Where can EIC Accelerator Results be found? (SME Instrument Phase 2)

The EIC Accelerator blended financing (formerly SME Instrument Phase 2, grant and equity financing) is an interesting opportunity for startups or Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) to gain government funding for innovation activities. When working with a consultancy or professional grant writer, the process is simplified significantly but, when applying on their own, many startups are not entirely clear where results and awards are published.

The European Commission (EC), the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Agency for SME’s (EASME) have a variety of outlets where the names of awarded companies are published or how funded SME’s are notified. The core sources for such information are:

1. Email form the Funding and Tenders Portal

The best way to identify if your startup or SME has received the EIC Accelerator grant funding is to await the results sent through the Funding and Tenders Portal. If an account has been created and the submission has been completed, feedback by the European Union (EU) will proceed via a dedicated email to inform the applicant of the invitation to the EIC Accelerator interview week (i.e. in Brussels or via an online video call).

The email includes instructions regarding the upload of a pitch video (i.e. the pitch deck cannot be reviewed but supplemented with a short video), the registration of the speakers as well as the general timing of the pitch week.

2. Notification Area on the Funding and Tenders Portal

In case no email has been received, the EIC Accelerator applicants should check the Funding and Tenders Portal (F&TP) periodically where notifications are highlighted as badge counts. If the EC has important updates or news to communicate with the applicant, they will be found there.

There are a variety of notification zones inside the portal where messages can be exchanged, namely the main notification area on the F&TP, the document upload and communication area under “My Organizations” as well as the messaging section under the “Follow Up” section for an approved grant project.

In general, it is very difficult to miss any communication by the EC if emails are checked regularly and the F&TP is visited. If in doubt, the EIC’s twitter account can be visited to gain information on the timing of future communications (read: Finding EIC Accelerator News).

3. List of Beneficiaries on the EIC Accelerator Call Page

Another excellent source to identify the results of the EIC Accelerator is the regularly updated list of beneficiaries which gives the company name, website, acronym, project title and type of funding received (grant or blended financing with equity). The list can be found here and contains all EIC Accelerator-funded companies (incl. the SME Instrument Phase 2 beneficiaries).

Going back to January 2018 and spanning all of 2019 and 2020, the list further details the country of origin and city of residence for the applying entities. The document download page of the EIC Accelerator also includes occasional flash updates which give additional information on the calls total budget, funding success rate and the number of applicants (i.e. this example).

4. The CORDIS Database

Projects that have been selected for funding and have signed the Grant Agreement Contracts (GAC) will be published on the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) database. Here, the timing (i.e. project start and end), budget (i.e. grant and/or equity), name of the coordinator and the participating entities are listed.

In addition, the CORDIS page of an EIC Accelerator project will also contain the beneficiaries address, program information and the abstract of the project with detailed project reporting updates (read: The EIC Accelerator Abstract).

5. Publication on Social Media & Reports

Lastly, some information on EIC-funded companies can be found on social media sites such as Twitter (i.e. @EUEIC), Facebook (i.e. EIC), YouTube (i.e. European Commission or EU Science & Innovation) and Linkedin. When searching for the hashtag #EICAccelerator, companies often provide information on attempted or successful grant applications for past and current deadlines.

The EC likewise publishes regular reports on the performance of the EIC Accelerator (or SME Instrument) such as the recent The Deep Tech Europe Report: key numbers from the EIC performance and the previously published Innovation Kitchen: EIC Accelerator pilot in numbers.

These reports contain valuable statistics and key figures on the EIC Accelerator’s performance, information on the types of projects funded and the overall changes in budget, proposal template, gender contributions and industries.

Conclusion

Results regarding the successful applications for the EIC Accelerator can be found via:

1. Email form the Funding and Tenders Portal
2. Notification Area on the Funding and Tenders Portal
3. List of Beneficiaries on the EIC Accelerator Call Page
4. The CORDIS Database
5. Publication on Social Media & Reports

This article was last modified on Oct 19, 2022 @ 15:55

These tips are not only useful for European startups, professional writers, consultants and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) but are generally recommended when writing a business plan or investor documents.

Deadlines: Post-Horizon 2020, the EIC Accelerator accepts Step 1 submissions now while the deadlines for the full applications (Step 2) under Horizon Europe are:

• Step 1
  • Open now: Apply as soon as possible to be eligible for the next Step 2 submission deadline
• Step 2 (closing 17:00 Brussels Time)
  • 1^st cut-off 2025: -
  • 2^nd cut-off 2025: March 12^th 2025
  • 3^rd cut-off 2025: -
  • 4^th cut-off 2025: October 1^st 2025
• Step 3
  • 4^th cut-off 2024: January 13^th to 17^th 2025
  • 1^st cut-off 2025: TBD
  • 2^nd cut-off 2025: TBD
  • 3^rd cut-off 2025: TBD
  • 4^th cut-off 2025: TBD

The Step 1 applications must be submitted weeks in advance of Step 2. The next EIC Accelerator cut-off for Step 2 (full proposal) can be found here. After Brexit, UK companies can still apply to the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe albeit with non-dilutive grant applications only - thereby excluding equity-financing.

Contact: You can reach out to us via this contact form to work with a professional consultant.

EU, UK & US Startups: Alternative financing options for EU, UK and US innovation startups are the EIC Pathfinder (combining Future and Emerging Technologies - FET Open & FET Proactive) with €4M per project, Thematic Priorities, European Innovation Partnerships (EIP), Innovate UK with £3M (for UK-companies only) as well as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants with $1M (for US-companies only).

Any more questions? View the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.

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by Stephan Segler, PhD
Professional Grant Consultant at Segler Consulting

General information on the EIC Accelerator template, professional grant writing and how to prepare a successful application can be found in the following articles:

A Quick FTO Guide for EIC Accelerator Applicants in a Rush

2023 Budget Allocations for EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator

Developing the Unique Selling Points (USP) for the EIC Accelerator

Explaining the Resubmission Process for the EIC Accelerator

A Short but Comprehensive Explanation of the EIC Accelerator

EIC Accelerator Success Cases

Deciding Between EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator

A Winning Candidate for the EIC Accelerator

EIC Accelerator Interview Preparation Process: Scripting the Pitch (Part 1)