Which European grant funding programme can your organisation apply for?

Horizon Europe is an EU research and innovation programme. It has a budget of €95.5 billion and runs until 2027. Horizon Europe is the successor of the Horizon 2020 programme which ran from 2014 until 2020.  Horizon Europe is divided into 3 pillars: Excellent Science; Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness; and Innovative Europe, and 1 horizontal area: Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area.

The Horizon Europe programme is open to all organizations from EU member states, associated countries and third countries associated to Horizon Europe. Organisations eligible to participate include SMEs, large companies, non-profit organizations, universities and research organizations. Some programmes and/or calls for proposals however may focus on a certain organisation type.

There are three types of countries eligible for the Horizon Europe programme: EU member states, associated third countries and other third countries.

• EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
• Associated third countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Faeroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine. Morocco and the United Kingdom will be added to this list in due course.
• Other third countries: Most Horizon Europe calls for proposals are also open to participants from non-associated countries and international organizations, unless specific limitations or conditions are stipulated in the work programme and/or call/topic text.

In January 2022, it was announced that the United Kingdom will associate with Horizon Europe. This means that UK scientists, researchers and companies will be able to access funding under the programme on equivalent terms as organizations in EU countries. The EU is still in the process of formalizing the association of the United Kingdom.

Horizon 2020 was the EU funding programme for research and innovation that ran from 2014 to 2020. The Horizon Europe programme is the successor of Horizon 2020 running from 2021 to 2027.

The EIC Accelerator program is specifically aimed at disruptive SMEs in Europe. It is a European instrument that supports companies with market-oriented innovations and much growth potential by means of a grant or blended finance (grant and equity). Unlike many other programs that support R&D, the European Commission wants to ensure that innovative companies can realize their full potential and thus bridge the gap to the commercialization of their innovative and disruptive technologies. This does not therefore concern basic research or pure development, because this falls under the other pillars of Horizon Europe or within regional grant funding programmes. The activities between TRL 6 and 8 (system complete and qualified) are financed via a grant (70% financing of the eligible costs with a maximum of 2.5 million euros in support). Activities higher than TRL 8 are only financed through blended finance (up to 15 million euros). Activities that can be supported include prototyping, validation, demonstration, field testing and market replication.

The EU is setting the bar high, with only the most innovative projects receiving funding. During the first EIC cut-off period in 2022, the European Commission selected 74 innovative companies from 18 countries from more than 1,000 project proposals. This equates to a success rate of approximately 7%. A budget total of 382 million euro was allocated in this round.

Eurostars is part of the Eureka funding programme and supports innovative SMEs that are keen to collaborate in international R&D and innovation projects. In a Eurostars project a consortium must consist of at least two independent legal entities from a different Eurostars country. Following a central European evaluation, each partner’s own involvement is subsequently evaluated by its own regional/national grant funding authority.  

The EU LIFE programme for the period 2021-2027 was established to support the policy objectives of the EU Green Deal. The programme continues to support nature conservation, but now also supports projects on circular economy and energy. Four sub programmes support projects in the areas of: nature and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and energy transition. LIFE supports public authorities, NGOs, universities and research institutes with various grant opportunities, as well as companies that are introducing "green" products, technologies, services and processes to the market.