The European Innovation Council has recently selected 44 new projects under its 2022 Pathfinder Challenges call for cutting-edge research projects to achieve breakthroughs in six strategic areas. One of these projects is coordinated by a UK university.
The successful projects were chosen among 436 submitted eligible proposals and will receive up to €167 million of EU funding (on average €3.8 million per project).
EIC Programme Managers were directly involved in setting the challenges and selecting portfolios of projects from among the best applications, and they will now proactively manage these portfolios to increase impact.
Most applicants come from universities and research organisations; 16% of the participants are SMEs.
The applicants could submit their proposals in six Challenges by the 19 October 2022 deadline :
- Carbon dioxide and nitrogen management and valorisation
- Mid to long-term and systems-integrated energy storage
- Cardiogenomics
- Towards the healthcare continuum: technologies to support a radical shift from episodic to continuous healthcare
- DNA-based digital data storage
- Alternative approaches to quantum Information processing, communication, and sensing
With each specific Challenge, the EIC will establish a portfolio of projects that explores different perspectives, competing approaches or complementary aspects of the Challenge.
In addition to financial grants, the selected projects will also benefit from tailor-made coaching and other EIC Business Acceleration Services, as well as fast-track access to the EIC Accelerator scheme.
Next steps
Grant agreements for the selected projects are now being prepared and the projects will start in the summer of 2023. EIC Programme Managers will work with selected projects to develop a common roadmap for implementation.
EIC Pathfinder Challenges call in 2023
The 2023 EIC Pathfinder Challenges call, with new challenges, will open for applications on 20 June and have a deadline of 18 October 2023.
The five Challenges funded this year are:
- Clean and efficient cooling
- Architecture, Engineering and Construction digitalisation for a novel triad of design, fabrication, and materials
- Precision nutrition
- Responsible electronics
- In-space solar energy harvesting for innovative space applications
Further information on the EIC and the Pathfinder Challenges is available in UKRO’s dedicated factsheet (link on the right).