The applicants are expected to demonstrate in their application that they:

• have developed technology validated in the lab (at least TRL 4);
• possess the necessary Intellectual Property Rights to ensure freedom to operate and adequate protection of the idea;
• have a clear vision on the intended pathway and route to market. This includes specific milestones together with concrete and verifiable KPIs to assess progress towards the market.

The support will be in awarded by grants max at 70% funding of the eligible costs. 30% co-funding to be covered by the beneficiary through its own resources.

An amount between €300.000 and max €500.000 in the form of a lump sum for a period of up to 2 years is considered appropriate.

Seal of Excellence will be awarded to all proposals that meet the evaluation thresholds but are not funded due to lack of available budget.

The requested grant is expected to be used for:

• addressing the investor and market readiness towards commercialisation and deployment (market research, value proposition, business case and business model, prospects for growth, intellectual property protection, competitor analysis etc.) and if relevant, aspects of regulation, certification and standardisation, aimed at getting both the technology and the business idea investment ready and/or;
• the maturation and validation of novel technologies beyond proof of concept to viable demonstrators of the technology in the intended field of application (i.e., from minimum TRL 4 up to TRL 6).

At the end of the EIC Pre-accelerator project, it needs to:

• demonstrate that the technology component of their innovation has been tested and validated in a laboratory and other relevant environment (e.g. at least completed all aspects of TRL 5);
• be ready to apply for EIC Accelerator and/or to seek other investors or sources of funding, to enter licensing or collaboration agreements with third parties, or other routes to market deployment.

Successful applicants and those awarded the Seal of Excellence will be granted free access to the EIC Business Acceleration Services, such as coaching and specific events tailored to their needs (e.g. for improving investor and market readiness).

This will be complemented by access to the EIC Accelerator Fast Track for submissions to the Accelerator programme following a project review in the second half of the project.