2026 Open EIC Pathfinder: €166 million to 43 "groundbreaking projects"

News Tank Academic - Brussels - News #457102 - Published on 14/10/26 at 15:16
© EIC
© EIC

The European Innovation Council (EIC) announced that it has awarded €166 million to 43 "groundbreaking projects" as part of its 2026 Pathfinder Open call on 14/10/2026.

The EIC received a record 2,103 project proposals from 4,633 unique beneficiary organisations, among which 43 projects were selected, with €4m per EU grant. The success rate stands at 2.04%.

The Pathfinder programme supports visionary ideas for radically new technologies. It promotes interdisciplinary collaborations with a high level of risk and potential reward, focusing on the development of early-stage technology (Technology Readiness Levels 1-3) up to proof of concept.

The EIC indicated that, across the 266 consortium participations, 44% were from higher or secondary education establishments, 28% were from research organisations, 25% were from private companies and 3% were from other organisations and public bodies. SMEs participated in 34 of the selected projects.

Projects

2026 Open laureates

Spain coordinates the most projects

Spain is the country coordinating the most projects under the 2026 Open…

© EIC
© EIC

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