Frequently Asked Questions

While the application process can be complex, it is feasible to prepare a successful application in-house. However, many companies choose to use external consultants, professional writers, or freelancers for assistance, especially given the size of the official proposal template.

In the June 2022 cut-off, France had the most successful applicants (13), followed by Germany (8) and the United Kingdom (7). Other countries with multiple winners include the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Ireland, and Israel.

Vanevo is a company developing RedOx flow batteries. They received an EIC Accelerator grant in October 2022, supported by Segler Consulting. This funding will enable them to reach commercial readiness and scale their innovative energy storage technology.

The EIC Accelerator, funded by the European Innovation Council and European Commission, provides grant and equity financing to startups and SMEs, especially those in DeepTech. It aims to support innovative projects with up to €2.5 million in grant and €15 million in equity financing. This helps companies develop and scale their innovations.

The EIC Accelerator offers grant-only, grant-first, and blended financing (grant and equity) options. Grant-only is a pure grant. Grant-first provides a grant initially, with the option for equity later. Blended financing includes both grant and equity from the start.

Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) indicate the maturity of a technology. Grant-first funding typically aims to cover innovation activities up to TRL8, while blended financing usually targets projects reaching TRL9 (commercial readiness). The EIC funding type should align with your project's TRL goals.

Grant-first funding means a company initially receives a grant to cover innovation activities up to TRL8. Later, they have the option to apply for equity funding from the EIC Fund to reach TRL9 (commercialization). This provides flexibility in securing funding as the project progresses.

While grants are helpful, private funding sources often provide larger sums, especially for innovative for-profit businesses. Strategic investors and accelerator programs also bring valuable experience and mentorship that grants often lack.

The EIC Accelerator's preference for companies with VC connections means you should proactively build relationships with investors. This demonstrates your ability to secure future funding and strengthens your application.

Grants are a great way to test the viability of new ideas with less financial risk. You can explore different applications of your core technology and see which ones attract funding, guiding your company's direction.

EU policies, like the Green Deal, can rapidly shift funding priorities. This can create new opportunities or dry up existing ones. A diverse strategy helps mitigate the risk of relying on policy-driven grants that may be short-lived.

Grants can be a low-stakes way to test new ideas or pivot into a new market or technology. They allow companies to explore different application cases for their core value proposition and see which project gains traction.

Startups will likely need further funding rounds after the grant project concludes. The EIC Accelerator even prefers companies that can proactively engage with VCs. Building these relationships early is crucial for long-term scaling and securing future investments.

Before applying, research the CORDIS database to identify similar projects that have already received funding. This helps you understand the competitive landscape and potentially adjust your application to highlight unique aspects of your innovation.

Government grants often lack the strategic guidance and mentorship that private investors provide. Decisions within government bodies are often influenced by politicians rather than entrepreneurs, which can hinder a startup's growth.

CORDIS is the Community Research and Development Information Service. The European Commission uses it to track funded projects. If a competitor has already received funding for a similar project, it can negatively impact your chances of securing a grant.

Co-financing means that the grant only covers a percentage of the project costs (e.g., 70%). The startup needs to secure funding for the remaining portion from other sources. This highlights the need for a diverse funding strategy beyond just relying on a single grant.

Connecting your innovation to EU policies, targets, and statistics strengthens your application, especially the Impact section. It demonstrates alignment with EU priorities, showing how your project contributes to broader European goals and addresses relevant challenges. Neglecting this connection is a common mistake in low-scoring applications.

The 'Narrative' contextualizes your technological innovation outside of your business model and differentiating features. It connects all sections of your proposal to create a cohesive story that highlights the urgent need for EIC support. It integrates your business plan with its European and global impact, emphasizing the benefits for the European Commission.

Focus on negative repercussions in the EU that your innovation can address. This could include costs (e.g., healthcare expenditures), deaths (e.g., car accidents), environmental impacts (e.g., emissions), or resource availability issues (e.g., overfishing). Emphasize how these problems will worsen without your solution.

The EU regularly publishes updates on policies, statistics (e.g., Eurostat), regulations, and resources like Key Enabling Technologies (KET) and the Green Deal. Refer to these resources to strengthen your application and demonstrate alignment with EU priorities.

The 'Missing Link' is the crucial element that connects the problem to the solution. It highlights the major issue in the industry and in Europe that your innovation addresses. Quantify the worth of solving this missing link to emphasize the costs of inaction or the savings from your solution.

The main goal is to create an urgent need for EIC support in the evaluator's eyes. By highlighting the problem's importance, impact, and the barriers to solving it, you convince the evaluators that your innovation is crucial for addressing a significant European challenge.

Yes, the narrative structure is applicable to the pitch deck as well. However, it should be presented in a more compact form. This ensures the jury understands the gravity of the problem quickly and efficiently during the interview process.

Explain why the problem you're addressing is difficult to solve and why no company has been able to accomplish it yet. Outline the significant technological barriers involved, citing scientific reviews, case studies, or challenging industry concepts. The goal is to make finding a solution seem impossible until you introduce yours.

