EIC: €1.4 Bn for the Work Programme 2025, including €300 M for the new Step Scale-up Scheme

The European Commission adopts the EIC Work Programme 2025 on 29/10/2024, allocating €1.4 Bn to it. These funds will be divided mainly between four instruments: Pathfinder (€262 M), Transition (€98 M), Accelerator (€634 M) and the new Step Scale-up Scheme (€300 M).

The Step Scale-up scheme is introduced following the Step (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform) regulation, a strategy aiming to make the EU more competitive by stimulating investments in the development and production of critical technologies like the digital, deeptech, cleantech, and biotech sectors.

It will be tested in 2025 and "provide additional support to promising companies driving innovation in critical areas (SMEs, start-ups, spin-offs and small mid-caps) to help them secure larger funding rounds for further scaling their businesses". Its budget is expected to grow to €900 M over the period 2025-27.

This Step instrument is "supposed to respond to one of the major criticisms of the Draghi report, namely filling the gap between the EIC funds and those of the EIF (European Investment Fund)", Michiel Scheffer…