The EIC Pathfinder programme funds research to develop the scientific basis to underpin breakthrough technologies. The EIC Pathfinder programme that supports research teams to research or develop an emerging breakthrough technology, consists of a combination of both open and challenge driven funding. Which are the differences?

EIC Pathfinder Open 

EIC Pathfinder Open provides funding for projects in any field of science or technology, based on high-risk/high-gain science-towards-technology breakthrough interdisciplinary research. In particular, the EIC Open funidng is based bottom-up approach with no predefined topics.

EIC Pathfinder Challenges

EIC Pathfinder funding is based on top-down challenge-driven calls for tackling specific technology and breakthroughs. In 2025  these Challenges are: 

Biotech for Climate Resilient Crops and Plant-Based Biomanufacturing : these novel production processes that must deliver energy- and resource-efficient, low emission foods that maintain or increase biodiversity and are integral to a healthy diet.

Generative-AI based Agents to Revolutionize Medical Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer: the Challenge will support early-stage groundbreaking research projects that will develop and validate novel approaches and concepts for integrating and interpreting multidimensional medical imaging and health data. 

Towards autonomous robot collectives delivering collaborative tasks in dynamic unstructured construction environments: the specific objectives of the challenge is to develop a building system to assemble a representative and future-relevant structure (pavilion) using a multitude of discrete modules, a development of an autonomous mobile multi-robotic collaborative platform and perform  demonstration in a laboratory environment (TRL 4).

Waste-to-value devices: Circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials: the Challenge focuses on currently non- or hard-to-recycle types of synthetic polymer materials (including among other mixtures of different types of plastics, polymeric composite materials, micro-/nanoplastics, untreated plastic waste, diapers, rubber, etc.), flue gases, wastewater and seawater desalination brines. Proposals must target real-life industrial and household waste.

Discover more on EIC Pathfinder official page