The European Innovation Council (EIC) has announced a record-breaking response to its EIC Transition Open call, with 611 proposals submitted by the deadline of 17 September 2025—the highest number ever received since the launch of the Transition programme.
The proposals span 40 countries, with strong participation from Italy, Germany, Spain, and France. The private sector leads the way, accounting for 51% of submissions, followed by universities (27%) and research organisations (17%). This reflects the growing interest in bridging the gap between early-stage research and market-ready innovation.
EIC Transition supports projects that build on results from EIC Pathfinder, FET (Future and Emerging Technologies), or ERC Proof of Concept grants. Its goal is to help promising technologies mature and develop a viable business case for real-world applications. Selected projects may receive up to €2.5 million in funding to validate their technologies and prepare for market entry.
The Open call is thematically unrestricted, welcoming proposals from all fields of science, technology, and innovation.
What’s Next?
- Shortlisted proposals will be invited to interviews between 1–5 December 2025.
- Evaluation results will be communicated to all applicants by January 2026.
- Selected projects are expected to launch between May and June 2026.
- The next EIC Transition call will be announced in the 2026 Work Programme, scheduled for release in November 2025.