic framework of key performance indicators applicable to multiple device architectures.
What is the aim of the Nature inspired alternatives for food packaging and films challenge?
To develop sustainable, nature-inspired alternatives to fossil-carbon-based plastics for food packaging and agricultural films that deliver required functional characteristics while reducing environmental impact and maximizing reuse, recycling and biodegradabi...
What is the goal of the Nanoelectronics for energy-efficient smart edge devices Challenge?
To explore novel materials, beyond-CMOS devices, non-von Neumann architectures and alternative processing paradigms that drastically reduce energy consumption and heat dissipation in smart edge devices through holistic co-design of geometry, materials, circuit...
What is the main objective of the solar-to-X Challenge?
To develop devices that directly convert sunlight and simple feedstock molecules into fuels, chemicals or materials by integrating all necessary conversion steps into a single solar-driven device that is self-sustaining and benefits prosumers and the environme...
What is the overall goal of the cement and concrete Pathfinder Challenge?
To support breakthrough innovations that utilize and store CO2 or avoid CO2 emissions in cement and concrete production, aiming to be more cost-effective than CCS and to significantly reduce the sector's environmental impact.