This approach ensures all sub-sections of your proposal work well together and are connected. It creates a cohesive story that demonstrates the urgent need for EIC support. This ultimately increases your chances of securing funding.

Briefly explain why current problem-solving approaches are limited and ineffective. Highlight the lack of technological ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking in existing solutions. This section acts as a segue to further enhance the impact of your innovation's introduction.

No, the method described in the blog post is not the only way to approach an EIC Accelerator proposal. It's presented as a starting point and an additional resource to help applicants develop a well-written draft.

The EIC Accelerator, formerly SME Instrument Phase 2, offers grant and equity financing to startups and SMEs. It supports the development of disruptive innovations, helping them move from prototype to commercial product. The program is funded by the European Commission and the European Innovation Council.

The EIC Accelerator's popularity has increased significantly, especially in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic and extensive advertising within the EU. The sustainability-themed deadlines, including the EIC Accelerator Green Deal call, have also attracted many applicants.

Hiring a professional writer or consultant can be beneficial, as they are experienced in creating compelling narratives for grant applications. However, it's also possible to develop a strong proposal internally with the right guidance and resources.

Editing your proposal with a connected narrative approach can help refine each section. This process can reveal accidentally omitted details, strengthening the overall storytelling and improving the proposal's clarity and impact.

The visual representation illustrates a simplified way to connect key aspects of your innovation with the industry or policy context. This helps provide a strong and logical rationale for why the EU should fund your project.

The EIC Accelerator is specifically designed for startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) that are developing disruptive innovations. These companies should be seeking financial support to complete their R&D and bring their product to market.

This blog post is Part 1 of a series. Part 2, which provides further guidance, can be found by following the link provided at the end of this article. Look for the continuation link to access more information.

The official EIC Accelerator grant template is often considered simplified and sometimes cryptic, especially for first-time applicants. This can make crafting a successful proposal challenging, highlighting the need for guidance and a strong narrative.

A strong narrative is crucial for a successful EIC Accelerator proposal. Aligning the proposal with a clear and logical story increases the chances of positive evaluation results and funding approval from the EU.

AI can highlight the strengths of your project and company and be vague about the weaknesses, but it cannot fundamentally change the project itself. It's crucial to assess whether your company and project are a good fit for the EIC Accelerator before using AI to draft the proposal. AI can't make a poor project seem groundbreaking.

While AI may reduce the need for consultants in research and writing, it's unlikely to replace them entirely. Consultants play various roles, including scouting promising companies for the EIC. The EIC also frequently employs consultants in roles like project management and evaluation.

The EIC removed travel reimbursements to allocate funds to other areas, such as business coaches for Step 2 applicants. This decision has raised concerns about fairness, as it disproportionately affects applicants from widening countries who may struggle to afford travel to Brussels.

Consultants play a significant role in the EIC ecosystem, often more critical than the startups themselves. The EIC employs consultants as evaluators, jury members, ambassadors, business coaches, project managers, and more. This close relationship ensures consultants remain a key part of the EIC's operations.

A high-quality proposal needs a strong project and company profile, sufficient detail with quantifiable data, alignment with EIC criteria and objectives, coherent and valuable writing, and internal consistency. Avoiding contradictions and ensuring all parts of the proposal support each other are crucial for a positive evaluation.

Surprisingly, the EIC does not require business coaches to have successfully written an EIC Accelerator proposal themselves. This has been criticized, as many believe that advisors should have experience successfully completing the process they are advising on.

AI's ability to ensure consistency is limited by its context window. It's difficult to produce a high-quality, 50-page proposal from a single prompt. However, AI can effectively handle fragments, ensuring each section is coherent and aligned with its specific instructions, leading to overall coherence.

To ensure sufficient detail, provide the AI with as much specific information as possible. Use placeholders in key sections for data like patent numbers and USP quantifiers. Consider using AI tools with web search capabilities to draw data from market reports and EU policies to enrich the proposal.

The amount of detail in your proposal significantly impacts the evaluation. Vague proposals are often criticized because evaluators need specific data to assess criteria like competitors, USP, and development goals. Providing quantifications and explicit details throughout your proposal is essential for maximum impact and a higher chance of success.

AI can easily align your proposal with EIC criteria by drawing from its programming, which is based on expert knowledge. Provide restrictive instructions to the AI to avoid any red flags that could lead to rejection, such as incorrect Technology Readiness Levels or funding amounts.

Submitting to the wrong call, specifically the regular EIC Accelerator page instead of the Green Deal call page, will result in your proposal being considered for the October deadline instead of the May deadline. Double-check the call page before submitting.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EIC Accelerator interviews for the March 2020 deadline were held remotely via video calls. This is likely to continue for the rest of 2020, so expect your interview to be virtual.

The correct call page for the Green Deal submission is located at the link provided in the blog post. Using the regular EIC Accelerator page will result in your proposal being registered for the October deadline instead of the May deadline.