Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
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.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
EIC Transition supports innovation projects that move promising technologies beyond laboratory proof of concept toward real application and market readiness. It funds activities that mature and validate technologies already at TRL 3, aiming to reach viable demonstrators at around TRL 5–6 by the end of the project.
Projects should combine technology development with business and market preparation. This may include prototyping, testing, validation in relevant environments, user feedback, market research, value proposition development, business model validation, intellectual property protection, and preparation for regulatory, certification or standardisation requirements.
The main objective is to make both the technology and the business idea investment-ready. Expected results include a technology proven effective for its intended application, a validated business model, a solid business plan for commercialisation, and adequately protected intellectual property.
Detailed Call Description
EIC Transition can support several different pathways beyond fundamental research, from technology development and product design to business modelling and commercialisation strategy to reach the market. Some non-exhaustive illustrative examples could be the following pathways:
- A focused collaborative project to further develop strategic and high impact technologies towards specific applications while improving also the market readiness towards a promising market application. This pathway is likely to require a collaboration among several applicants (‘multi-beneficiary’ approach) including SMEs, research performers, technology transfer offices and potential users/ customers.
- An individual SME (including start-ups, spin-offs) identifies a market opportunity to apply the results of an eligible project towards a specific market application. This pathway is likely to require, or lead to, a licensing arrangement with the SME and could also involve a collaboration between the result owner(s) of the eligible project and the interested SME;
- A team of entrepreneurial researchers within a research or technology organisation who want to turn selected project results into a viable product by looking for a suitable business model or creating a start-up or spin-off company, and which may involve collaboration with the host research or technology organisation, as well as their technology transfer offices.
Technology Transfer Offices or business schools are encouraged to actively participate in the EIC Transition project, as they can play a key role in enabling and supporting researchers with the development and commercialisation of their research results.
At the end of your EIC Transition project, you should be ready for the next stage, which can be to apply for EIC Accelerator (if you are a SME, including start-ups or spin-offs), and to seek other investors or sources of funding, to enter licensing or collaboration agreements with third parties, or other routes to market deployment. In case your project is not led by an SME or commercial partner, the formation and spin out of a new company can be included as part of the activities. You will be expected to describe the intended pathway and route to market in your proposal and must include specific milestones together with concrete and verifiable KPIs during the implementation of your project to assess progress towards the market.
The EIC Transition project is expected to mature your innovation both in its TRL and market and business readiness from the beginning of the project and with both tracks going in parallel and interacting between them.
Applicants to EIC Transition can submit proposals through an EIC Transition Open call which has no predefined thematic priorities and is open to proposals in any field of science, technology or application.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
If successful, you will receive a grant for a Research and Innovation Action to cover the eligible costs, necessary for the implementation of your project. For this call, the EIC considers proposals with a requested EU contribution of more than €500.000 and less than €2.500.000 and duration between 1 and 3 years as appropriate.
The projects funded through EIC Transition are eligible:
- to receive Booster grants of a fixed amount not exceeding €50.000 to undertake complementary activities to explore potential pathways to commercialisation or for portfolio activities (see Annex 5 of work programme).
- to submit an EIC Accelerator proposal via the Fast Track scheme (see Annex 3 of work programme).
Thematic Categories
- New Entrepreneurship
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Educational Institutions
- Legal Entities
- Legal Entities under Public Law
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Semi-governmental organisations
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.
The eligibility of applicants from third countries is explained in the Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
The EIC Transition is restricted to proposals based on results generated by the eligible projects described in the EIC Work Programme 2026, page 49.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
Address: 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 Person:
Dr. Leda Skoufari – Themistou
Senior Scientific Officer
Email: leda@research.org.cy