Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
The overall goal of this Challenge is to ensure Europe is able to service and protect its own Space infrastructure, avoiding the risk of losing its strategic autonomy, and enhance the competitiveness of its space industry by encouraging the emergence of innovative, interoperable, scalable, and autonomous “customer-driven” innovative space technologies and services.
The specific objectives of this Challenge are:
This Challenge aims at developing:
It is expected that EU companies generate new contracts from new markets, together with significant cost-savings for satellite owners. Affordable and cost-effective on orbit satellite servicing technologies will first benefit the EU space economy, through an increased competitiveness of EU space industry.
Applications to this EIC Accelerator Challenge may request an investment component of above €15 million in duly justified cases (a request above €15 million investment is allowed in duly justified cases -see Accelerator call text).
In order to protect the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, the contract may set specific conditions and milestones if this is necessary to ensure that technologies of a strategic nature for open autonomy are not directly or indirectly controlled by third countries not associated to Horizon Europe or by legal entities of non-associated third countries.
To be an eligible applicant to EIC Accelerator, you must apply as one of the following eligible entities:
a. From a Member State or an Associated Country intending to establish an SME or small mid-cap (as defined above) in a Member State or Associated Country by the time of signing the EIC Accelerator contract or, in case the equity only is awarded, at the latest when agreeing on its investment component;
b. Intending to invest in an SME or small mid-cap in a Member State or an Associated Country and who may submit a proposal on behalf of that SME or small mid-cap, provided that a prior agreement exist with the company. The contract will be signed with the beneficiary company only; or
c. From a non-associated third country intending to establish an SME (including start-ups) or to relocate an existing SME to a Member State or an Associated Country. Your company must prove its effective establishment in a Member State or an Associated Country at the time of submission of the full proposal.
Applicants from the United Kingdom can apply to the EIC Accelerator, but can only request and receive funding in the form of “grant only”. The signature of any grant agreement will be subject to the positive conclusion of the association negotiation with the United Kingdom.
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Persons:
George Christou
Scientific Officer
Email: gchristou@research.org.cy
Nedi Kaffa
Scientific Officer
Email: nkaffa@research.org.cy
Research Enquiry Service: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/contact/research-enquiry-service_en