1 minute read / November 8, 2025
The European Commission adopted the 2026 European Innovation Council (EIC) work programme, allocating €1.4 billion to support Europe’s most promising deep tech entrepreneurs and researchers. The new programme focuses on what European innovators need most: simplified access to substantial funding, investment and easier access to customers and partners across Europe and beyond.
The new programme introduces key improvements, including a simpler, faster application process for the EIC Accelerator and the launch of pilot Advanced Innovation Challenges, inspired by the US Advanced Research Programme Agency (ARPA) approach.
The 2026 work programme supports implementation of actions under the Startup and Scaleup Strategy. This includes the European Corporate Network, building on the successful EIC corporate days and strengthened services to support access to international markets and partners, and a Gender Index to track the participation of women in the innovation ecosystem.
It also introduces targeted challenges complementing the open calls, including for critical raw materials, nuclear fusion, AI, climate adaptation. The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) call, launched in 2025 to provide larger investments (up to €30 million) will continue following high demand in 2025.
